Title: Explorer 12 observations of the magnetopause current layer
Abstract: Journal of Geophysical Research (1896-1977)Volume 73, Issue 5 p. 1757-1770 Explorer 12 observations of the magnetopause current layer B. U. Ö. Sonnerup, B. U. Ö. SonnerupSearch for more papers by this authorL. J. Cahill Jr., L. J. Cahill Jr.Search for more papers by this author B. U. Ö. Sonnerup, B. U. Ö. SonnerupSearch for more papers by this authorL. J. Cahill Jr., L. J. Cahill Jr.Search for more papers by this author First published: 1 March 1968 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA073i005p01757Citations: 146AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract The variation in magnetic field magnitude at magnetopause is examined with the objective of separating boundaries of the rotational-discontinuity type from those of the tangential-discontinuity type. The field magnitude should remain constant throughout the current layer in the former case but may vary considerably in the latter. Also, the field component normal to the layer may be nonzero in the former case but not in the latter. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the 91 cases examined may have been of the rotational-discontinuity type. The field component along a theoretical vector normal to the current layer is compared for the two groups. The result indicates that the normal field component, on the average, may be less than 5 γ for the rotational-discontinuity group also. For the tangential discontinuities, a normal vector, calculated from the data under the assumption of a vanishing normal-field component, is compared with a corresponding vector obtained from the Mead-Beard theoretical magnetosphere model. Substantial individual, as well as systematic, deviations are found. The latter are related to the angle between the solar-wind and the earth's dipole axis. Finally, the sense of rotation of the tangential magnetic-field component at magnetopause is examined. For rotational discontinuities, the sense of rotation is found to be opposite above and below the solar-magnetospheric equatorial plane. A tentative explanation of this observation, in terms of the electrical structure of the current layer, is proposed. References Landau, L. D., E. M. Lifshitz, Electrodynamics of Continuous Media, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Mass., 1960. Levy, R. H., H. E. Petschek, G. L. Siscoe, Aerodynamic aspects of magnetospheric flow, AIAA J., 2, 2065, 1964. Mead, G. D., D. B. Beard, Shape of the geomagnetic field solar wind boundary, J. Geophys. Res., 69, 1169, 1964. Olbert, S. A., A. Egidi, G. Moreno, L. G. Pai, Summary of final results from the MIT plasma experiment on IMP 1, 2, Average properties in the transition region (abstract, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 48, 177, 1967. Sonnerup, B. U. Ö., L. J. Cahill Jr, Magnetopause structure and attitude from Explorer 12 observations, J. Geophys. Res., 72, 171, 1967. Sonnerup, B. U. Ö., S.-Y. Su, Large amplitude whistler waves in a hot collision-free plasma, Phys. Fluids, 10, 462, 1967. Spreiter, J. R., B. R. Briggs, Theoretical determination of the form of the boundary of the solar corpuscular stream produced by interaction with the magnetic dipole field of the earth, J. Geophys. Res., 67, 37, 1962. Stix, T. H., The Theory of Plasma Waves, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1962. Su, S.-Y., B. U. Ö. Sonnerup, First-order orbit theory of the rotational discontinuity, Phys. Fluids, 11, 1968. Citing Literature Volume73, Issue5Space Physics1 March 1968Pages 1757-1770 ReferencesRelatedInformation
Publication Year: 1968
Publication Date: 1968-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 168
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