Telloni, Daniele;
Zank, Gary P;
Stangalini, Marco;
Downs, Cooper;
Liang, Haoming;
Nakanotani, Masaru;
Andretta, Vincenzo;
... Zhukov, Andrei N; + view all
(2022)
Observation of a Magnetic Switchback in the Solar Corona.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
, 936
(2)
, Article L25. 10.3847/2041-8213/ac8104.
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Abstract
Switchbacks are sudden, large radial deflections of the solar wind magnetic field, widely revealed in interplanetary space by the Parker Solar Probe. The switchbacks’ formation mechanism and sources are still unresolved, although candidate mechanisms include Alfvénic turbulence, shear-driven Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities, interchange reconnection, and geometrical effects related to the Parker spiral. This Letter presents observations from the Metis coronagraph on board a Solar Orbiter of a single large propagating S-shaped vortex, interpreted as the first evidence of a switchback in the solar corona. It originated above an active region with the related loop system bounded by open-field regions to the east and west. Observations, modeling, and theory provide strong arguments in favor of the interchange reconnection origin of switchbacks. Metis measurements suggest that the initiation of the switchback may also be an indicator of the origin of slow solar wind.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Observation of a Magnetic Switchback in the Solar Corona |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/2041-8213/ac8104 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac8104 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, WIND, RECONNECTION, DYNAMICS, SUN, SUPERGRANULATION, ACCELERATION |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10156009 |
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