SPRG Seminars
September 14, 2010:
" Properties of small-scale flux ropes and magnetic reconnection exhausts in the solar wind "
Megan
Cartwright, Space Sciences Laboratory
Small-scale flux ropes are similar to magnetic clouds and can be modeled as a constant-alpha force-free, cylindrically symmetric flux rope. They differ from magnetic clouds in that they have durations on the order of tens of minutes up to a few hours, they lack an expansion signature at 1 AU, and they do not have a depressed proton temperature compared to the surrounding solar wind plasma. Here we will discuss the results of a comprehensive small-scale flux rope survey between 0.3 and 5.5 AU using the / Helios 1 and 2, IMP8, WIND, ACE / and / Ulysses / spacecraft to examine their occurrence rate, properties and evolution. Recent observations indicate that magnetic reconnection can occur at the boundaries of small-scale flux ropes. We will discuss results from a multi-spacecraft survey of reconnection exhausts in the solar wind.