Hou, Chuanpeng;
Zhu, Xingyu;
Zhuo, Rui;
He, Jiansen;
Verscharen, Daniel;
Duan, Die;
(2023)
Nature, Generation, and Dissipation of Alfvénic Kinks/Switchbacks Observed by Parker Solar Probe and WIND.
The Astrophysical Journal
, 950
(2)
, Article 157. 10.3847/1538-4357/accf94.
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Abstract
The discovery of very prominent magnetic kinks/switchbacks in the solar wind within 0.3 au has become a scientific highlight of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission. This discovery points at the promising impact of small-scale solar activity on the inner heliosphere. To address the nature, generation, and dissipation of these kinks, we perform a statistical analysis of the plasma and boundary properties of the kinks using PSP multi-encounter observations and WIND measurements at 1 au. The kinks show strong Alfvénicity and velocity fluctuations of the order of the local Alfvén speed. These findings suggest that the nature of the kinks is consistent with large-amplitude Alfvén pulses, and the steepening of these Alfvén pulses is likely the formation mechanism of these kinks. Based on the angle between the normal direction of the kinks’ boundaries and the background magnetic field vector, PSP kinks and WIND kinks can be divided into two groups: quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular kinks. We speculate that quasi-parallel kinks form through the coupling of Alfvén and fast waves as launched from coronal interchange magnetic reconnection. In contrast, quasi-perpendicular kinks may come from the steepening of Alfvén waves launched from both coronal interchange magnetic reconnection and from the more inhomogeneous lower solar atmosphere. We find that the kink velocity perturbation gradually decreases during outward propagation and is much lower than expected from WKB theory, suggesting a progressive dissipation of the kinks. Comparing PSP kinks and WIND kinks, we conjecture that the kinks dissipate through merging with the turbulent energy cascade within 0.25 au.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Nature, Generation, and Dissipation of Alfvénic Kinks/Switchbacks Observed by Parker Solar Probe and WIND |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/1538-4357/accf94 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accf94 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. |
| 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/10172547 |
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