Dipole model of the Earth's magnetic field

About: Dipole model of the Earth's magnetic field is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2756 publications have been published within this topic receiving 83021 citations.

The internal structure of coronal mass ejections: are all regular magnetic clouds flux ropes?

Abstract: In this Letter, we investigate the internal structure of a coronal mass ejection (CME) and its dynamics by invoking a realistic initiation mechanism in a quadrupolar magnetic setting. The study comprises a compressible three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulation. We use an idealized model of the solar corona, into which we superimpose a quadrupolar magnetic source region. By applying shearing motions resembling flux emergence at the solar boundary, the initial equilibrium field is energized and it eventually erupts, yielding a fast CME. The simulated CME shows the typical characteristics of a magnetic cloud (MC) as it propagates away from the Sun and interacts with a bimodal solar wind. However, no distinct flux rope structure is present in the associated interplanetary ejection. In our model, a series of reconnection events between the eruptive magnetic field and the ambient field results in the creation of significant writhe in the CME's magnetic field, yielding the observed rotation of the magnetic field vector, characteristic of an MC. We demonstrate that the magnetic field lines of the CME may suffer discontinuous changes in their mapping on the solar surface, with footpoints subject to meandering over the course of the eruption due to magnetic reconnection. We argue that CMEs with internal magnetic structure such as that described here should also be considered while attempting to explain in situ observations of regular MCs at L1 and elsewhere in the heliosphere.

A theory for the interpretation of lunar surface magnetometer data

Abstract: The solution to the problem of the motion of the Moon relative to spatial irregularities in the interplanetary magnetic field is found. The lunar electrical conductivity is modeled by a two-layer conductivity profile. For the interaction of the Moon with the corotating sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field it is found that the magnetic field in the lunar shell is the superposition of an oscillatory uniform field, an oscillatory dipole field and anoscillatory field that is toroidal about the axis of the motional electric field. With various lunar conductivity models and the theory of this paper, lunar surface magnetometer data can be quantitatively interpreted to yield information on the conductivity and consequently the temperature of the lunar core.

The Earth’s Ring Current: Causes, Generation, and Decay

Abstract: The development of currents due to arbitrary distributions of trapped particles in the geomagnetic field is described These currents form the Earth’s ring current and are responsible for world wide decreases of the surface magnetic field observed during magnetic storms It is shown that we do not yet know the relative abundances of the ions forming the ring current Because of this we do not understand how various sources mix to produce the ring current Several possible generation mechanisms are discussed Finally, the decay of the ring current is discussed and is shown to be due primarily to charge exchange with important secondary effects attributable to wave-particle interactions

Radial dipoles as the sources of the Earth's main magnetic field

Abstract: It is assumed that magnetic dipoles are useful as a first approximation to the electrical currents in the core that produce the earth's main magnetic field. For simplicity the model is restricted to a central dipole and several additional radial dipoles at equal distances from the center of the earth. A least-squares method is used to adjust the amplitude, latitude, and longitude of each dipole for a best fit to the observed field components on the earth's surface. In the first of four studies the observed field was the field of the United States 1945 world charts. Originally 11 dipoles, 10 of them at the core-mantle interface at 0.54 earth radii, were used. Progressively better fits were obtained as the dipoles were placed deeper, and two of the dipoles were eliminated at greater depths. The 29-parameter, 9-dipole model, with the radial dipoles at 0.28 earth radii, produced nearly as good a fit to the 1945 field as Vestine's 48 spherical harmonic coefficients. Models were also fitted to the United States 1955 world chart field, to the British Admiralty 1955 world chart field, and to the field synthesized from the Finch-Leaton spherical harmonic coefficients for 1955. The last model produced the best fit. In all cases the radial dipoles are surprisingly deep and the central dipole is considerably stronger than the centered dipole given by the first three spherical harmonic coefficients. The great depth of the radial dipoles is qualitatively explained by a shielding effect from currents in the mantle and core. The spherical harmonic coefficients from the analyses of Vestine and of Finch and Leaton are compared with the spherical harmonic coefficients computed from the dipole parameters.