Magnetic Field in Magnetosheath Jets: A Statistical Study of BZNear the Magnetopause

Magnetosheath jets travel from the bow shock toward the magnetopause, and some of them eventually impact it. Jet impacts have recently been linked to triggering magnetopause reconnection in case studies by Hietala et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl076525) and Nykyri et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ja026357). In this study, we focus on the enhancing or suppressing effect jets could have on reconnection by locally altering the magnetic shear via their own magnetic fields. Using observations from the years 2008–2011 made by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms spacecraft and solar wind OMNI data, we statistically study for the first time BZwithin jets in the Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric coordinates. We find that BZopposite to the prevailing interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) BZis roughly as common in jets as in the non‐jet magnetosheath near the magnetopause, but these observations are distributed differently. 60–70% of jet intervals contain bursts of opposite polarity BZin comparison to around 40%of similar non‐jet intervals. The median duration of such a burst in jets is 10 s and strength is ±10nT. We also investigate the prevalence of the type of strong BZ≤−24nT pulses that Nykyri et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ja026357) linked to a substorm onset. In our data set, such pulses were observed in around 13% of jets. Our statistical results indicate that jets may have the potential to affect local magnetopause reconnection via their magnetic fields. Future studies are needed to determine whether such effects can be observed. Fast earthward flows called jets are often observed within the magnetosheath. They form at the Earth's bow shock, where the solar wind is slowed down before diverting around the magnetosphere. These jets may hit the boundary of the magnetosphere, the magnetopause, with high dynamic pressure. Such impacts have been observed to trigger magnetic reconnection, in which the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) of the solar wind connects with the Earth's magnetic field and solar wind can enter the magnetosphere. Magnetopause reconnection usually occurs when the IMF points southward, opposite to the Earth's northward field. However, jets have been proposed to trigger reconnection also during northward IMF. We study the magnetic field within jets using data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms spacecraft and solar wind OMNI data from 2008–2011. We find that it is statistically more likely for a magnetosheath interval, associated with jet conditions, to exhibit short pulses of magnetic field directed opposite to the upstream IMF, than for a non‐jet interval of the same duration. Therefore, jets may have the potential to affect local reconnection at the magnetopause. Our results motivate future studies that investigate these possible jet‐related effects on reconnection. A statistical study of BZin jets is conducted using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms 2008–2011 data from the subsolar magnetosheath60‐70% of jet intervals contain a pulse of BZopposite to the interplanetary magnetic field BZwhile majority of non‐jet intervals do notThe median duration of the longest opposite BZburst in jets is ∼10s and strength is ∼±10nT A statistical study of BZin jets is conducted using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms 2008–2011 data from the subsolar magnetosheath 60‐70% of jet intervals contain a pulse of BZopposite to the interplanetary magnetic field BZwhile majority of non‐jet intervals do not The median duration of the longest opposite BZburst in jets is ∼10s and strength is ∼±10nT