Simulation of the SMILE Soft X-ray Imager response to a southward interplanetary magnetic field turning

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)will shine a spotlight on magnetopause dynamics during magnetic reconnection.We simulate an event with a southward interplanetary magnetic field turning and produce SXI count maps with a 5-minute integration time.By making assumptions about the magnetopause shape,we find the magnetopause standoff distance from the count maps and compare it with the one obtained directly from the magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)simulation.The root mean square deviations between the reconstructed and MHD standoff distances do not exceed 0.2 RE(Earth radius)and the maximal difference equals 0.24 RE during the 25-minute interval around the southward turning.

Effect of interplanetary magnetic field B_(x)on the polar electrojets as observed by CHAMP and Swarm satellites

Based on 16 years of magnetic field observations from CHAMP and Swarm satellites,this study investigates the influence of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field(IMF)Bx component on the location and peak current density of the polar electrojets(PEJs).We find that the IMF Bx displays obvious local time,seasonal,and hemispherical effects on the PEJs,as follows:(1)Compared to other local times,its influence is weakest at dawn and dusk.(2)In the midnight sectors of both hemispheres,the IMF Bx tends to amplify the westward PEJ when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere;this effect is relatively stronger in the local winter hemisphere.(3)At noontime,the IMF Bx intensifies the eastward current when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere;in the Southern Hemisphere when it is>0,it reduces the westward current;this effect is notably more prominent in the local summer hemisphere.(4)Moreover,the noontime eastward current shifts towards higher latitudes,while the midnight westward current migrates towards lower latitudes when IMF Bx is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere.

North-South Asymmetry of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field Magnitude and the Geomagnetic Indices

Data of the daily interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and the geomagnetic indices (aa, Ap, Kp, and DST) have been used to examine the asymmetry between the solar field north and south of the heliospheric current sheet, over the period (1975-2013). It important to note that during the positive polarity epochs: (T) refers to Toward the South of the heliospheric current sheet (Southern Hemisphere), and (A) refers to Away from North of the heliospheric current sheet (Northern Hemisphere). While, during the negative polarity epochs the opposite will be happened. The present study finds no clear indication of the presence of north-south asymmetry in the field magnitude, and also there is no magnetic solar cycle dependence that is evident. During the considered period, the north-south asymmetry for the considered parameters reaches maximum values around the declining phase or near to the minimum of the solar cycle. The geomagnetic indices have a clear asymmetry during the positive solar magnetic polarity period (qA > 0) and have a northern dominance during cycles (22 & 23) and southern dominance during cycles (21 & 24). From the power spectrum density, the considered parameters showed significant peaks which appeared in the north-south asymmetry but the 10.7 yr solar cycle was absent. In addition, the main periodicity of the asymmetry may be 5.2, 4.0 and 3.3 years that exist in the parameters with higher confidence levels. Finally, one can conclude that the asymmetry of the interplanetary parameters and the geomagnetic indices may provide multiple causes for producing the observed asymmetric modulations of cosmic rays.

Global distributions of storm-time ionospheric currents as seen in geomagnetic field variations

To investigate temporal and spatial evolution of global geomagnetic field variations from high-latitude to the equator during geomagnetic storms, we analyzed ground geomagnetic field disturbances from high latitudes to the magnetic equator. The daytime ionospheric equivalent current during the storm main phase showed that twin-vortex ionospheric currents driven by the Region 1 field-aligned currents （R1 FACs） are intensified significantly and expand to the low-latitude region of-30~ magnetic latitude. Centers of the currents were located around 70~ and 65~ in the morning and afternoon, respectively. Corresponding to intensification of the R1 FACs, an enhancement of the eastward/westward equatorial electrojet occurred at the daytime/nighttime dip equator. This signature suggests that the enhanced convection electric field penetrates to both the daytime and nighttime equa- tor. During the recovery phase, the daytime equivalent current showed that two new pairs of twin vortices, which are different from two-cell ionospheric currents driven by the R1 FACs, appear in the polar cap and mid latitude. The former led to enhanced north- ward Bz （NBZ） FACs driven by lobe reconnection tailward of the cusps, owing to the northward interplanetary magnetic field （IMF）. The latter was generated by enhanced Region 2 field-aligned currents （R2 FACs）. Associated with these magnetic field variations in the mid-latitudes and polar cap, the equatorial magnetic field variation showed a strongly negative signature, produced by the westward equatorial electrojet current caused by the dusk-to-dawn electric field.

Magnetic Storm Effects in the Auroral Ionosphere Observed with EISCAT Radar-Two Case Studies

Storm-time changes of main plasma parameters in the auroral ionosphere are analyzed for two intense storms occurring on May 15, 1997 and Sept. 25, 1998, with emphasis on their relationship to the solar wind dynamic pressure and the IMFB z component. Strong hard particle precipitation occurred in the initial phase for both storms, associated with high solar wind dynamical pressure. During the recovery phase of the storms, some strong particle precipitation was neither concerned with high solar wind pressure nor southward IMFB z. Severe negative storm effects depicted by electron density depletion appeared in theF-region during the main and recovery phase of both storms, caused by intensive electric field-related strong Joule/frictional heating when IMF was largely southward. The ion temperature behaved similarly inE-andF-region, but the electron temperature did quite different, with a strong increase in the lowerE-region relating to plasma instability excited by strong electric field and a slight decrease in theF-region probably concerning with a cooling process. The field-aligned ion velocity was high and apparently anticorrelated with the northward component of the ion convection velocity.

Formation of the bow shock indentation: MHD simulation results

Simulation results from a global magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)model are used to examine whether the bow shock has an indentation and characterize its formation conditions,as well as its physical mechanism.The bow shock is identified by an increase in plasma density of the solar wind,and the indentation of the bow shock is determined by the shock flaring angle.It is shown that when the interplanetary magnetic field(IMF)is southward and the Alfvén Mach number(Mα)of solar wind is high(>5),the bow shock indentation can be clearly determined.The reason is that the outflow region of magnetic reconnection(MR)that occurs in the low latitude area under southward IMF blocks the original flow in the magnetosheath around the magnetopause,forming a high-speed zone and a low-speed zone that are upstream and downstream of each other.This structure hinders the surrounding flow in the magnetosheath,and the bow shock behind the structure widens and forms an indentation.When Mαis low,the magnetosheath is thicker and the disturbing effect of the MR outflow region is less obvious.Under northward IMF,MR occurs at high latitudes,and the outflow region formed by reconnection does not block the flow inside the magnetosheath,thus the indentation is harder to form.The study of the conditions and formation process of the bow shock indentation will help to improve the accuracy of bow shock models.

The semiannual variation of transpolar arc incidence and its relationship to the Russell–McPherron effect

Earth’s aurora is a luminescent phenomenon generated by the interaction between magnetospheric precipitating particles and the upper atmosphere;it plays an important role in magnetosphere–ionosphere(M-I)coupling.The transpolar arc(TPA)is a discrete auroral arc distributed in the noon-midnight direction poleward of the auroral oval and connects the dayside to the nightside sectors of the auroral oval.Studying the seasonal variation of TPA events can help us better understand the long-term variation of the interaction between the solar wind,the magnetosphere,and M-I coupling.However,a statistical study of the seasonal variation of TPA incidence has not previously been carried out.In this paper,we have identified 532 TPA events from the IMAGE database(2000–2005)and the Polar database(1996–2002),and calculated the incidence of TPA events for different months.We find a semiannual variation in TPA incidence.Clear peaks in the incidence of TPAs occur in March and September;a less pronounced peak appears in November.We also examine seasonal variation in the northward interplanetary magnetic field(IMF)over the same time period.The intensity and occurrence rate of the northward IMF exhibit patterns similar to that of the TPA incidence.Having studied IMF Bz before TPA onset,we find that strong and steady northward IMF conditions are favorable for TPA formation.We suggest that the semiannual variation observed in TPA incidence may be related to the Russell–McPherron(R-M)effect due to the projection effect of the IMF By under northward IMF conditions.

Effect of solar wind plasma parameters on space weather

Today’s challenge for space weather research is to quantitatively predict the dynamics of the magnetosphere from measured solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field（IMF） conditions. Correlative studies between geomagnetic storms（GMSs）and the various interplanetary（IP） field/plasma parameters have been performed to search for the causes of geomagnetic activity and develop models for predicting the occurrence of GMSs, which are important for space weather predictions. We find a possible relation between GMSs and solar wind and IMF parameters in three different situations and also derived the linear relation for all parameters in three situations.On the basis of the present statistical study, we develop an empirical model. With the help of this model, we can predict all categories of GMSs. This model is based on the following fact： the total IMF Btotalcan be used to trigger an alarm for GMSs, when sudden changes in total magnetic field Btotaloccur. This is the first alarm condition for a storm’s arrival. It is observed in the present study that the southward Bzcomponent of the IMF is an important factor for describing GMSs. A result of the paper is that the magnitude of Bzis maximum neither during the initial phase（at the instant of the IP shock） nor during the main phase（at the instant of Disturbance storm time（Dst） minimum）. It is seen in this study that there is a time delay between the maximum value of southward Bzand the Dst minimum, and this time delay can be used in the prediction of the intensity of a magnetic storm two-three hours before the main phase of a GMS. A linear relation has been derived between the maximum value of the southward component of Bzand the Dst, which is Dst =（-0.06） ＋（7.65）Bz＋ t.Some auxiliary conditions should be fulfilled with this, for example the speed of the solar wind should, on average, be 350 km s-1 to 750 km s-1, plasma β should be low and, most importantly, plasma temperature should be low for intense storms. If the plasma temperature is less than 0.5 × 106 K then the Dst value will be greater than the predicted value of Dst or if temperature is greater than 0.5 × 106 K then the Dst value will be less（some nT）.

Shape and position of Earth's bow shock near-lunar orbit based on ARTEMIS data

Earth's bow shock is the result of interaction between the supersonic solar wind and Earth's magnetopause. However, data limitations mean the model of the shape and position of the bow shock are based largely on near-Earth satellite data. The model of the bow shock in the distant magnetotail and other factors that affect the bow shock, such as the interplanetary magnetic field(IMF) B_y, remain unclear. Here, based on the bow shock crossings of ARTEMIS from January 2011 to January 2015, new coefficients of the tail-flaring angle a of the Chao model(one of the most accurate models currently available) were obtained by fitting data from the middle-distance magnetotail(near-lunar orbit, geocentric distance -20R_E>X>-50R_E). In addition, the effects of the IMF B_y on the flaring angle a were analyzed. Our results showed that:(1) the new fitting coefficients of the Chao model in the middle-distance magnetotail are more consistent with the observed results;(2) the tail-flaring angle a of the bow shock increases as the absolute value of the IMF B_y increases. Moreover, positive IMF B_y has a greater effect than negative IMF B_y on flaring angle. These results provide a reference for bow shock modeling that includes the IMF B_y.