The Comprehensive Response of the Magnetopause to the Impact of an Isolated Magnetosheath High-Speed Jet

Abstract

The magnetopause is the boundary between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. Magnetosheath high-speed jets can impact the magnetopause, causing local indentation and subsequently rebound. However, the comprehensive response of the magnetopause to the impact of a high-speed jet remains unclear. In this study, we establish that the full spatiotemporal response pattern of the magnetopause to the impact of an isolated magnetosheath high-speed jet can be characterized as an “Indentation-Rebounce-Relaxation” sequence from a statistical view. Based on the pressure balance, we estimate the spatial and temporal scales of the entire response process to range from 0.5 to 3.2 Earth radii and 0.9–4.7 min, respectively. Furthermore, we find that the interaction between the magnetopause and the high-speed jet during the rebounce phase distorts the magnetopause, subsequently generating pairs of field-aligned currents. These generated field-aligned currents may flow to the ionosphere, potentially contributing to magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.