The effect of solar observables on magnetic reconnection activity in the solar wind

Abstract:

It is well-known that current sheets within the turbulent structure of the solar wind can support the creation of plasma jets by magnetic reconnection. These reconnection jets have been measured in various sizes from just a few to over 10⁶ kilometers and play a large role in determining the solar wind structure, energy distribution, and resulting temperature. We are currently using a large sample of reconnection jets found using data from the Wind spacecraft to empirically investigate how their commonality may be affected by behaviors present and observable on the Sun. A simple estimation we employ also confirms that these jets detected at 1 AU originate from locations in the solar wind nowhere near the Sun. This also means that the reconnection activity of the solar wind can provide a direct link towards better understanding the underlying solar wind structure and how its dynamics are driven. We use Wind plasma and magnetic field data to identify the cross-sectional signatures of these jets, consisting of a rotation of the in-plane magnetic field coupled with a velocity spike at the local Alfvén speed. We distinguish and categorize these jets by factors such as their current sheet normal widths and solar wind conditions when the jet was formed. Then, we use correlation analysis to look for relationships between the various jet distributions and the solar sunspot number, GOES X-ray flux data, and solar wind speed. Initial results show there is no correlation between reconnection activity and sunspot number or X-ray flux. However, we did find a weak inverse relation between jets generated outside of ICMEs and local solar wind speed.