As for the present situation of coronal mass ejection(CME) triggering models,the distributions of Alfvén waves in flux ropes are different from model to model,and thus examining those distributions in interplanetary coronal mass ejection(ICME) is an effective way to connect ICME observations with these theoretical models of CME triggering.However,previous observations of Alfvénic fluctuations in ICMEs were rare with locations ranging from 0.3 AU to 0.68 AU only,which is usually explained as rapid dissipation of those remnant waves.Here we present an observation of Alfvén waves in a magnetic cloud(MC) near 1 AU,in situ detected by WIND in February 17～20,2011.The MC was generated by a CME accompanied with the first X-class flare in the 24 th solar cycle.The slope of the power spectral densities of magnetic fluctuation in the MC,are similar to those modes in ambient solar wind,but more anisotropic.The results will also be helpful for studies of CME theories and ICME thermodynamics.
Two substorms occurred at ～04:05 and ～04:55 UT on February 26,2008 are studied with the in-situ observations of THEMIS satellites and ground-based aurora and magnetic field measurements.Angelopoulos et al.have made a comprehensive study of the 04:55 UT event.We showed detailed features of the two substorms with much attention to the first event and to the rela-tionship between mid-tail magnetic reconnection(MR) and substorm activities.It was found that in the earlier stage of each substorm,a first auroral intensification occurred 2-3 min soon after the start of mid-tail MR,followed by a slow and very lim-ited expansion.The auroral arcs were weak,short-lived,and localized,characterizing all features of a pseudobreakup.We re-garded the first auroral brightening as the initial onset of the substorms.A few minutes later,a second stronger auroral intensification appeared,followed by quick and extensive expansions.It was interesting to note that the second brightening and related poleward expansion happened almost simultaneously(within a couple of minutes) with the onset of earthward flow and dipolarization in the near-Earth tail and other phenomenon of the substorm expansion phase.We thus regarded the second auroral brightening as the major onset of the substorms.Furthermore,it was seen that during the growth phase of the two substorms,the polar cap open flux Ψ kept increasing,while it quickly reduced during the substorm expansion and recovery phase.These variations of Ψ implied that the evolution of the two substorm expansion phases were closely related to MR of tail lobe open field lines.Analysis of substorm activities revealed that the two events studied were small substorms;while estimate of MR rate indicated that the MR processes in the two substorms were weak.The aforementioned observations suggested that mid-tail MR initiated the pseudobreakup first;the earthward flow generated by MR transported magnetic flux and energy to the near-Earth tail to cause the formation of SCW and CD,which induced near-Earth d
本文利用THEMIS卫星结合地面极光和地磁的观测,研究了2008年2月26日04:05和04:55UT的两次亚暴事件.Angelopoulos已经对发生在04:55UT的第二个亚暴事件做了分析.本文对两次亚暴的相关活动进行了详细研究,特别对第一次做了深入讨论,并着重分析了磁重联与亚暴活动的关系.在两次亚暴的初始阶段,第一次极光增亮发生在中磁尾磁重联后2～3min,但是持续时间较短,极向膨胀缓慢,与伪暴的特征相似,标志了亚暴的初突发(initial onset).两次亚暴都存在第二次极光增亮和极光的极向膨胀,且时间与近地磁尾观测的地向流和磁场偶极化同时发生,并与亚暴膨胀相的其他活动的发生同步,标志了亚暴的主突发(major onset).在两次亚暴的增长相期间,极盖区开放磁通量持续增加;在亚暴膨胀相和恢复相中,极盖区磁通量迅速减少.表明两次亚暴膨胀相的演化分别与两次尾瓣开放磁力线重联过程相联系的.从亚暴活动的参数分析,这两次亚暴都属于小亚暴范围;从重联率分析,两次磁重联都属于弱重联.本文的观测结果表明,中磁尾磁尾重联首先触发伪暴;高速流将磁通量和能量传输到近地磁尾;高速流减速最终导致亚暴电流楔(substorm current wedge,简称SCW)的形成和电流中断,产生近地偶极化和极光膨胀,引起亚暴膨胀相突发.本文的观测结果是对近地中性线模型(near earth neutral line,简称NENL)和重联-电流中断协同模型(synthesis scenario of MR and CD,简称RCS)模型及亚暴膨胀相两步突发观点的有力支持.
As an essential mechanism in large scale fast magnetic energy releases and field reconfigurations processes in space,astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas,magnetic reconnection,particularly collisionless magnetic reconnection,has been studied for more than 65 years.Many progresses have been achieved in recent years and basic features of the process have been well understood,largely due to more and more satellite observation data available in the last decade.However,a few outstanding issues are still remained unresolved.We in the paper review the development of collisionless magnetic reconnection studies and major achievements in recent years,and also briefly discuss the open questions remained to be answered in studies of collisionless magnetic reconnection.
With the Double Star Program TC1 in the equatorial orbit and Cluster tetrahedron in the high latitude polar orbit, a conjunct observation of FTEs on the dayside magnetopause (MP) on April 6, 2004 is presented in this study. The FTEs observed by TC1 at low latitudes are characterized to be generated in the subsolar region and the obtained flux tube axes orientate along the predicted low latitude component magnetic reconnection X-line, indicating that these FTEs were more likely to be generated through multiple X-line reconnection or single X-line bursty reconnec-tion. During the same period, Cluster also encountered a series of magnetosheath FTEs with their axes pointing roughly along the interplanetary magnetic field. At last, the global FTE configuration is obtained from observations in different loca-tions, which is in good agreement with the "elbow shape" model.
