Switchbacks: solar jets could hold the key to understanding complete reversals of magnetic fields
Simulation domains and magnetic topology. Top left: 3D volume of the domain of the simulation containing the root block of the grid. Bottom left: 2D cross section at constant angle ϕ = 0° of the velocity collar at t = 5500 s. This snapshot highlights the spatial distribution of velocity. Grid block boundaries are indicated by gray lines. Each block contains 8 × 8 × 8 cells. Right: Early magnetic topology structure. The isosurface of the plasma β = 20 (red spheroid) shows the location of the 3D magnetic null point. Distinctly connected magnetic field lines bounding the separatrix surface are depicted as either closed (white field lines) or open to the heliosphere (blue field lines). Credit: Astronomy and Astrophysics (2024). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202452019
NASA’s Parker Solar Reconnaissance Mission has detected magnetostrictions in the solar wind known as switchbacks. Research was carried out by a network of collaborators to better understand these phenomena whose origins are still uncertain. The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, revealed that solar jets can cause similar disturbances without causing a complete reversal of the magnetic field.
NASA’s Parker Solar Reconnaissance Mission revealed the existence of switchbacks, sudden and rapid reversals in the solar wind’s magnetic field. These strange phenomena, rarely observed near Earth, fascinate the scientific community due to their mysterious origins. A leading theory suggests that switchbacks originate from solar jets that are ubiquitous in the Sun’s lower atmosphere.
To investigate their origins, a team of researchers from LPP, LPC2E, FSLAC, the University of Dundee and the University of Durham conducted 3D numerical simulations that reproduced the behavior of plasma in the Sun’s atmosphere. These simulations modeled the solar jet and studied its propagation in the solar wind.
The researchers recreated the observed diversity of the solar atmosphere by adjusting parameters such as pressure, temperature, and magnetic field strength. They then analyzed the simulation data in a manner similar to instruments aboard the Parker Solar Probe and identified distortions in the magnetic field reminiscent of switchbacks.
Their findings revealed that solar jets can induce magnetostriction similar to switchbacks, although a complete magnetic field reversal was not observed. This suggests that additional solar atmospheric phenomena interacting with the solar jet could be responsible for the switchback, which involves a complete reversal of the magnetic field. These results encourage further research to elucidate these complex mechanisms.
Further information: J. Touresse et al., Untwisting solar jet propagation from low-beta coronas to super-Alfvéni winds: testing the switchback solar origin scenario, Astronomy and Astrophysics (2024). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202452019
Provided by Sorbonne University
Citation: Switchbacks: Solar jets may hold the key to understanding complete magnetic field reversals (December 6, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-12-switchbacks-solar- Retrieved from jets-key-magnetic on December 7, 2024.html
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