AUTHOR=Němeček Zdeněk , Grygorov Kostiantyn , Šafránková Jana , Šimůnek Jiří , Pi Gilbert TITLE=Magnetic Field Gradient Across the Flank Magnetopause JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2021.778234 DOI=10.3389/fspas.2021.778234 ISSN=2296-987X ABSTRACT=

Magnetic pressure inside the magnetopause is usually balanced with a sum of thermal plasma and magnetic pressures on the magnetosheath side. However, observations reveal that the magnetosheath magnetic field can be frequently larger than that in the magnetosphere (inverse magnetic field gradient across the magnetopause), and thus, the enhanced pressure from the magnetosheath side seems to be uncompensated. Such events are rare in the subsolar region, but their occurrence rate increases toward flanks. The analysis, based on statistical processing of about 35,000 THEMIS magnetopause crossings collected in the course of the years 2007–2017, shows that these events are more frequently observed under enhanced geomagnetic activity that is connected with a strong southward IMF. Case studies reveal that such a state of the magnetopause boundary layers can persist for several hours. This study discusses conditions and mechanisms keeping the pressure balance across the magnetopause under these conditions.