Ion‐Vortex Magnetic Hole With Reversed Field Direction in Earth's Magnetosheath

Abstract

AbstractPlasma vortices are ubiquitous in space and play important roles in the transmission of energy and mass at various scales. For small‐scale plasma vortices on the order of ion gyroradius, however, their properties and characteristics remain unclear. Here, we provide unique findings of an ion‐scale vortex observed in the Earth's magnetosheath. The vortex is generated by the ion diamagnetic drift associated with an isolated magnetic hole (MH). The magnetic field in the axial direction is reversed in the vortex center, which is consistent with ring‐shaped currents carried by the ions. The field strength becomes very weak (<1 nT) at the field reversal region, although the ion distributions vary rather continuously across the entire structure. A kinetic equilibrium model is then applied to reconstruct the above features. These findings can help us understand the plasma vortex and MH from magnetohydrodynamics to kinetic scales.