TY - JOUR
T1 - Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling by the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability at Mercury
AU - Lai, S. H.
AU - Wang, Y. C.
AU - Yang, Y.-H
AU - Ip, Wing-Huen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2024/12/1
Y1 - 2024/12/1
N2 - The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) has been considered important in the energy transfer and momentum coupling between the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. To explore this issue, we employ a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation to study the nonlinear evolution of the KHI at Mercury’s magnetopause using the parameters derived from a global hybrid simulation of MESSENGER’s first flyby of Mercury. Due to the absence of comprehensive plasma observations of Mercury’s magnetosphere, two scenarios are considered: one with a heavily loaded magnetosphere and the other with a weakly loaded magnetosphere, to demonstrate the development of the KHI under distinct levels of magnetospheric plasma density. Our results indicate that the KHI with a heavily loaded magnetosphere leads to a significantly more turbulent magnetopause and grows into the nonlinear fast-mode plane waves expanding away from the magnetopause. The momentum and energy flux quantified from our simulations reveal that the KHI with a heavily loaded magnetosphere can efficiently transport momentum and energy away from the magnetopause in the presence of the fast-mode plane waves. In the cases with a heavily loaded magnetosphere, observed in the inner magnetosphere, the momentum flux can reach 10−3 nPa, i.e., about 0.5% of the initial solar-wind dynamic pressure; the energy flux can be 1 0 - 2 erg cm - 2 s - 1 , and the energy density is about 1.5%-3.0% of the initial solar-wind energy. In the cases with a very thin magnetosphere, observed away from the magnetopause, the momentum flux is negligible and the energy flux is smaller without the presence of the fast-mode plane waves in the magnetosphere.
AB - The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) has been considered important in the energy transfer and momentum coupling between the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. To explore this issue, we employ a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation to study the nonlinear evolution of the KHI at Mercury’s magnetopause using the parameters derived from a global hybrid simulation of MESSENGER’s first flyby of Mercury. Due to the absence of comprehensive plasma observations of Mercury’s magnetosphere, two scenarios are considered: one with a heavily loaded magnetosphere and the other with a weakly loaded magnetosphere, to demonstrate the development of the KHI under distinct levels of magnetospheric plasma density. Our results indicate that the KHI with a heavily loaded magnetosphere leads to a significantly more turbulent magnetopause and grows into the nonlinear fast-mode plane waves expanding away from the magnetopause. The momentum and energy flux quantified from our simulations reveal that the KHI with a heavily loaded magnetosphere can efficiently transport momentum and energy away from the magnetopause in the presence of the fast-mode plane waves. In the cases with a heavily loaded magnetosphere, observed in the inner magnetosphere, the momentum flux can reach 10−3 nPa, i.e., about 0.5% of the initial solar-wind dynamic pressure; the energy flux can be 1 0 - 2 erg cm - 2 s - 1 , and the energy density is about 1.5%-3.0% of the initial solar-wind energy. In the cases with a very thin magnetosphere, observed away from the magnetopause, the momentum flux is negligible and the energy flux is smaller without the presence of the fast-mode plane waves in the magnetosphere.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212797261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad944b
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad944b
M3 - 期刊論文
AN - SCOPUS:85212797261
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 977
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 266
ER -