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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 structure of magnetic flux ropes injected into the solar wind during reconnection in the coronal atmosphere is explored with particle-in-cell simulations and compared with in situ measurements of magnetic "switchbacks" from the Parker…

Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observes unexpectedly prevalent switchbacks, which are rapid magnetic field reversals that last from seconds to hours, in the inner heliosphere, posing new challenges to understanding their nature, origin, and…

Magnetic switchbacks, large-amplitude, localized Alfvenic like rotations of the solar wind magnetic field, have been the subject of intensive investigation, with approximately 200 refereed papers published in the last decade. Yet,…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2026-05-15 Forrest Mozer , Oleksiy Agapitov , Kyung-Eun Choi , Richard Sydora

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…

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process that can drive rapid conversion of magnetic energy into plasma bulk flows, thermal heating, and particle acceleration in space and astrophysical plasmas. Classical reconnection theory…

We use \emph{Parker Solar Probe} (\emph{PSP}) in-situ measurements to analyze the characteristics of solar wind turbulence during the first solar encounter covering radial distances between $35.7R_\odot$ and $41.7R_\odot$. In our analysis…

Measurements of transverse magnetic field and velocity components from Parker Solar Probe have revealed a coherent quasi-periodic pattern in the near-Sun solar wind. As well as being Alfv\'enic and arc-polarised, these deflections were…

Space Physics · Physics 2023-09-26 R. Laker , T. S. Horbury , L. D. Woodham , S. D. Bale , L. Matteini

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

Solar wind magnetic fluctuations exhibit anisotropy due to the presence of a mean magnetic field in the form of the Parker spiral. Close to the Sun, direct measurements were not available until the recently launched Parker Solar Probe (PSP)…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-01-05 Riddhi Bandyopadhyay , David J. McComas

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

Parker Solar Probe observations reveal that the near-Sun space is almost filled with magnetic switchbacks (``switchbacks'' hereinafter), which may be a major contributor to the heating and acceleration of solar wind. Here, for the first…

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission presents a unique opportunity to study the near-Sun solar wind closer than any previous spacecraft. During its fourth and fifth solar encounters, PSP had the same orbital trajectory, meaning that solar…

Drawing connections between heliospheric spacecraft and solar wind sources is a vital step in understanding the evolution of the solar corona into the solar wind and contextualizing \textit{in situ} timeseries. Furthermore, making advanced…

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

The nature of turbulence at sub-electron scales has remained an open question, central to understanding how electrons are heated in the solar wind. This is primarily because spacecraft measurements have been limited to magnetic field…

Space Physics · Physics 2026-01-21 Shiladittya Mondal , Christopher H. K. Chen , Davide Manzini

Recent studies suggest that the magnetic switchbacks (SBs) detected by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) carry information on the scales of solar supergranulation (large scale) and granulation (medium scale). We test this claim using…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-07-18 Jeongwoo Lee , Vasyl Yurchyshyn , Haimin Wang , Xu Yang , Wenda Cao , Juan Carlos Martinez Oliveros

We analyze \emph{Parker Solar Probe} and \emph{Solar Orbiter} measurements of magnetic-field reversals (``switchbacks'') across the Alfv\'en surface ($M_a\simeq 1$), where $M_a$ is the Alfv\'en Mach number. The reported ``sub-Alfv\'enic…

We analyze magnetic field data from the first six encounters of PSP, three Helios fast streams and two Ulysses south polar passes covering heliocentric distances $0.1\lesssim R\lesssim 3$ au. We use this data set to statistically determine…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2021-10-13 Anna Tenerani , Nikos Sioulas , Lorenzo Matteini , Olga Panasenco , Chen Shi , Marco Velli

Although the interplanetary magnetic field variability has been extensively investigated in situ by means of data coming from several space missions, the newly launched missions providing high-resolution measures and approaching the Sun,…