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Magnetic Field Reconstruction for a Realistic Multi-Point, Multi-Scale Spacecraft Observatory

Broeren, T; Klein, KG; TenBarge, JM; Dors, I; Roberts, OW; Verscharen, D; (2021) Magnetic Field Reconstruction for a Realistic Multi-Point, Multi-Scale Spacecraft Observatory. Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences , 8 , Article 727076. 10.3389/fspas.2021.727076. Green open access

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Abstract

Future in situ space plasma investigations will likely involve spatially distributed observatories comprised of multiple spacecraft, beyond the four and five spacecraft configurations currently in operation. Inferring the magnetic field structure across the observatory, and not simply at the observation points, is a necessary step towards characterizing fundamental plasma processes using these unique multi-point, multi-scale data sets. We propose improvements upon the classic first-order reconstruction method, as well as a second-order method, utilizing magnetometer measurements from a realistic nine-spacecraft observatory. The improved first-order method, which averages over select ensembles of four spacecraft, reconstructs the magnetic field associated with simple current sheets and numerical simulations of turbulence accurately over larger volumes compared to second-order methods or first-order methods using a single regular tetrahedron. Using this averaging method on data sets with fewer than nine measurement points, the volume of accurate reconstruction compared to a known magnetic vector field improves approximately linearly with the number of measurement points.

Type: Article
Title: Magnetic Field Reconstruction for a Realistic Multi-Point, Multi-Scale Spacecraft Observatory
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2021.727076
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2021.727076
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 Broeren, Klein, TenBarge, Dors, Roberts and Verscharen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords: plasma physics, magnetic fields, spacecraft, vector field reconstruction, space physics, curlometer, space mission analysis, multi-spacecraft analysis
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10138040
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