NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Supra Arcade Downflows with XRT Informed by Dipolarization Fronts with THEMISMagnetic reconnection can rapidly reconfigure the magnetic field of the corona, accelerating plasma through the site of reconnection. Ambiguities due to the nature of remote sensing have complicated the interpretation of observations of the inflowing and outflowing plasma in reconnecting regions. In particular, the interpretation of sunward moving density depletions above flare arcades (known as Supra Arcade Downflows - SADs) is still debated. Hinode/XRT has provided a wealth of observations for SADs and helped inform our current understanding of these structures. SADs have been interpreted as wakes behind newly reconnected and outflowing loops (Supra Arcade Downflowing Loops - SADLs). Models have shown the plausibility of this interpretation, though this interpretation has not yet been fully accepted. We present here observations of newly reconnected outflowing loops observed via in situ instruments in the magnetosphere. These observations, provided by five THEMIS spacecraft, show that around retracting loops (dipolarization fronts in this context) similar dynamic temperature and density structures are found as seen in SADs. We compare data from multiple SADs and dipolarization fronts to show that the observational signatures implied in the corona can be directly observed in similar plasma regimes in the magnetosphere, strongly favoring the interpretation of SADs as wakes behind retracting loops.
Document ID
20160014724
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Kobelski, Adam
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Savage, Sabrina L.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Malaspina, David M.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
December 19, 2016
Publication Date
December 12, 2016
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Report/Patent Number
MSFC-E-DAA-TN37671
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 12, 2016
End Date: December 16, 2016
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
corona
magnetism
solar
No Preview Available