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Possible evidence of flux transfer events in the polar ionosphere
Author(s) -
Lanzerotti L. J.,
Lee L. C.,
Maclennan C. G.,
Wolfe A.,
Medford L. V.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl013i011p01089
Subject(s) - magnetopause , interplanetary magnetic field , physics , ionosphere , geophysics , flux (metallurgy) , polar , solar wind , magnetic field , magnetosphere , magnetic flux , interplanetary spaceflight , computational physics , astronomy , materials science , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
We present magnetic field data from the cusp‐latitude South Pole station that exhibit, under appropriate local time and interplanetary magnetic field conditions, the signature expected in the ionosphere from a flux transfer event (FTE) at the magnetopause. In particular, the model of multiple X‐line reconnection at the magnetopause predicts field‐aligned currents in helical flux tubes, with transverse magnetic fields propagating as Alfvén waves toward the ionosphere. The distinctive magnetic signature at a polar cap magnetic station, particularly in the vertical component, can be used to infer the signs of the B y and B z components of the interplanetary magnetic field.