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At least 325 records · Page 18

Fractal structure of the interplanetary magnetic field

Under some conditions, time series of the interplanetary magnetic field strength and components have the properties of fractal curves. Magnetic field measurements made near 8.5 AU by Voyager 2 from June 5 to August 24, 1981 were self-similar over time scales from approximately 20 sec to approximately 3 x 100,000 sec, and the fractal dimension of the time series of the strength and components of the magnetic field was D = 5/3, corresponding to a power spectrum P(f) approximately f sup -5/3. Since the Kolmogorov spectrum for homogeneous, isotropic, stationary turbulence is also f sup -5/3, the Voyager 2 measurements are consistent with the observation of an inertial range of turbulence extending over approximately four decades in frequency. Interaction regions probably contributed most of the power in this interval. As an example, one interaction region is discussed in which the magnetic field had a fractal dimension D = 5/3.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

Fractal structure of the interplanetary magnetic field

Under some conditions, time series of the interplanetary magnetic field strength and components have the properties of fractal curves. Magnetic field measurements made near 8.5 AU by Voyager 2 from June 5 to August 24, 1981 were self-similar over time scales from approximately 20 sec to approximately 3 x 100,000 sec, and the fractal dimension of the time series of the strength and components of the magnetic field was D = 5/3, corresponding to a power spectrum P(f) approximately f sup -5/3. Since the Kolmogorov spectrum for homogeneous, isotropic, stationary turbulence is also f sup -5/3, the Voyager 2 measurements are consistent with the observation of an inertial range of turbulence extending over approximately four decades in frequency. Interaction regions probably contributed most of the power in this interval. As an example, one interaction region is discussed in which the magnetic field had a fractal dimension D = 5/3.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

A Dynamic PCA and Machine Learning Tool for Automated Identification of Solar Wind Disturbances Impacting Earth’s Magnetosphere

Earth’s magnetosphere is continuously impacted by solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) disturbances, such as shocks, discontinuities, magnetic clouds and more. Understanding how such disturbances propagate from the Sun and what is their impact on the different magnetospheric domains is key to understanding and forecasting energy transfer from the solar wind to Earth. The large number of overlapping solar wind and magnetospheric missions carrying magnetometers and the recent advances in communications and data storage technologies have enabled an unprecedented quantity of high-fidelity magnetic field data captured by in-situ spacecraft to be available at the click of a button. However, this massive quantity of available data can prove unwieldy for researchers, limiting the identification of interesting phenomena and disturbances to a relatively small percentage of the total dataset. Several techniques have been previously developed for automated identification of specific types of magnetic anomalies, but these methods are typically mission-specific and can be difficult to generalize. We present initial results for a generic method of automated anomaly detection in magnetic field measurements based on dimensionality reduction and unsupervised clustering via machine learning. The benefit of our technique is its high degree of generalizability and flexibility which make it a most useful data survey tool for a wide range of magnetic field datasets. This method can also be applied simultaneously to other observed time-series properties like plasma density, pressure, and velocity for more accurate event identification. Additionally, the application of this method to data captured by multiple spacecraft enables the simultaneous identification of disturbances and the determination of their propagation characteristics. Initial evaluation of this technique has been performed using data from Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) and THEMIS-ARTEMIS missions, providing a testbed scenario for the future Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) platform instruments that will measure solar wind and IMF properties from lunar orbit onboard the Gateway station.

Miguel Martinez-Ledesma↗

A Dynamic PCA and Machine Learning Tool for Automated Identification of Solar Wind Disturbances Impacting Earth’s Magnetosphere

Earth’s magnetosphere is continuously impacted by solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) disturbances, such as shocks, discontinuities, magnetic clouds and more. Understanding how such disturbances propagate from the Sun and what is their impact on the different magnetospheric domains is key to understanding and forecasting energy transfer from the solar wind to Earth. The large number of overlapping solar wind and magnetospheric missions carrying magnetometers and the recent advances in communications and data storage technologies have enabled an unprecedented quantity of high-fidelity magnetic field data captured by in-situ spacecraft to be available at the click of a button. However, this massive quantity of available data can prove unwieldy for researchers, limiting the identification of interesting phenomena and disturbances to a relatively small percentage of the total dataset. Several techniques have been previously developed for automated identification of specific types of magnetic anomalies, but these methods are typically mission-specific and can be difficult to generalize. We present initial results for a generic method of automated anomaly detection in magnetic field measurements based on dimensionality reduction and unsupervised clustering via machine learning. The benefit of our technique is its high degree of generalizability and flexibility which make it a most useful data survey tool for a wide range of magnetic field datasets. This method can also be applied simultaneously to other observed time-series properties like plasma density, pressure, and velocity for more accurate event identification. Additionally, the application of this method to data captured by multiple spacecraft enables the simultaneous identification of disturbances and the determination of their propagation characteristics. Initial evaluation of this technique has been performed using data from Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) and THEMIS-ARTEMIS missions, providing a testbed scenario for the future Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) platform instruments that will measure solar wind and IMF properties from lunar orbit onboard the Gateway station.

Miguel Martinez-Ledesma↗

A comparison of vector magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center and Mees Solar Observatory

The paper compares completely independent vector magnetic field measurements from two very different polarimetric instruments. The Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) imaging vector magnetograph is based on a birefringent filter, routinely measuring all four Stokes parameters integrated over the filter bandpass (1/8 A) which is tunable across the Fe I 5250 line in 10 mA steps. The Haleakala Stokes Polarimeter of the Mees Solar Observatory (MSO) is based on a spectrometer, routinely measuring all four Stokes parameters of the Fe I 6302.5 line simultaneously and then spatially scanning to build up a vector magnetogram. Active region magnetic field data were obtained with both the MSFC and MSO systems on five days during June 1985. After interpolating the MSFC vector fields onto the more coarse spatial grid of MSO, a point-by-point comparison of the two vector fields is made for data obtained on two of these days (June 8 and 9). From this comparison it is concluded that the spatially-averaged line-of-sight components agree quite well, and that although the MSO spatial grid is coarser, the quality of the MSO image is better than that of the MSFC data because of better seeing conditions.

Ronan, R. S.↗

Intense ionospheric electric and magnetic field pulses generated by lightning

Electric and magnetic field measurements have been made in the ionosphere over an active thunderstorm and an optical detector onboard the same rocket yielded an excellent time base for the study of waves radiated into space from the discharge. In addition to detection of intense, but generally well understood whistler mode waves, very unusual electric and magnetic field pulses preceded the 1-10 kHz component of the radiated signal. These pulses lasted several ms and had a significant electric field component parallel to the magnetic field. No known propagating wave mode has this polarization nor a signal propagation velocity as high as those measured here. This study investigated and rejected an explanation based on an anomalous skin depth effect. Although only a hypothesis at this time, a more promising explanation involving the generation of the pulse via a nonlinear decay of whistler mode waves in the frequency range 10-80 kHz is being investigated.

Kelley, M. C.↗

Hall2De Simulations of a Magnetic Nozzle

The two-dimensional, fluid-based Hall thruster code Hall2De is adapted to simulate a low temperature propulsive magnetic nozzle. Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) thrusters developed at the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) in France and the University of Michigan are investigated. For each device, the simulated domain is defined from the nozzle throat to a location 10 thruster radii downstream. A numerical mesh is defined based on the measured magnetic field, and the governing fluid equations for singlycharge ions, electrons, and neutrals are solved. The boundary conditions for the throat of the magnetic nozzle are based on measured values of electron temperature and ion velocity. Multiple boundary conditions for the electron temperature in the downstream regions of the domain are considered. The simulated ion velocity and potential agrees well with experiment, while the simulated divergence efficiencies and thrusts are 25% lower and 45-55% higher than experiment. When a Neumann boundary condition for electron temperature is applied to the far-plume boundaries, the nozzle was seen to be purely isothermal. This suggests that the thermal conductivity along field lines in real devices is much lower than classical simulations predict, and anomalous resistivity may be needed to reproduce the temperature distribution observed in experiment. The larger beam divergence observed in our simulation may also be related to the lack of anomalous resistivity.

Jorns, Benjamin A.↗

Dynamics of solar filaments. VI - Center-to-limb study of H-alpha and C IV velocities in a quiescent filament

The rotation of a stable quiescent filament from near disk center to the limb has been observed. Observations of intensity and velocity were made in H-alpha and C IV, and compared with magnetic field measurements. From the H-alpha observations, it is concluded that the filament is made up of many small scale magnetic features that are not coherently aligned along the neutral line. They are especially convoluted at the apparent 'footpoints'. The measured velocities are of the order of a few kilometers per second in both lines. However, the comparison of the standard deviations of the C IV velocities in and out of the filament as it rotates toward the limb shows that the vertical velocities in the filament are greater than the horizontal velocities. Measurements of velocity do not make it possible to distinguish between the Raadu-Kuperus (1973) or Kippenhahn-Schluter (1957) models for prominences because neither theory is adequately developed for this comparison. However, the observation of the many fine loops brings into question the correctness of either model.

Simon, G.↗

The Martian magnetic field

The paper presents an overview of the Martian magnetic field measurements and the criticisms made of them. The measurements of the Mars 2, 3, and 5 spacecraft were interpreted by Dolginov et al. (1976, 1978) to be consistent with an intrinsic planetary magnetic moment of 2.5 times 10 to the 22nd power gauss cu cm, basing this result on the apparent size of the obstacle responsible for deflecting the solar wind and an apparent encounter of the spacecraft with the planetary field. It is shown that if the dependence of the Martian magnetic moment on the rotation rate was linear, the estimate of the moment would be far larger than reported by Dolginov et al. An upper limit of 250 km is calculated for the dynamo radius using the similarity law, compared with 500 km obtained by Dolginov et al. It is concluded that the possible strength of a Martian dynamo is below expectations, and it is likely that the Mars dynamo is not presently operative.

Russell, C. T.↗

Field-aligned currents observed in the vicinity of a moving auroral arc

The sounding rocket Porcupine F4 was launched into an auroral arc and the field aligned currents were independently deduced from magnetic field measurements; the horizontal current deduced from the electric field measurements and height integrated conductivity calculations; and measurements of electron fluxes. Above the arc the different methods agree. The magnetosphere acts as generator and the ionosphere as load. North of the arc, the first two methods disagree, possibly due to an Alfven wave carrying the observed magnetic field perturbation. The energy flow is out of the ionosphere. Here the ionosphere acts as generator and the magnetosphere as load.

Goertz, C. K.↗

Triaxial Probe Magnetic Data Analysis

The Triaxial Magnetic Moment Analysis software uses measured magnetic field test data to compute dipole and quadrupole moment information from a hardware element. It is used to support JPL projects needing magnetic control and an understanding of the spacecraft-generated magnetic fields. Evaluation of the magnetic moment of an object consists of three steps: acquisition, conditioning, and analysis. This version of existing software was extensively rewritten for easier data acquisition, data analysis, and report presentation, including immediate feedback to the test operator during data acquisition. While prior JPL computer codes provided the same data content, this program has a better graphic display including original data overlaid with reconstructed results to show goodness of fit accuracy and better appearance of the report graphic page. Data are acquired using three magnetometers and two rotations of the device under test. A clean acquisition user interface presents required numeric data and graphic summaries, and the analysis module yields the best fit (least squares) for the magnetic dipole and/or quadrupole moment of a device. The acquisition module allows the user to record multiple data sets, selecting the best data to analyze, and is repeated three times for each of the z-axial and y-axial rotations. In this update, the y-axial rotation starting position has been changed to an option, allowing either the x- or z-axis to point towards the magnetometer. The code has been rewritten to use three simultaneous axes of magnetic data (three probes), now using two "rotations" of the device under test rather than the previous three rotations, thus reducing handling activities on the device under test. The present version of the software gathers data in one-degree increments, which permits much better accuracy of the fit ted data than the coarser data acquisition of the prior software. The data-conditioning module provides a clean data set for the analysis module. For multiple measurements at a given degree, the first measurement is used. For omitted measurements, the missing field is estimated by linear interpolation between the two nearest measurements. The analysis module was rewritten for the dual rotation, triaxial probe measurement process and now has better moment estimation accuracy, based on the finer one degree of data acquisition resolution. The magnetic moments thus computed are used as an input to summarize the total spacecraft field.

Shultz, Kimberly↗

Coronal mass ejections in the solar wind at high solar latitudes: An overview

Ulysses provided the first direct measurements of coronal mass ejections (CME's) in the solar wind at high heliographic latitudes. An overview of new results from the plasma experiment on Ulysses and magnetic field measurements, during the spacecraft's first excursion to high solar latitudes are summarized. A striking aspect of the high-latitude CME's observed is that they all had high speeds, with the overall average speed being 730 km/sec. A new class of forward-reverse shock pairs, associated with expansion of CME's was discovered at high latitudes. Of six certain CME's observed at high latitudes, three have associated shock pairs of this nature. Combined Ulysses and Yohkoh observations suggest that the flux rope topology characteristic of some CME's results from reconnection within the legs of neighboring magnetic loops embedded within the escaping CME's.

Gosling, Jack T.↗

LEMUR: Large European Module for Solar Ultraviolet Research

The solar outer atmosphere is an extremely dynamic environment characterized by the continuous interplay between the plasma and the magnetic field that generates and permeates it. Such interactions play a fundamental role in hugely diverse astrophysical systems, but occur at scales that cannot be studied outside the solar system. Understanding this complex system requires concerted, simultaneous solar observations from the visible to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and soft X-rays, at high spatial resolution (between 0.1′′ and 0.3′′), at high temporal resolution (on the order of 10 s, i.e., the time scale of chromospheric dynamics), with a wide temperature coverage (0.01 MK to 20 MK, from the chromosphere to the flaring corona), and the capability of measuring magnetic fields through spectropolarimetry at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Simultaneous spectroscopic measurements sampling the entire temperature range are particularly important. These requirements are fulfilled by the Japanese Solar-C mission (Plan B), composed of a spacecraft in a geosynchronous orbit with a payload providing a significant improvement of imaging and spectropolarimetric capabilities in the UV, visible, and near-infrared with respect to what is available today and foreseen in the near future. The Large European Module for solar Ultraviolet Research (LEMUR), described in this paper, is a large VUV telescope feeding a scientific payload of high-resolution imaging spectrographs and cameras. LEMUR consists of two major components: a VUV solar telescope with a 30 cm diameter mirror and a focal length of 3.6 m, and a focal-plane package composed of VUV spectrometers covering six carefully chosen wavelength ranges between 170 Angstrom and 1270 Angstrom. The LEMUR slit covers 280′′ on the Sun with 0.14′′ per pixel sampling. In addition, LEMUR is capable of measuring mass flows velocities (line shifts) down to 2 km s − 1 or better. LEMUR has been proposed to ESA as the European contribution to the Solar C mission.

Magnetic↗

On the inclination of photospheric solar magnetic fields

We analyze the Kitt Peak magnetograms and find that the distribution function of magnetic field strengths is given by a power law, with an index that depends on the mean absolute magnetic flux. We also find that weak (measured) magnetic fields - but not strong ones - are significantly inclined to the vertical. We argue that this inclination is produced by convective motions at the top of the convection zone.

Murray, Norman↗

The nature of the interior of Uranus based on studies of planetary ices at high dynamic pressure

Data from the Voyager II spacecraft showed that Uranus has a large magnetic field with geometry similar to an offset tilted dipole. To interpret the origin of the magnetic field, measurements were made of electrical conductivity and equation-of-state data of the planetary 'ices' ammonia, methane, and 'synthetic Uranus' at shock pressures and temperatures up to 75 gigapascals and 5000 K. These pressures and temperatures correspond to conditions at the depths at which the surface magnetic field is generated. Above 40 gigapascals the conductivities of synthetic Uranus, water, and ammonia plateau at about 20/(ohm-cm), providing an upper limit for the electrical conductivity used in kinematic or dynamo calculations. The nature of materials at the extreme conditions in the interior is discussed.

Nellis, W. J.↗

Ion Outflow and Convection in the Polar Cap and Cleft as Measured by Tide, EFI, MFE and Timas

This study examines high-latitude ion outflows and velocities perpendicular to the magnetic field derived from moments of ion distributions measured by the TIDE (Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment) instrument on the Polar satellite. Hydrogen and oxygen ions are shown to be E X B drifting in the polar cap and cleft regions with a speed of about 5-20 km/s at apogee (approximately 9 Re) and a speed of 1-2 km/s at perigee (approximately 1. 8 Re). E X B drifts are calculated from electric fields measured by EFI (Electric Field Instrument) and magnetic fields measured by MFE (Magnetic Field Experiment) both of which are also on Polar. How convection at Polar's perigee relates to potential patterns of the ionosphere will be discussed. In the cusp/cleft the distribution of hydrogen extends over a large enough range of energy to be measured by both TIDE and the Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (TIMAS). Such comparisons will be also be presented.

Elliott, H. A.↗

Lunar nearside magnetic anomalies

Contour maps of the vector components of the lunar crustal magnetic field measured with the Apollo 16 subsatellite magnetometer at low altitudes across the central near side are presented. A solution was obtained for a minimum mean magnetization level of about 700 times the stable magnetization component of the most magnetic returned lunar crustal samples. Attention is given to the Reiner Gamma anomaly that is found to represent macroscopic evidence for a surficial darkening process that is dominantly solar wind-dependent.

Hood, L. L.↗