The Quadratic Magnetic Gradient and Complete Geometry of Magnetic Field Lines Deduced from Multiple Spacecraft Measurements
- 1Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China (shenchao@hit.edu.cn)
- 2Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
- 3School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- 4Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, DIDCOT, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
- 5ESA/ESTEC (SCI-SC), Postbus 299, Keplerlaan, 1, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
- 6School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, China
- 7School of Mathematics and Physics, Jingchu University of Technology, Jingmen, China
- 8Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
Topological configurations of the magnetic field play key roles in the evolution of space plasmas. This paper presents a novel algorithm that can estimate the quadratic magnetic gradient as well as the complete geometrical features of magnetic field lines, based on magnetic field and current density measurements by a multiple spacecraft constellation at 4 or more points. The explicit estimators for the linear and quadratic gradients, the apparent velocity of the magnetic structure and the curvature and torsion of the magnetic field lines can be obtained with well predicted accuracies. The feasibility and accuracy of the method have been verified with thorough tests. The algorithm has been successfully applied to exhibit the geometrical structure of a flux rope. This algorithm has wide applications for uncovering a variety of magnetic configurations in space plasmas.
How to cite: Shen, C., Zhang, C., Rong, Z., Pu, Z., Dunlop, M. A., Escoubet, C., Russell, C., Zeng, G., Ren, N., Burch, J., and Zhou, Y.: The Quadratic Magnetic Gradient and Complete Geometry of Magnetic Field Lines Deduced from Multiple Spacecraft Measurements, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-530, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-530, 2021.
