Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Panov, E. V.
• Artemyev, A. V.
• Nakamura, R.
• Baumjohann, W.

Titel

Two types of tangential magnetopause current sheets: Cluster observations and theory

Ist Teil von

• Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2011-12, Vol.116 (A12), p.n/a

Ort / Verlag

Washington: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Quelle

Wiley

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Early magnetopause observations revealed that the magnetic field can rotate across tangential current sheets in the form of C‐and S‐shaped hodograms. We use the four‐spacecraft magnetopause crossings by Cluster in order to study the structure of the C‐ and S‐sheets. We show that both current sheets can be described by analytical equilibria. We employ a force‐free current sheet equilibrium for description of the C‐sheet and develop a new equilibrium to describe the S‐sheet. We suggest that both equilibria be used for setting up initial conditions in the next generation of current sheet simulations. Key Points We use the four‐point Cluster measurements to study the magnetopause structure We show that the found magnetopause structure can be described analytically We suggest to use the analytical solutions to set up numerical models