Magnetospheric Perturbations Related to IMF Discontinuity Passing Through the Magnetosheath: THEMIS and Ground-Based Observations

Physics – Plasma Physics

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[1530] Geomagnetism And Paleomagnetism / Rapid Time Variations, [2724] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetopause And Boundary Layers, [7811] Space Plasma Physics / Discontinuities

Scientific paper

We present a case event of THEMIS and ground-based observations of the magnetopause and geomagnetic field perturbations related to passing a discontinuity of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) through the magnetosheath. As observed by the ACE upstream monitor, the IMF discontinuity is rotational, i.e. it is characterized by sudden change of the IMF orientation without any changes in solar wind plasma characteristics. The normal to IMF rotation plane is inclined duskward and northward. During passing through the magnetosheath the discontinuity is not rotational any more: THEMIS detects substantial depletion of the magnetosheath at the leading edge of discontinuity and very strong compression at the trailing edge, where the total magnetosheath pressure is revealed to be 3 times higher than the upstream solar wind dynamic pressure. The magnetosheath compression is contributed by enhanced thermal ion and magnetic pressures. This spatial heterogeneity in the magnetosheath pressure causes a local distortion of the Chapman-Ferraro current (CFR) and, hence, transient outward and inward magnetopause motion, respectively, with amplitude more than 1.5 Re. The transient motion results in a local significant distortion of the magnetopause shape that is revealed as a substantial deviation of the magnetopause normal from its nominal direction. Inside the magnetosphere, the CFR distortion is detected by THEMIS as a bipolar magnetic impulse with very high amplitude of ~40 nT. The INTERMAGNET network of ground-based magnetometers allows tracing the movement of the CFR distortion related to the discontinuity propagation through the magnetosheath. We find that the bipolar impulse in horizontal component of geomagnetic field propagates from south to north and from dawn to dusk that is in good agreement with the IMF discontinuity orientation observed by ACE.

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