Reconstructing the Geometry of a Hot Flow Anomaly With Bounding Jets in Magnetosheath

Abstract When interplanetary magnetic field discontinuities interact with planetary bow shocks, hot flow anomalies (HFAs) form in the solar wind and can extend into the magnetosheath. Here we reconstruct the three‐dimensional geometry of an HFA bounded by two jet regions in the terrestrial magnetosheath. Using a previously established conceptual model of HFA evolution together with in situ measurements in the magnetosheath and pristine solar wind, we derive the structure's geometrical characteristics and show that its normal aligns with the discontinuity normal. It spans most of the dayside magnetosheath. Ground magnetometer data corroborate the reconstruction, revealing both the scale of the disturbance and its dusk‐to‐dawn propagation. Notably, one bounding jet reaches 11 in width, significantly larger than the sizes of typical magnetosheath jets reported in the literature.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2026-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119404
Primary Topic
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
Type
article
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article

Reconstructing the Geometry of a Hot Flow Anomaly With Bounding Jets in Magnetosheath

S. Wang, Yufei Zhou, David G. Sibeck, J. Zhang et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
article

Reconstructing the Geometry of a Hot Flow Anomaly With Bounding Jets in Magnetosheath

S. Wang, Yufei Zhou, David G. Sibeck, J. Zhang, Jih‐Hong Shue, Jin Guo, Chao Shen, Peng Shao, Quanming Lu, C. Philippe Escoubet, Savvas Raptis, James Burch, Rungployphan Kieokaew, Boyi Wang
article en

Abstract

Abstract When interplanetary magnetic field discontinuities interact with planetary bow shocks, hot flow anomalies (HFAs) form in the solar wind and can extend into the magnetosheath. Here we reconstruct the three‐dimensional geometry of an HFA bounded by two jet regions in the terrestrial magnetosheath. Using a previously established conceptual model of HFA evolution together with in situ measurements in the magnetosheath and pristine solar wind, we derive the structure's geometrical characteristics and show that its normal aligns with the discontinuity normal. It spans most of the dayside magnetosheath. Ground magnetometer data corroborate the reconstruction, revealing both the scale of the disturbance and its dusk‐to‐dawn propagation. Notably, one bounding jet reaches 11 in width, significantly larger than the sizes of typical magnetosheath jets reported in the literature.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 53(3)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Southwest Research Institute (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Yantai University (CN), Peking University (CN), Harbin Institute of Technology (CN), National Central University (TW), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US), Shenzhen Academy of Aerospace Technology (CN), Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR), European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
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