Imperial College London
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Dr Julia E. Stawarz

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics

Academic Visitor
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7766j.stawarz

 
 
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Location

 

6M71Huxley BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Eastwood:2021:0004-6361/202140949,
author = {Eastwood, JP and Stawarz, JE and Phan, TD and Laker, R and Robertson, S and Zhao, L-L and Zank, GP and Lavraud, B and Shay, MA and Evans, V and Angelini, V and O'Brien, H and Horbury, TS},
doi = {0004-6361/202140949},
journal = {Astronomy & Astrophysics},
pages = {1--8},
title = {Solar Orbiter observations of an ion-scale flux rope confined to a bifurcated solar wind current sheet},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140949},
volume = {656},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Context. Flux ropes in the solar wind are a key element of heliospheric dynamics and particle acceleration. When associated withcurrent sheets, the primary formation mechanism is magnetic reconnection and flux ropes in current sheets are commonly used astracers of the reconnection process.Aims. Whilst flux ropes associated with reconnecting current sheets in the solar wind have been reported, their occurrence, sizedistribution, and lifetime are not well understood.Methods. Here we present and analyse new Solar Orbiter magnetic field data reporting novel observations of a flux rope confined toa bifurcated current sheet in the solar wind. Comparative data and large-scale context is provided by Wind.Results. The Solar Orbiter observations reveal that the flux rope, which does not span the current sheet, is of ion scale, and in areconnection formation scenario, existed for a prolonged period of time as it was carried out in the reconnection exhaust. Wind is alsofound to have observed clear signatures of reconnection at what may be the same current sheet, thus demonstrating that reconnectionsignatures can be found separated by as much as ∼ 2 000 Earth radii, or 0.08 au.Conclusions. The Solar Orbiter observations provide new insight into the hierarchy of scales on which flux ropes can form, and showthat they exist down to the ion scale in the solar wind. The context provided by Wind extends the spatial scale over which reconnectionsignatures have been found at solar wind current sheets. The data suggest the local orientations of the current sheet at Solar Orbiterand Wind are rotated relative to each other, unlike reconnection observed at smaller separations; the implications of this are discussedwith reference to patchy vs. continuous reconnection scenarios.
AU  - Eastwood,JP
AU  - Stawarz,JE
AU  - Phan,TD
AU  - Laker,R
AU  - Robertson,S
AU  - Zhao,L-L
AU  - Zank,GP
AU  - Lavraud,B
AU  - Shay,MA
AU  - Evans,V
AU  - Angelini,V
AU  - O'Brien,H
AU  - Horbury,TS
DO  - 0004-6361/202140949
EP  - 8
PY  - 2021///
SN  - 0004-6361
SP  - 1
TI  - Solar Orbiter observations of an ion-scale flux rope confined to a bifurcated solar wind current sheet
T2  - Astronomy & Astrophysics
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140949
UR  - https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202140949
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/91883
VL  - 656
ER  -
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