Asymmetries in the Earth's dayside magnetosheath: results from global hybrid-Vlasov simulations
- 1Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- 2IRF-U, Uppsala, Sweden
- 3Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- 1Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- 2IRF-U, Uppsala, Sweden
- 3Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Abstract. Bounded by the bow shock and the magnetopause, the magnetosheath forms the interface between solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas and regulates solar wind-magnetosphere coupling. Previous works have revealed pronounced dawn-dusk asymmetries in the magnetosheath properties. The dependence of these asymmetries on the upstream parameters remains however largely unknown. One of the main sources of these asymmetries is the bow shock configuration, which is typically quasi-parallel on the dawn side and quasi-perpendicular on the dusk side of the terrestrial magnetosheath because of the Parker spiral orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) at Earth. Most of these previous studies rely on collections of spacecraft measurements associated with a wide range of upstream conditions which are processed in order to obtain average values of the magnetosheath parameters. In this work, we use a different approach and quantify the magnetosheath asymmetries in global hybrid-Vlasov simulations performed with the Vlasiator model. We concentrate on three parameters: the magnetic field strength, the plasma density and the flow velocity. We find that the Vlasiator model reproduces accurately the polarity of the asymmetries, but that their level tends to be higher than in spacecraft measurements, probably because the magnetosheath parameters are obtained from a single set of upstream conditions in the simulation, making the asymmetries more prominent. We investigate how the asymmetries change when the angle between the IMF and the Sun-Earth line is reduced and when the Alfven Mach number decreases. We find that a more radial IMF results in a stronger magnetic field asymmetry and a larger variability of the magnetosheath density. In contrast, a lower Alfven Mach number leads to a reduced magnetic field asymmetry and a decrease in the variability of the magnetosheath density and velocity, the latter likely due to weaker foreshock processes. Our results highlight the strong impact of the foreshock on global magnetosheath properties, in particular on the magnetosheath density, which is extremely sensitive to transient foreshock processes.
-
Notice on discussion status
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
-
Preprint
(4905 KB)
-
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
Lucile Turc et al.
Interactive discussion
-
RC1: 'Review report', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Apr 2020
-
AC1: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #1', Lucile Turc, 12 May 2020
- AC5: 'Erratum: spatial resolution in Run 1', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
-
AC1: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #1', Lucile Turc, 12 May 2020
-
RC2: 'Asymmetries of plasma and field parameters within the dayside terrestrial magnetosheath', Anonymous Referee #2, 26 Apr 2020
- AC2: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #2', Lucile Turc, 28 May 2020
-
RC3: 'review for AG / Turc et al.', Anonymous Referee #3, 28 Apr 2020
- AC3: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #3', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
-
RC4: 'Reviewer comments', Anonymous Referee #4, 13 May 2020
- AC4: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #4', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
Peer-review completion
Interactive discussion
-
RC1: 'Review report', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Apr 2020
-
AC1: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #1', Lucile Turc, 12 May 2020
- AC5: 'Erratum: spatial resolution in Run 1', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
-
AC1: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #1', Lucile Turc, 12 May 2020
-
RC2: 'Asymmetries of plasma and field parameters within the dayside terrestrial magnetosheath', Anonymous Referee #2, 26 Apr 2020
- AC2: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #2', Lucile Turc, 28 May 2020
-
RC3: 'review for AG / Turc et al.', Anonymous Referee #3, 28 Apr 2020
- AC3: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #3', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
-
RC4: 'Reviewer comments', Anonymous Referee #4, 13 May 2020
- AC4: 'Response to Anonymous Referee #4', Lucile Turc, 29 May 2020
Peer-review completion
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
Lucile Turc et al.
Lucile Turc et al.
Viewed
HTML | XML | Total | BibTeX | EndNote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
253 | 159 | 13 | 425 | 16 | 11 |
- HTML: 253
- PDF: 159
- XML: 13
- Total: 425
- BibTeX: 16
- EndNote: 11
Viewed (geographical distribution)
Country | # | Views | % |
---|
Total: | 0 |
HTML: | 0 |
PDF: | 0 |
XML: | 0 |
- 1
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
- Preprint
(4905 KB) - Metadata XML