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Effects of the interplanetary magnetic field on the twisting of the magnetotail: Global MHD results
Author(s) -
Wang J. Y.,
Wang C.,
Huang Z. H.,
Sun T. R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2013ja019257
Subject(s) - interplanetary magnetic field , magnetohydrodynamics , magnetopause , physics , magnetohydrodynamic drive , magnetic field , interplanetary spaceflight , geophysics , current sheet , heliospheric current sheet , orientation (vector space) , pitch angle , computational physics , solar wind , mechanics , geometry , quantum mechanics , mathematics
We used the global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation to investigate effects of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on the twisting of the magnetotail. It is shown that the cross section of the magnetotail is elongated along a certain direction close to the IMF orientation. The elongated direction twists with the IMF orientation, magnitude, and the distance away from Earth, and the quantitative relationship has been given. In addition, the current sheet has a similar twisting behavior as the magnetotail magnetopause, with a smaller twisting angle. Our simulated results fall within the range that people have deduced from observations.