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Related papers: The Structure and Origin of Switchbacks: Parker So…

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The origin of switchbacks in the solar wind is discussed in two classes of theory that differ in the location of the source being either in the transition region near the Sun or in the solar wind, itself. The two classes of theory differ in…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-10-04 Forrest S. Mozer , Stuart Bale , John Bonnell , James Drake , Elizabeth Hanson , Michael C. Mozer

The origin of large-amplitude magnetic field deflections in the solar wind, known as magnetic switchbacks, is still under debate. These structures, which are ubiquitous in the observations made by Parker Solar Probe, likely have their seed…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-01-22 Nina Bizien , Clara Froment , Maria S. Madjarska , Thierry Dudok de Wit , Marco Velli

One of the discoveries made by Parker Solar Probe during first encounters with the Sun is the ubiquitous presence of relatively small-scale structures standing out as sudden deflections of the magnetic field. They were called switchbacks as…

The magnetic switchbacks observed recently by the Parker Solar Probe have raised the question about their nature and origin. One of the competing theories of their origin is the interchange reconnection in the solar corona. In this…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-06-23 Norbert Magyar , Dominik Utz , Robertus Erdélyi , Valery M. Nakariakov

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission has revealed frequent occurrences of switchbacks (SBs) and small-scale magnetic flux ropes (SMFRs) as prominent structures within the solar wind. These mesoscale features are observed across all…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-07-02 Kyung-Eun Choi , Oleksiy V. Agapitov , Dae-Young Lee , Forrest Mozer , Jia Huang , Lucas Colomban , Jaye L. Verniero , Nour Raouafi

Switchbacks (rotations of the magnetic field) are observed on the Parker Solar Probe. Their evolution, content, and plasma effects are studied in this paper. The solar wind does not receive a net acceleration from switchbacks that it…

Parker Solar Probe (PSP) routinely observes magnetic field deflections in the solar wind at distances less than 0.3 au from the Sun. These deflections are related to structures commonly called 'switchbacks' (SBs), whose origins and…

We investigate the generation and evolution of switchbacks (SBs), the nature of the sub-Alfv\'enic wind observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP), and the morphology of the Alfv\'enic transition, all of which are key issues in solar wind…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2023-02-22 Ying D. Liu , Hao Ran , Huidong Hu , Stuart D. Bale

Switchbacks are widely acknowledged phenomena observed by the Parker Solar Probe and appear to occur in patches. Previous studies focused on the fluctuations at the magnetic reversals. However, the nature of the fluctuations inside the…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-04-27 Honghong Wu , Chuanyi Tu , Xin Wang , Liping Yang

The recent rediscovery of magnetic field switchbacks or deflections embedded in the solar wind flow by the Parker Solar Probe mission lead to a huge interest in the modelling of the formation mechanisms and origin of these switchbacks.…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-04-28 Norbert Magyar , Dominik Utz , Robertus Erdélyi , Valery M. Nakariakov

Switchbacks -- abrupt reversals of the magnetic field within the solar wind -- have been ubiquitously observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). Their origin, whether from processes near the solar surface or within the solar wind itself, remains…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-12-14 Zade Johnston , Jonathan Squire , Alfred Mallet , Romain Meyrand

One of the most striking observations made by Parker Solar Probe during its first solar encounter is the omnipresence of rapid polarity reversals in a magnetic field that is otherwise mostly radial. These so-called switchbacks strongly…

We consider 2D joint distributions of normalised residual energy $\sigma_r(s,t)$ and cross helicity $\sigma_c(s,t)$ during one day of Parker Solar Probe's (PSP's) first encounter as a function of wavelet scale $s$. The broad features of the…

Spicules, the smallest observable jet-like dynamic features ubiquitous in the chromosphere, are supposedly an important potential source for small-scale solar wind transients, with supporting evidence yet needed. We studied the…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-07-18 Jeongwoo Lee , Haimin Wang , Jiasheng Wang , Meiqi Wang

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has observed copious rapid magnetic field direction changes in the near-Sun solar wind. These features have been called "switchbacks," and their origin is a mystery. But their widespread nature suggests that…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2020-06-24 Alphonse C. Sterling , Ronald L. Moore

We present a solitary Alfv\'en wave model that exhibits nontrivial three-dimensional twisting of open magnetic field lines while preserving constant $|B|$. Embedded rotational discontinuities sharply deflect the otherwise uniform field…

Space Physics · Physics 2025-12-16 Zesen Huang , Marco Velli , Yuliang Ding

Microstreams are fluctuations in the solar wind speed and density associated with polarity-reversing folds in the magnetic field (also denoted switchbacks). Despite their long heritage, the origin of these microstreams/switchbacks remains…

Recent near-sun solar-wind observations from Parker Solar Probe have found a highly dynamic magnetic environment, permeated by abrupt radial-field reversals, or "switchbacks." We show that many features of the observed turbulence are…

Space Physics · Physics 2020-03-04 Jonathan Squire , Benjamin D. G. Chandran , Romain Meyrand

A major discovery of Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was the presence of large numbers of localized increases in the radial solar wind speed and associated sharp deflections of the magnetic field - switchbacks (SB). A possible generation mechanism…

One of the most important early results from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is the ubiquitous presence of magnetic switchbacks, whose origin is under debate. Using a three-dimensional direct numerical simulation of the equations of…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-06-17 Munehito Shoda , Benjamin D. G. Chandran , Steven R. Cranmer