Abstract
The magnetosphere formed in the interaction between the magnetized solar wind and the earth's magnetic field has a magnetopause that separates interplanetary and terrestrial plasmas. The self-closed magnetopause is covered by the solar wind streamlines that are closest to the earth. Solar wind streamlines are delineated by intersection curves of electric and magnetic equipotential surfaces. The front part of the magnetopause is an electric equipotential surface that interfaces between oppositely directed interplanetary and closed field lines. The fear part is a magnetic equipotential surface that has open field lines passing through. Thus the magnetopause current is intense on the former closedness part of the magnetopause, which is a tangential discontinuity, and insignificant on the latter openness part, which is a rotational discontinuity. The part of closedness magnetopause has a pair of T -type magnetic neutral points on the exterior/interior face of the current sheet. The part of openness magnetopause has an X-type magnetic neutral line, in the studied case of southward interplanetary field. The neutral line is manifested by its cross point in the noon-midnight plane in our two-dimensional elucidation. In the noon-midnight plane, which is an electric equipotential surface, solar wind streamlines are delineated by traces of magnetic equipotential surfaces.
Highlights
Formation as well as sustainment of the earth's magnetosphere in the continual interac tion between the magnetized solar wind and the earth's magnetic field is a complicated mag netohydrodynamic process
The magnetopause, interfacing between the interplan etary and terrestrial plasmas, is covered by the solar wind streamlines that come in contact with the terrestrial plasma
[ B(int) = Mo lr(--1 + J__) cos0 + le(--1 - J__) sin0]. It follows from B xt)=-(l+B1R2/M0)B0 and B nt)=-(l+M0/B1R2)B1 that the magnetopause current ir=l,XlxμO-l(2B1+2MJR2)sin0 is equivalent to a dipole of northward moment M0+B1R2 at the origin as far as the exterior magnetic field is concerned and is equivalent to a current at infinity that sustains a northward constant field of strength B1+MJR2 as far as the interior magnetic field is concerned
Summary
Formation as well as sustainment of the earth's magnetosphere in the continual interac tion between the magnetized solar wind and the earth's magnetic field is a complicated mag netohydrodynamic process It involves the diversion of the solar wind flow by the earth's magnetic field and the reconnection of the interplanetary field lines with the terres-. The result is a finite-volume cavity that excludes the solar wind from getting closer to the magnetized earth. This magnetospheric cavity is filled with terrestrial plasma. On the quasi-steady and quasi-global scales the earth's magnetosphere is neither completely closed nor fully open. The necessitated off-plane diversion is accounted for by sink and source of mass and flux flows in the two-dimensional context
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