32 research outputs found
Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Associated With Reconnection and Ultra Low Frequency Waves at the Ground: A Case Study
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) and its effects relating to the transfer of energy and mass from the solar wind into the magnetosphere remain an important focus of magnetospheric physics. One such effect is the generation of Pc4-Pc5 ultra low frequency (ULF) waves (periods of 45–600 s). On July 3, 2007 at ∼ 0500 magnetic local time the Cluster space mission encountered Pc4 frequency Kelvin-Helmholtz waves (KHWs) at the high latitude magnetopause with signatures of persistent vortices. Such signatures included bipolar fluctuations of the magnetic field normal component associated with a total pressure increase and rapid change in density at vortex edges; oscillations of magnetosheath and magnetospheric plasma populations; existence of fast-moving, low-density, mixed plasma; quasi-periodic oscillations of the boundary normal and an anti-phase relation between the normal and parallel components of the boundary velocity. The event occurred during a period of southward polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field according to the OMNI data and THEMIS observations at the subsolar point. Several of the KHI vortices were associated with reconnection indicated by the Walén relation, the presence of deHoffman-Teller frames, field-aligned ion beams observed together with bipolar fluctuations in the normal magnetic field component, and crescent ion distributions. Global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the event also resulted in KHWs at the magnetopause. The observed KHWs associated with reconnection coincided with recorded ULF waves at the ground whose properties suggest that they were driven by those waves. Such properties were the location of Cluster’s magnetic foot point, the Pc4 frequency, and the solar wind conditions.publishedVersio
Turbulent dipolarization regions in the Earth’s magnetotail: ion fluxes and magnetic field changes
In this work, we consider the dynamics of ion fluxes and magnetic field changes in turbulent regions of magnetotail dipolarizations. The data from the Cluster-II mission (magnetic field measurements from fluxgate magnetometers and energetic charged particle observations from RAPID spectrometers) were used for the analysis. We study individual events and investigate statistically the changes of charged particle fluxes during magnetic field dipolarizations observed during 2001–2015. Received changes in the spectral index indicate that CNO+ ions undergo stronger acceleration during dipolarization than protons and helium ions. Before dipolarization front monotonic growth the ions flux is observed (the maximum of flux is observed at 1–1,5 min after the start of dipolarization) in the range of ∼ 92–374 keV for proton; in the energy range ∼ 138–235 keV for He+ and in the energy range of 414–638 keV for CNO+ ions. Flux increase before arriving dipolarization front may result from the reflection of plasma sheet ions at the dipolarization front and the result of the resonant interactions of ions with low-frequency electromagnetic waves
Large-scale magnetic fields from inflation in dilaton electromagnetism
The generation of large-scale magnetic fields is studied in dilaton
electromagnetism in inflationary cosmology, taking into account the dilaton's
evolution throughout inflation and reheating until it is stabilized with
possible entropy production. It is shown that large-scale magnetic fields with
observationally interesting strength at the present time could be generated if
the conformal invariance of the Maxwell theory is broken through the coupling
between the dilaton and electromagnetic fields in such a way that the resultant
quantum fluctuations in the magnetic field has a nearly scale-invariant
spectrum. If this condition is met, the amplitude of the generated magnetic
field could be sufficiently large even in the case huge amount of entropy is
produced with the dilution factor as the dilaton decays.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, the version accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev. D; some references are adde
Magnetized cosmological perturbations
A large-scale cosmic magnetic field affects not only the growth of density
perturbations, but also rotational instabilities and anisotropic deformation in
the density distribution. We give a fully relativistic treatment of all these
effects, incorporating the magneto-curvature coupling that arises in a
relativistic approach. We show that this coupling produces a small enhancement
of the growing mode on superhorizon scales. The magnetic field generates new
nonadiabatic constant and decaying modes, as well as nonadiabatic corrections
to the standard growing and decaying modes. Magnetized isocurvature
perturbations are purely decaying on superhorizon scales. On subhorizon scales
before recombination, magnetized density perturbations propagate as
magneto-sonic waves, leading to a small decrease in the spacing of acoustic
peaks. Fluctuations in the field direction induce scale-dependent vorticity,
and generate precession in the rotational vector. On small scales, magnetized
density vortices propagate as Alfv\'{e}n waves during the radiation era. After
recombination, they decay slower than non-magnetized vortices. Magnetic
fluctuations are also an active source of anisotropic distortion in the density
distribution. We derive the evolution equations for this distortion, and find a
particular growing solution.Comment: Revised version, typos corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Seminal magnetic fields from Inflato-electromagnetic Inflation
We extend some previous attempts to explain the origin and evolution of
primordial magnetic fields during inflation induced from a 5D vacuum. We show
that the usual quantum fluctuations of a generalized 5D electromagnetic field
cannot provide us with the desired magnetic seeds. We show that special fields
without propagation on the extra non-compact dimension are needed to arrive to
appreciable magnetic strengths. We also identify a new magnetic tensor field
in this kind of extra dimensional theories. Our results are in very
good agreement with observational requirements, in particular from TeV Blazars
and CMB radiation limits we obtain that primordial cosmological magnetic fields
should be close scale invariance.Comment: Improved version. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1007.3891
by other author
Magnetic field generation from non-equilibrium phase transitions
We study the generation of magnetic fields during the stage of particle
production resulting from spinodal instabilities during phase transitions out
of equilibrium. The main premise is that long-wavelength instabilities that
drive the phase transition lead to strong non-equilibrium charge and current
fluctuations which generate electromagnetic fields. We present a formulation
based on the non-equilibrium Schwinger-Dyson equations that leads to an exact
expression for the spectrum of electromagnetic fields valid for general
theories and cosmological backgrounds and whose main ingredient is the
transverse photon polarization out of equilibrium. This formulation includes
the dissipative effects of the conductivity in the medium. As a prelude to
cosmology we study magnetogenesis in Minkowski space-time in a theory of N
charged scalar fields to lowest order in the gauge coupling and to leading
order in the large N within two scenarios of cosmological relevance. The
long-wavelength power spectrum for electric and magnetic fields at the end of
the phase transition is obtained explicitly.
It follows that equipartition between electric and magnetic fields does not
hold out of equilibrium. In the case of a transition from a high temperature
phase, the conductivity of the medium severely hinders the generation of
magnetic fields, however the magnetic fields generated are correlated on scales
of the order of the domain size, which is much larger than the magnetic
diffusion length. Implications of the results to cosmological phase transitions
driven by spinodal unstabilities are discussed.Comment: Preprint no. LPTHE 02-55, 30 pages, latex, 2 eps figures. Added one
reference. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Large scale magnetogenesis from a non-equilibrium phase transition in the radiation dominated era
We study the generation of large scale primordial magnetic fields by a
cosmological phase transition during the radiation dominated era. The setting
is a theory of N charged scalar fields coupled to an abelian gauge field, that
undergoes a phase transition at a critical temperature much larger than the
electroweak scale. The dynamics after the transition features two distinct
stages: a spinodal regime dominated by linear long-wavelength instabilities,
and a scaling stage in which the non-linearities and backreaction of the scalar
fields are dominant. This second stage describes the growth of horizon sized
domains. We implement a recently introduced formulation to obtain the spectrum
of magnetic fields that includes the dissipative effects of the plasma. We find
that large scale magnetogenesis is very efficient during the scaling regime.
The ratio between the energy density on scales larger than L and that in the
background radiation r(L,T) = rho_B(L,T)/rho_{cmb}(T) is r(L,T) \sim 10^{-34}
at the Electroweak scale and r(L,T) \sim 10^{-14} at the QCD scale for L \sim 1
Mpc. The resulting spectrum is insensitive to the magnetic diffusion length. We
conjecture that a similar mechanism could be operative after the QCD chiral
phase transition.Comment: LaTex, 25 pages, no figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Large-scale magnetic fields from inflation due to a -even Chern-Simons-like term with Kalb-Ramond and scalar fields
We investigate the generation of large-scale magnetic fields due to the
breaking of the conformal invariance in the electromagnetic field through the
-even dimension-six Chern-Simons-like effective interaction with a fermion
current by taking account of the dynamical Kalb-Ramond and scalar fields in
inflationary cosmology. It is explicitly demonstrated that the magnetic fields
on 1Mpc scale with the field strength of G at the present time
can be induced.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, version accepted for publication in Eur. Phys.
J.
The Scientific Foundations of Forecasting Magnetospheric Space Weather
The magnetosphere is the lens through which solar space weather phenomena are focused and directed towards the Earth. In particular, the non-linear interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field leads to the formation of highly inhomogenous electrical currents in the ionosphere which can ultimately result in damage to and problems with the operation of power distribution networks. Since electric power is the fundamental cornerstone of modern life, the interruption of power is the primary pathway by which space weather has impact on human activity and technology. Consequently, in the context of space weather, it is the ability to predict geomagnetic activity that is of key importance. This is usually stated in terms of geomagnetic storms, but we argue that in fact it is the substorm phenomenon which contains the crucial physics, and therefore prediction of substorm occurrence, severity and duration, either within the context of a longer-lasting geomagnetic storm, but potentially also as an isolated event, is of critical importance. Here we review the physics of the magnetosphere in the frame of space weather forecasting, focusing on recent results, current understanding, and an assessment of probable future developments.Peer reviewe
The Earth: Plasma Sources, Losses, and Transport Processes
This paper reviews the state of knowledge concerning the source of magnetospheric plasma at Earth. Source of plasma, its acceleration and transport throughout the system, its consequences on system dynamics, and its loss are all discussed. Both observational and modeling advances since the last time this subject was covered in detail (Hultqvist et al., Magnetospheric Plasma Sources and Losses, 1999) are addressed