Identifying the origins of magnetic field reversals: in-situ measurements from Solar Orbiter and connection to remote-sensing observations from SDO
- 1University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Space and Climate Physics, United Kingdom of Great Britain – England, Scotland, Wales (j.coburn@ucl.ac.uk)
- 2Space Science Institute, 4765 Walnut St, Suite B, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
- 3Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
- 4Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, E-20018 San Sebastián, Spain
- 5Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- 6The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- 7Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- 8INAF – Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
- 9Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London
Magnetic field reversals, where the radial component of the heliospheric magnetic field changes direction, are frequently observed in the near-Sun region. Theory and numerical simulations regarding these reversals suggest that possible generation mechanisms include interchange reconnection in the solar corona, or solar wind expansion and turbulence. Magnetic field reversals thus provide information about both the solar corona and solar wind acceleration and propagation. Previous observations, including magnetic field structure, He2+- abundance, and the so-called patchy-ness are not conclusive in revealing their origin. In this presentation we discuss in situ observations of protons, electrons, He2+, and heavy ions from Solar Orbiter's Solar Wind Analyser instrument , together with the magnetic field from the MAG instrument, during a long-duration magnetic field reversal. We identify the origin of the reversal using the in situ heavy ion data, magnetic connectivity tools, and plasma emission measurements from the Solar Dynamic Observatory. In addition, we study kinetic properties of the electrons, protons and heavy ions, in order to provide readily employable observational tests to help discern the origin of the magnetic field reversals.
How to cite: Coburn, J., Yardley, S., Dewey, R., Ngampoopun, N., Suen, G., Verscharen, D., Owen, C., Trotta, D., Nicolaou, G., Rivera, Y., Livi, S., Lepri, S., Raines, J., De Marco, R., and Ioannou, C.: Identifying the origins of magnetic field reversals: in-situ measurements from Solar Orbiter and connection to remote-sensing observations from SDO, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-11967, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-11967, 2024.
