Published in

American Geophysical Union, Journal of Geophysical Research, A7(114), p. n/a-n/a, 2009

DOI: 10.1029/2008ja013990

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Asymmetric shear flow effects on magnetic field configuration within oppositely directed solar wind reconnection exhausts: SHEAR FLOW EFFECTS ON SOLAR WIND EXHAUST

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Published version: archiving restricted
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

We present observations of the nearly oppositely directed solar wind reconnection jets from the same reconnection X line that swept by the Wind and STEREO-A spacecraft on 11 March 2007. The event was characterized by an external plasma density asymmetry and a jet-aligned shear flow across the exhausts. A well-defined pair of asymmetric current sheets bounded both outflow regions. The observed current sheet asymmetries and differences in the magnitude of the antiparallel magnetic field components within the two exhausts were consistent with the sense of the shear flow and the predictions from two-dimensional MHD simulations of reconnection outflows for the Earth's asymmetric flank magnetopause.