Hall effects on the steady structure of the rotational layer at the dayside magnetopause

The influence of the Hall term in the generalized Ohm’s law on the large-scale plasma flow during conditions of ongoing magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause (MP) is investigated. Of special interest is the plasma flow behavior during the transition of the MP transition layer as the Hall...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 2007-10, Vol.14 (10)
Main Authors: Westerberg, Lars G., Åkerstedt, Hans O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
DISTURBANCES
EQUATIONS
Fluid Mechanics
HALL EFFECT
LAYERS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MAGNETOPAUSE
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
OHM LAW
PERTURBATION THEORY
PLASMA
REYNOLDS NUMBER
SOLUTIONS
Strömningslära
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Summary:The influence of the Hall term in the generalized Ohm’s law on the large-scale plasma flow during conditions of ongoing magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause (MP) is investigated. Of special interest is the plasma flow behavior during the transition of the MP transition layer as the Hall effect grows in proportion to the viscous-resistive effects. The governing equations are solved approximately by an ordinary perturbation expansion in orders of large Reynolds and Lundqvist numbers. It is shown that the flow pattern is strongly dependent on the magnitude of the Hall parameter; as it approaches zero, the viscous-resistive solution is obtained, while for an ordering of the same magnitude as the resistivity/viscosity, the Hall effect begins to affect the flow structure severely. For an increasing value on the Hall parameter, oscillations are brought into the system, an effect that is enhanced with the magnitude of the Hall parameter. Furthermore, it is shown that as the Hall effect begins to dominate, the transition layer thickens.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.2786071