A simulation study of impulsive penetration of solar wind irregularities into the magnetosphere at the dayside magnetopause

A two‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamic code is used to study impulsive penetration processes that occur when a plasma irregularity in the magnetosheath, modeled as a field‐aligned filament, impinges on the day side magnetopause. If the magnetic fields in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere are parallel or antiparallel, then a filament in the magnetosheath can always penetrate into the magnetosphere. However, if the fields in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere are not aligned, then a filament can only penetrate into the magnetosphere when its initial kinetic energy density exceeds the magnetic energy density attributed to the transverse component of the magnetic field by a factor of 50. In this case, the magnetospheric field lines reconnect behind the filament, thereby trapping it within the magnetosphere. Otherwise, the increasing magnetic stress in front of the filament will eventually stop the filament from further penetration. For typical parameters found at the dayside magnetopause, the threshold condition obtained from this two‐dimensional model predicts that penetration is possible only when the angle between the fields is within approximately 5° of parallel or antiparallel. During the penetration process, velocity vortices are observed both inside the filament and in the external plasma. Either increased β within the magnetosphere, or the larger plasma density at the magnetopause associated with antiparallel magnetic fields, will act to reduce the penetration velocity.