Tripolar guide magnetic fields due to island coalescence in solar wind current sheets: Simulation and theory

Abstract

Reconnecting current sheets (CSs) in the solar wind near 1 AU have been previously identified that exhibit a modified Hall magnetic field perturbation of the nominal guide field characterized by a “tripolar” structure with depressions on both sides of a central maximum [Eriksson et al., Astrophys. J. 805, 43 (2015)]. Such CSs were inferred to contain multiple interacting islands based on measurements from all four Cluster satellites. A new set of 2D particle-in-cell simulations have been performed providing the foundation for a theoretical model for the origin of the tripolar guide-field perturbation. The simulations are initialized with a thin CS unstable to the formation of many small islands that undergo pairwise coalescence and growth. The guide field depressions develop as the result of a balance between the electrostatic (curl-free or irrotational) and electromagnetic (divergence-free or solenoidal) components of the parallel electric field. Field-line and flow-line tracing provide additional support for the model by demonstrating how a level of charge separation sufficient to support a large electrostatic potential can be maintained following island coalescence. A parameter study reveals that the plasma beta is the primary quantity controlling the evolution of the tripolar field. Dependence on the initial guide-field strength is also investigated.