Abstract
Using magnetic data from the HELIOS-1 fluxgate magnetometer, with a 0.2 s resolution, we have investigated the structure of several interplanetary discontinuities involving magnetic dips and rotations of the magnetic field vector. A minimum variance analysis illustrates the behaviour of the magnetic field through the transition. Using this analysis, quite different structures have been isolated and, in particular, narrow transitions resembling almost one dimensional reconnected neutral sheets. For the thinner cases (scale lengths of the magnetic rotation of the order or smaller than 103 km), we find that the observed structures can be the nonlinear effect of a resistive tearing mode instability having developed on an originally one dimensional neutral sheet at the solar corona.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bavassano, B., Dobrowolny, M., and Mariani F.: 1976, J. Geophys. Res. 81, 1.
Biskamp, D. and Schindler, K,: 1971, Plasma Phys. 13, 1013.
Biskamp, D., Sagdeev, R. Z., and Schindler, K.: 1970, Cosmic Electrodynamics 1, 297.
Burlaga, L. F.: 1971a, Space Sci. Rev. 12, 600.
Burlaga, L. F.: 1971b, J. Geophys. Res. 76, 4360.
Burlaga, L. F. and Ness, N. F.: 1969, Solar Phys. 9, 467.
Burlaga, L. F. and Scudder, J. O.: 1974, Astrophys. J. 191, L149.
Burlaga, L. F., Lemaire, J. F., and Turner, J. M.: 1976, GSFC Report X-692-76-168.
Cross, M. A. and Van Hoven, G.: 1971, Phys. Rev. A4, 2347.
Dobrowolny, M.: 1968, Nuovo Cimento 55b, 427.
Dungey, J. W.: 1958, Cosmic Electrodynamics, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, p. 90.
Furth, H. P., Killeen, J., and Rosenbluth, M. N.: 1963, Phys. Fluids 6, 459.
Galeev, A. A. and Zeleny, L. M.: 1976, Soviet Phys. JETP 42, 450.
Lemaire, J. and Burlaga, L. F.: 1976, Astrophys. Space Sci. 45, 303.
Mariani, F., Bavassano, B., Villante, U., and Ness, N. F.: 1973, J. Geophys. Res. 78, 8011.
Mariani, F., Burlaga, L. F., Ness, N. F., Bavassano, B., Villante, U.: 1978, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 5161.
Martin, R. N., Belcher, J. W., and Lazarus, A. J.: 1973, J. Geophys. Res. 78, 3653.
Montgomery, M. D.: 1972, in Solar Wind, NASA SP-308, p. 208.
Parker, E. N.: 1963, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 77, 177.
Pneumann, G. W.: 1972, Solar Phys. 23, 223.
Rosenbauer, H., Schwenn, R., Marsch, E., Meyer, B., Miggenrieder, H., Montgomery, M. D., Mülhaüser, K. H., Pilipp, W., Voges, W., and Zink, S. M.: 1977, J. Geophys. 42, 561.
Scearce, C., Cantarano, S., Ness, N., Mariani, F., Terenzi, R., and Burlaga, L.: 1975, GSFC Report X-692-75-112.
Schindler, K. M. and Soop, M.: 1968, Phys. Fluids 11, 1192.
Siscoe, G. L., Davis, L., Jr., Coleman, P. J., Jr., Smith, E. J., and Jones, D. E.: 1968, J. Geophys. Res. 73, 61.
Sonnerupp, B. V. and Cahill, L. J.: 1967, J. Geophys. Res. 72, 171.
Sweet, P. A.: 1958, Nuovo Cimenta, Suppl. 8, Ser. X, p. 188.
Tsurutani, B. T. and Smith, E. J.: 1971, EOS Trans. AGU 56, 1055.
Turner, J. M., Burlaga, L. F., Ness, N. F., and Lemaire, J. F.: 1976, GSFC Report X-692-76-90.
Van Hoven, G. and Cross, M. A.: 1973, Phys. Rev. A4, 1347.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dobrowolny, M., Bavassano, B., Mariani, F. et al. Magnetic dips in the solar wind. Sol Phys 62, 203–220 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00150144
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00150144