Orientation and motion of two-dimensional structures in a space plasma

We present a new least squares technique for the determination of axis orientation, motion, and intrinsic axial electric field for two‐dimensional coherent structures in a space plasma. This single‐spacecraft method is based on Faraday's law, which, under the model assumptions, requires the int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research. A. Space Physics 2005-06, Vol.110 (A6), p.A06208.1-n/a
Main Authors: Sonnerup, B. U. Ö., Hasegawa, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
axis determination
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
flux ropes
motion and orientation of flux ropes
two-dimensional electromagnetic plasma structures
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Summary:We present a new least squares technique for the determination of axis orientation, motion, and intrinsic axial electric field for two‐dimensional coherent structures in a space plasma. This single‐spacecraft method is based on Faraday's law, which, under the model assumptions, requires the intrinsic axial electric field to be constant in space and time. The technique is applied to two flux transfer events seen by the four Cluster spacecraft, although data from only one of them (Cluster 1) is used in the analysis. For these events, excellent agreement is found with the orientations obtained from optimal Grad‐Shafranov reconstruction (Hasegawa et al., 2005), a method that uses data from all four Cluster spacecraft. However, the new method can also fail to produce such agreement. It must therefore be used with caution.
ISSN:0148-0227
2156-2202
DOI:10.1029/2004JA010853