Rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the flank magnetopause and their implications for the formation of the low-latitude boundary layer

Details Rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the flank magnetopause and their implications for the formation of the low-latitude boundary layer Rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the flank magnetopause and their implications for the formation of the low-latitude boundary layer

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufmsm13b1212h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #SM13B-1212

Physics

7843 Numerical Simulation Studies, 7859 Transport Processes, 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2752 Mhd Waves And Instabilities, 2764 Plasma Sheet

Scientific paper

We report unambiguous evidence for rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) vortices that form in the nonlinear stage of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), based on multi-spacecraft measurements by Cluster at the dusk flank magnetopause during northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) periods. With the help of a three-dimensional MHD simulation of the KHI, signatures expected in the KH vortices at the magnetopause, namely, the magnetosheath plasma intruding into the magnetosphere, vortical plasma flow, and magnetic field perturbation pattern associated with the vortices, have been identified. In addition, plasmas of solar wind origin are present in the vicinity of the rolled-up vortices and on the magnetospheric side of the magnetopause. It is getting increasingly clear from theoretical studies that transport of plasma is inevitable in the rolled-up KH vortices. Thus our observations are precisely consistent with the scenario that, under northward IMF conditions, the KHI leads to the formation of the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) on the flanks. From comparison between measurements and simulation studies, the thickness of the KHI-associated LLBL is estimated to be roughly 4 RE. We discuss the significance of the results for the LLBL formation during northward IMF and raise remaining questions concerning the magnetopause KHI.

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