Magnetic Field Reversal Research Articles

Fifty years of studying the GCR intensity during inversion of heliospheric magnetic fields I. Observations

The effects of the 22-year variation of solar magnetic fields in the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensity were first observed and interpreted as manifestations of inversion of the high-latitude solar magnetic field in properties of heliospheric magnetic fields by the Lebedev Physical Institute team in 1973. Since then, these effects have been studied already for 50 years.
 The situation with the heliospheric magnetic field is clear for periods of medium and low sunspot activity — the heliosphere consists of two unipolar “hemispheres” separated by a wavy global heliospheric current sheet and characterized by a general polarity A (unit quantity with the sign of the radial component of the heliospheric magnetic field in the northern hemisphere). Yet there is no consensus on what the inversion of the heliospheric magnetic field is and which effects in the GCR intensity are connected with this phenomenon.
 In this article, we briefly formulate general concepts of the 22-year variation in characteristics of the Sun, heliosphere, and GCR intensity and discuss the observed effects in the GCR intensity, which we attribute to the heliospheric magnetic field reversal. Models for this phenomenon and the results of GCR intensity calculations with these models will be discussed in the next article.

High-sensitivity and directional-identification fiber magnetic field sensor via polarimetric fiber ring laser with a fiber Faraday rotator

A highly sensitive fiber magnetic field sensor with directional identification utilizing multi-longitudinal-mode fiber ring laser (FRL) based on polarization-mode beat frequency (PMBF) is experimentally demonstrated. A bismuth-doped iron garnet (BIG), as a kind of fiber Faraday rotator, is embedded in the FRL and serves as a fiber magnetic field probe, whose birefringence shows strong dependence on the external magnetic field due to magneto-optical Faraday effect, leading to the frequency drift of PMBF. Thus, the external magnetic field can be characterized by monitoring the change in a certain PMBF. Additionally, the drift direction of the tracked PMBF is closely related to the applied magnetic field direction, which is attributed to the non-reciprocity of Faraday magneto-optical rotation. Therefore, it shows the good ability to distinguish the applied forward (positive) and reverse (negative) magnetic field. The experimental results reveal that the tracked PMBF signal near 100 MHz has opposite frequency drift signs in the forward (positive) range of 0–20 mT and reverse (negative) range of 0 - −20 mT, which can be used to identify the axial orientation of the applied magnetic field. Additionally, it shows the maximum magnetic field sensitivities of −100.76 and −105.73 kHz/mT in the positive and negative magnetic field ranges, respectively. The designed device makes full use of the advantages of the fiber laser that rapidly demodulates the magnetic field with the help of high-speed digital processing technology, as well as fast response, high integration and low cost of fiber Faraday rotator, offering potentials in high-sensitivity magnetic field measurement in a confined space.

Пятьдесят лет исследования поведения интенсивности ГКЛ в периоды инверсии гелиосферного магнитного поля. I. Наблюдаемые эффекты

The effects of the 22-year variation of solar magnetic fields in the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensity were first observed and interpreted as manifestations of inversion of the high-latitude solar magnetic field in properties of heliospheric magnetic fields by the Lebedev Physical Institute team in 1973. Since then, these effects have been studied already for 50 years.
 The situation with the heliospheric magnetic field is clear for periods of medium and low sunspot activity — the heliosphere consists of two unipolar “hemispheres” separated by a wavy global heliospheric current sheet and characterized by a general polarity A (unit quantity with the sign of the radial component of the heliospheric magnetic field in the northern hemisphere). Yet there is no consensus on what the inversion of the heliospheric magnetic field is and which effects in the GCR intensity are connected with this phenomenon.
 In this article, we briefly formulate general concepts of the 22-year variation in characteristics of the Sun, heliosphere, and GCR intensity and discuss the observed effects in the GCR intensity, which we attribute to the heliospheric magnetic field reversal. Models for this phenomenon and the results of GCR intensity calculations with these models will be discussed in the next article.

Design and analysis of high-resolution CMOS digitally controlled oscillator with tunable transformer

A tunable transformer based millimeter-wave digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) is proposed to achieve high frequency resolution with compact area in this paper. An 8-shaped inductor is employed as primary coil of the transformer to generate the opposite magnetic field and achieve a weak coupling to the secondary coil, which is beneficial to enhance the scaling effect of the capacitor to achieve a smaller equivalent capacitance. The equivalent model of the transformer structure is analyzed theoretically. Distributed capacitors are placed under the secondary coil, which can be flexibly adjusted to achieve high frequency resolution. A digitally controlled artificial dielectric (DiCAD) differential transmission line is implemented to achieve coarse and medium frequency tuning. The DCO is implemented in 40-nm CMOS process with a core area of 0.026 mm2. Simulated results demonstrate a minimum frequency tuning step of 381 KHz with a frequency tuning range of 12.3% from 58.60 to 66.28 GHz, and the phase noise at 1-MHz offset is from −91.3 to −94.0 dBc/Hz, corresponding to an FoM range of −179.5 to −182.2 dB, while the power consumption is 8.8 mW.

Switchbacks and Associated Magnetic Holes Observed near the Alfvén Critical Surface

During recent solar encounters, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) began its initial dips below the Alfvén critical surface to measure in situ the sub-Alfvénic coronal wind. While the near-Sun super-Alfvénic solar wind is shown to be dominated by impulsive magnetic switchbacks (short magnetic field reversals), these brief encounters with the sub-Alfvénic coronal wind show switchbacks and associated magnetic holes (MHs) to still be present but different in character. In this work, we compare and contrast specific features of the switchbacks, including the change in B r and V r and associated boundary B-field dropouts (MHs) at locations when PSP was both above and below the Alfvén critical surface. We use observations from the PSP perihelion Encounters 8 (E8) and 12 (E12) in the analysis. We first perform a superposed epoch analysis to identify common features in the switchback boundaries, including the formation of the associated ∣B∣ dropouts/MHs in slow and fast flows. We then examine the presence of B-field dropouts/MHs as a function of Alfvén Mach number, M A. From E12, we find that the switchbacks have a systematic reduction in rotation (and reduction in B r deflection) with decreasing M A. Further, the ∣B∣ dropouts/MHs associated with the boundaries were also found to decrease in strength and occurrence with M A (with no or few ∣B∣ dropouts at M A < 0.7). The results suggest that the switchback rotation and boundary-associated MHs are connected, possibly consistent with diamagnetic effects at the boundary that require large rotations to be initiated.

Paul Harry Roberts. 13 September 1929—17 November 2022

Paul Roberts was a physicist and applied mathematician. He made important and often pioneering contributions in diverse research areas, but mainly with a fluid dynamic theme, which include rotating fluids, geophysical and astrophysical flows and superfluids. The cornerstone was magnetohydrodynamics with particular application to the geodynamo. His most notable achievement was the first three-dimensional self-consistent numerical geodynamo model, which built on the equations he had derived previously governing the Earth's core dynamics. His considerations included the role of thermal and compositional convection, and the inner core boundary layer (a mixed phase region). In addition to his remarkable illustration of magnetic field reversals, he applied his model to core–mantle coupling and variations in the length of the day. Paul investigated superfluid liquid helium on two fronts. He had a lifelong interest in Bose–Einstein condensates on the microscale governed by the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. His early work on the robust derivation of the mean-field Hall–Vinen–Bekharevic–Khalatnikov equations was far ahead of its time. Their importance and relevance was not appreciated until much later.

Theory of Magnetic Switchbacks Fully Supported by Parker Solar Probe Observations

Magnetic switchbacks are rapid high-amplitude reversals of the radial magnetic field in the solar wind that do not involve a heliospheric current sheet crossing. First seen sporadically in the 1970s in Mariner and Helios data, switchbacks were later observed by the Ulysses spacecraft beyond 1 au and have been recently discovered to be a typical component of solar wind fluctuations in the inner heliosphere by the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft. While switchbacks are now well understood to be spherically polarized Alfvén waves thanks to Parker Solar Probe observations, their formation has been an intriguing and unsolved puzzle. Here we provide a simple yet predictive theory for the formation of these magnetic reversals: the switchbacks are produced by the distortion and twisting of circularly polarized Alfvén waves by a transversely varying radial wave propagation velocity. We provide an analytic expression for the magnetic field variation, establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for the formation of switchbacks, and show that the proposed mechanism works in a realistic solar wind scenario. We also show that the theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with observations, and the high-amplitude radial oscillations are strongly correlated with the shear of the wave propagation speed. The correlation coefficient is around 0.3–0.5 for both encounter 1 and encounter 12. The probability of this being a lucky coincidence is essentially zero with p-values below 0.1%.

Gain-assisted magnetoplasmonic switching in metal–dielectric–metal plasmonic waveguides

Optical switches in metal–dielectric–metal (MIM) structures attracted much interest for chip-scale plasmonic modulator merging nanoelectronics and ultrafast photonics. The absorption switches employed gain modulations; thus, their switching speed is limited to the sub-gigahertz range because of the spontaneous lifetime of the transition. In this paper, we theoretically predicted that the function of the absorption switches is achieved employing magnetic field reversal and constant gain instead of gain modulations. We investigated analytically and numerically transmission in the presence of both gain and gyration and revealed that the transmission shift by the external magnetic field is maximized at a resonance value of gain. The switching speed can reach the THz range thanks to the large optical bandwidth in the MIM stub structures and the advanced magnetization switching technology. The MIM structure with combined gain and magnetoplasmonic properties enhances interaction between light and magnetic field on nanoscale and enables the device footprint down to the deep subwavelength scale λ2/50.

A Novel Method for Reducing the Lift-Off Effect in Coercivity Measurement through Auxiliary Inductance Data

Coercivity is the strength of the reverse magnetic field required to demagnetize a material after saturation, and it is an indication of the hardness of magnetic materials. Air gaps cause errors in coercivity measurement referred to as the lift-off effect. This paper proposes a new method to address this issue by incorporating additional inductance measurements and formulating a calibration method. The calibration principle is based on the fact that both the coercivity and the inductance measurements change with the variation of air gaps. This paper starts by finding how coercivity changes with air gaps between the sensor and the sample, then derives the coefficients for the coercivity–inductance relationship for different samples. A correction method is then proposed to predict the base coercivity (i.e., the coercivity when the air gap = 0) using the inductance and coercivity measurement results at an unknown lift-off. The measurement system was implemented, and experimental results suggest the error caused by air gaps can be reduced from 40% to less than 10%.

Energetic particle dynamics in a simplified model of a solar wind magnetic switchback

Context.Recent spacecraft observations in the inner heliosphere have revealed the presence of local Alfvénic reversals of the magnetic field, while the field magnitude remains almost constant. These are called magnetic switchbacks (SBs) and are very common in the plasma environment close to the Sun explored by the Parker Solar Probe satellite.Aims.A simple numerical model of a magnetic field reversal with constant magnitude is used in order to explore the influence of SBs on the propagation of energetic particles within a range of energy typical of solar energetic particles.Methods.We model the reversal as a region of space of adjustable size bounded by two rotational discontinuities. By means of test particle simulations, beams of mono-energetic particles can be injected upstream of the SB with various initial pitch- and gyro-phase angles. In each simulation, the particle energy may also be changed.Results.Particle dynamics is highly affected by the ratio between the particle gyroradius and the size of the SB, with multiple pitch-angle scatterings occurring when the particle gyroradius is of the order of the SB size. Further, particle motion is extremely sensitive to the initial conditions, implying a transition to chaos; for some parameters of the system, a large share of particles is reflected backwards upstream as they interact with the SB. These results could have a profound impact on our understanding of solar energetic particle transport in the inner heliosphere, and therefore possible comparisons with in situ spacecraft data are discussed.

Cosmic ray transport in large-amplitude turbulence with small-scale field reversals

ABSTRACT The nature of cosmic ray (CR) transport in the Milky Way remains elusive. The predictions of current microphysical CR transport models in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are drastically different from what is observed. These models usually focus on MHD turbulence with a strong guide field and ignore the impact of turbulent intermittency on particle propagation. This motivates our studying the alternative regime of large-amplitude turbulence with δB/B0 ≫ 1, in which intermittent small-scale magnetic field reversals are ubiquitous. We study particle transport in such turbulence by integrating trajectories in stationary snapshots. To quantify spatial diffusion, we use a set-up with continuous particle injection and escape, which we term the turbulent leaky box. We find that particle transport is very different from the strong guide-field case. Low-energy particles are better confined than high-energy particles, despite less efficient pitch-angle isotropization at small energies. In the limit of weak guide field, energy-dependent confinement is driven by the energy-dependent (in)ability to follow reversing magnetic field lines exactly and by the scattering in regions of ‘resonant curvature’, where the field line bends on a scale that is of the order of the local particle gyro-radius. We derive a heuristic model of particle transport in magnetic folds that approximately reproduces the energy dependence of transport found numerically. We speculate that CR propagation in the Galaxy is regulated by the intermittent field reversals highlighted here and discuss the implications of our findings for CR transport in the Milky Way.

The Temperature, Electron, and Pressure Characteristics of Switchbacks: Parker Solar Probe Observations

Parker Solar Probe observes unexpectedly prevalent switchbacks, which are rapid magnetic field reversals that last from seconds to hours, in the inner heliosphere, posing new challenges to understanding their nature, origin, and evolution. In this work, we investigate the thermal states, electron pitch-angle distributions, and pressure signatures of both inside and outside the switchbacks, separating a switchback into spike, transition region (TR), and quiet period (QP). Based on our analysis, we find that the proton temperature anisotropies in TRs seem to show an intermediate state between spike and QP plasmas. The proton temperatures are more enhanced in the spike than in the TR and QP, but the alpha temperatures and alpha-to-proton temperature ratios show the opposite trend to the proton temperatures, implying that the preferential heating mechanisms of protons and alphas are competing in different regions of switchbacks. Moreover, our results suggest that the electron-integrated intensities are almost the same across the switchbacks, but the electron pitch-angle distributions are more isotropic inside than outside switchbacks, implying switchbacks are intact structures, but strong scattering of electrons happens inside switchbacks. In addition, the examination of pressures reveals that the total pressures are comparable through an individual switchback, confirming switchbacks are pressure-balanced structures. These characteristics could further our understanding of ion heating, electron scattering, and the structure of switchbacks.

ON THE POSSIBILITY OF OBTAINING A BEAM OF HEAVY IONS IN THE FORM OF AN “OPEN UMBRELLA” WITH SUBSEQUENT DEPOSITION IN THE SEPARATOR MANIFOLD

The study of SNF reprocessing is impossible without obtaining and studying a multicomponent, low-energy and complex ion beam of an “umbrella” shape. The beam is obtained from a plasma flow created in a plasma source (PS) with a magnetic field of about 3 T, flowing along the axis into a weak magnetic field, at a level of 0.1…0.5 T. At the same time, its density decreases, and the entire energy of the plasma is converted into a jet directed along the axis. To randomize the particles of the jet plasma, a reflecting magnetic field is further placed on the axis. Without changing direction, the plasma flows in a hollow magnetic force tube around a solenoid with a reverse magnetic field. In this region, ions are drawn out in the radial direction towards the annular hole of the “pocket”. The target ions, M (230-277) follow umbrella trajectories and, being neutralized, are deposited in the “pocket” on the inner walls, the remaining ~ 3% are scattered and remain on the walls of the separator.

Modeling the Atmospheric Ionization Rate During a Geomagnetic Reversal

AbstractThe Matuyama‐Brunhes reversal of Earth's magnetic dipole field took place 0.78 Ma ago, and detailed temporally resolved paleomagnetic data are available for this period. A geomagnetic reversal is expected to impact the cosmic ray flux, which in turn affects atmospheric ionization rates. To assess the magnitude of this effect, three preexisting models are used in tandem to yield 3D time series of the atmospheric ionization rates for the entire globe during the reversal. Specifically the time variable paleomagnetic field data is input into a particle trajectory calculator to produce geomagnetic cutoff rigidity maps for the entire globe. This is combined with an empirical model of the local interstellar cosmic ray spectrum and ionization yield functions based on Monte Carlo atmospheric particle simulations to produce novel time variable 3D atmospheric ionization rates during the reversal. As the dipole field weakens, the atmospheric ionization increases at low latitudes. The increase is ca. 25% at the surface and up to a factor of 5 in the upper atmosphere. Globally, ionization rates increase around 13% at the surface and up to a factor of 2 in the upper atmosphere, whereas polar regions are largely unaffected. Finally, the change in ionization due to the solar 11‐year cycle is greatly affected by the reversal. The relative change in atmospheric ionization between solar‐minimum and solar‐maximum varies between 2 and two orders of magnitude.

Magnetic Discontinuities in the Inner Heliosphere: Do Intermediate Shocks Exist?

Magnetic discontinuities are fundamental structures in space and laboratory plasmas where the changes in magnetic and velocity fields are constrained by Rankine–Hugoniot relations. Due to the absence of precise measurements for particles, some issues therein are hardly investigated. The nature of discontinuities driven by the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence, and the intermediate shock are two puzzles to be solved. The MHD turbulence generates numerous discontinuities with both small normal magnetic fields and nearly constant magnetic field magnitudes in statistics. By utilizing the data from the Parker Solar Probe, we identify among the turbulence-driven discontinuities two components that exhibit diverse statistical characteristics of the plasma density, and reveal that these discontinuities comprise 80.2% rotational and 19.8% tangential discontinuities. Then, we note a special class of discontinuities within 0.35 au that have jump conditions similar to that of the rotational discontinuity and the shock simultaneously, including (1) positively correlated jumps in the plasma density and temperature, (2) a small change in the magnetic field magnitude, and (3) opposite tangential magnetic fields on two sides. These features conform to the theoretical intermediate shock, which previous studies have found to not practically exist due to the breakdown of the evolutionary condition. By the conservation law of the mass flux across a boundary, we calculate their propagation speeds and find three intermediate shock candidates with super-Alfvénic upstream and sub-Alfvénic downstream flows. This work can improve our understanding of plasma intermittencies and suggests reassessing conclusions based on ideal MHD Rankine–Hugoniot relations.

Probing the variations in the timing of the Sun’s polar magnetic field reversals through observations and surface flux transport simulations

ABSTRACT The polar field reversal is a crucial process in the cyclic evolution of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun. Various important characteristics of a solar cycle, such as its duration and strength, and also the cycle predictability, are determined by the polar field reversal time. While the regular measurements of solar magnetic field have been accumulated for more than half a century, there is no consensus in the heliophysics community concerning the interpretation of the Sun’s polar field measurements and especially the determination of polar field reversal time. There exists a severe problem of non-reproducibility in the reported results even from studies of the same observational data set, and this causes an obstacle to make more accurate forecasts of solar cycle. Here, we analyze the solar magnetograms from four instruments for the last four cycles, to provide a more correct interpretation of the polar field observations and to find more accurate time of the reversals. We show the absence of triple (multiple) reversals in Cycles 21–24, significant variations in the time interval between reversals in the hemispheres and in the time interval between a reversal and a cycle beginning. In order to understand the origin of the reversal time variation, we perform Surface Flux Transport (SFT) simulations and find out that the presence of the ‘anomalous’ bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) in different phases of a cycle can cause cycle-to-cycle variations of the reversal time within the similar range found in observations.

Phase transition in bilayer quantum Hall system with opposite magnetic field

We construct a mapped bilayer quantum Hall system to realize the proposal that two nearly flatbands have opposite Chern numbers. For the C = ±1 case, the two Landau levels of the bilayer experience opposite magnetic fields. We consider a mapped bilayer quantum Hall system at total filling where the intralayer interaction is repulsive and the interlayer interaction is attractive. We take exact diagonalization (ED) calculations on a torus to study the phase transition when the separation distance d/lB is driven. The critical point at d c/lB = 0.68 is characterized by a collapse of degeneracy and a crossing of energy levels. In the region d/lB < d c/lB , the states of each level are highly degenerate. The pair-correlation function indicates electrons with opposite pseudo-spins are strong correlated at r = 0. We find an exciton stripe phase composed of bound pairs. The ferromagnetic ground state is destroyed by the strong effective attractive potential. An electron composite-Fermion (eCF) and a hole composite Fermion (hCF) are tightly bound. In the region d/lB > d c/lB , a crossover from the d → d c limit to the large d limit is observed. The electron and hole composite Fermion liquids (CFL) are realized by composite Fermions (CF) which attach opposite fluxes, respectively.

Characteristics of solar proton events during the periods of Sun’s magnetic field reversal in the last 6 solar cycles

Characteristics of solar proton events during the periods of Sun’s magnetic field reversal in 19–24 solar activity cycles have been considered. In each of these solar cycles periods of time with duration of 8–12 months have been found, during which the number of solar events, total and maximal proton fluences were lower and the energy spectra were softer, than during the periods of equal duration before and after that. In most of the considered cycles the mentioned periods occurred after the cycle maximum or during the local “Gnevyshev minima”.

Eruption history of the Columbia River Basalt Group constrained by high-precision U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

Large igneous province volcanism of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) has been suggested to play a causal role in elevated global temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO). However, assessing the connection between volcanism and warming is dependent upon an accurate and precise chronology for the timing and duration of CRBG emplacement. Building on our previous work (Kasbohm and Schoene, 2018), we present fifteen new high-precision ages, using CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb on zircon and multi-collector 40Ar/39Ar on basaltic groundmass, to provide a detailed dual-chronometer timeline for CRBG eruptions. We use both sets of new ages and precise stratigraphic positions of our samples in an integrated Markov Chain Monte Carlo model to calculate average long-term emplacement rates for main-phase CRBG volcanism of 0.2-0.9 km3/a, with a high likelihood of one prominent hiatus of 60-120 kyr duration occurring after main-phase emplacement. We analyzed trace elements and hafnium isotopes of each dated zircon from CRBG interbeds. The compositions are consistent with both Cascades subduction volcanism and evolved syn-CRBG volcanism proximal to the depositional area. Our age model also yields ages for all magnetic field reversals during the main phase of CRBG emplacement, which can be used to improve calibrations of Miocene paleoclimate records. We find that main-phase CRBG emplacement is coincident with the greatest sustained warmth of the MCO in astronomically-tuned records. Our work shows the power of using both U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology in an integrated stratigraphic context to assess data reliability and develop the most robust age model possible for large igneous province emplacement.

Paleogeography and high-precision geochronology of the Neoarchean Fortescue Group, Pilbara, Western Australia

While rates of Phanerozoic plate movements and magnetic field reversals have been well studied, little is known about such phenomena on early Earth. The ca. 2.8–2.7 Ga Fortescue Group on the Pilbara craton in Western Australia has been recognized as a well-preserved sequence of Archean rift volcanics thought to derive from a flood basalt province, and may have been moving rapidly across the globe at two different intervals in its depositional history. We present the results of a magnetostratigraphic study integrated with high-precision U-Pb ID-TIMS geochronology aiming to quantify rates of cratonic motion and provide a continuous time series for changes in Pilbara paleogeography during these two rapid intervals, at ∼2.77 and 2.72 Ga. We provide six new or updated high-quality paleomagnetic poles for inclusion in databases tracking Precambrian cratonic motion. During the craton’s largest geographic displacement at ∼2.77 Ga, we resolve a minimum drift rate of 23 ± 20 cm/a if there was substantial rotation of the Pilbara craton along with translational motion, and a more rapid minimum estimate of 64 ± 23 cm/a if the motion was dominated by translation; these estimates exceed both Mesoarchean and most modern rates of plate motion. We provide a new high-precision U-Pb zircon age of 2721.23 ± 0.88/0.88/6.9 Ma for the Tumbiana Formation stromatolite colony, which developed as the Pilbara craton drifted from 51.5 ± 7.0° to 32.1 ± 5.7° paleolatitude. Although the Fortescue Group has been considered an early prototype of large igneous provinces, it was emplaced over a longer duration than its Phanerozoic counterparts and does not fit at least one definition of a large igneous province (LIP). But as a potential prototype of LIP magmatism, the Fortescue succession chronicles eruptive dynamics, rapid paleogeographic changes, and a series of robustly determined magnetic field reversals during the Neoarchean.