M. Myllys

Kinetic roughening in slow combustion of paper.

Results of experiments on the dynamics and kinetic roughening of one-dimensional slow-combustion fronts in three grades of paper are reported. Extensive averaging of the data allows a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal development of the interface fluctuations. The asymptotic scaling properties, on long length and time scales, are well described by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation with short-range, uncorrelated noise. To obtain a more detailed picture of the strong-coupling fixed point, characteristic of the KPZ universality class, universal amplitude ratios, and the universal coupling constant are computed from the data and found to be in good agreement with theory. Below the spatial and temporal scales at which a crossover takes place to the standard KPZ behavior, the fronts display higher apparent exponents and apparent multiscaling. In this regime the interface velocities are spatially and temporally correlated, and the distribution of the magnitudes of the effective noise has a power-law tail. The relation of the observed short-range behavior and the noise as determined from the local velocity fluctuations is discussed.

Temporal and spatial persistence of combustion fronts in paper.

The spatial and temporal persistence, or first-return distributions are measured for slow-combustion fronts in paper. The stationary temporal and (perhaps less convincingly) spatial persistence exponents agree with the predictions based on the front dynamics, which asymptotically belongs to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. The stationary short-range and the transient behavior of the fronts are non-Markovian, and the observed persistence properties thus do not agree with the predictions based on Markovian theory. This deviation is a consequence of additional time and length scales, related to the crossovers to the asymptotic coarse-grained behavior.

Solar wind‐magnetosphere coupling efficiency during ejecta and sheath‐driven geomagnetic storms

We have investigated the effect of key solar wind driving parameters on solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiency during sheath and magnetic cloud-driven storms. The particular focus of the study was on the coupling efficiency dependence with Alfvén Mach number (MA). The efficiency has been estimated using the dawn-dusk component of the interplanetary electric field (EY ), Newell and Borovsky functions as a proxy for the energy inflow and the polar cap potential (PCN), and auroral electrojet (AE) and SYM-H indices as the measure of the energy output. We have also performed a time delay analysis between the input parameters and the geomagnetic indices. The optimal time lag and smoothing window length depend on the coupling function used and on the solar wind driver. For example, turbulent sheaths are more sensitive to the time shift and the averaging interval than smoother magnetic clouds. The results presented in this study show that the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiency depends strongly on the definition used, and it increases with increasing MA. We demonstrate that the PCN index distinctively shows both a Mach number dependent saturation and a Mach number independent saturation, pointing to the existence of at least two underlying physical mechanisms for the saturation of the index. By contrast, we show that the AE index saturates but that the saturation of this index is independent of the solar wind Mach number. Finally, we find that the SYM-H index does not seem to saturate and that the absence of saturation is independent of the Mach number regime. We highlight the difference between the typical MA conditions during sheath regions and magnetic clouds. The lowest MA values are related to the magnetic clouds. As a consequence, sheaths typically have higher solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiencies than magnetic clouds.

Effect of a columnar defect on the shape of slow-combustion fronts.

We report experimental results for the behavior of slow-combustion fronts in the presence of a columnar defect with enhanced or reduced driving, and compare them with those of mean-field theory. We also compare them with simulation results for an analogous problem of driven flow of particles with hard-core repulsion (ASEP) and a single defect bond with a different hopping probability. The difference in the shape of the front profiles for enhanced vs reduced driving in the defect clearly demonstrates the existence of a Kardar-Parisi-Zhang-type nonlinear term in the effective evolution equation for the slow-combustion fronts. We also find that slow-combustion fronts display a faceted form for large enough enhanced driving, and that there is a corresponding increase then in the average front speed. This increase in the average front speed disappears at a nonzero enhanced driving in agreement with the simulated behavior of the ASEP model.

Magnetosheath control of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiency

We examine the role of the magnetosheath in solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms plasma and magnetic field observations in the magnetosheath together with OMNI solar wind data and auroral electrojet recordings from the International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) magnetometer chain. We demonstrate that the electric field and Poynting flux reaching the magnetopause are not linear functions of the electric field and Poynting flux observed in the solar wind: the electric field and Poynting flux at the magnetopause during higher driving conditions are lower than those predicted from a linear function. We also show that the Poynting flux normal to the magnetopause is linearly correlated with the directly driven part of the auroral electrojets in the ionosphere. This indicates that the energy entering the magnetosphere in the form of the Poynting flux is directly responsible for driving the electrojets. Furthermore, we argue that the polar cap potential saturation discussed in the literature is associated with the way solar wind plasma gets processed during the bow shock crossing and motion within the magnetosheath.

Kardar–Parisi–Zhang scaling in kinetic roughening of fire fronts

We show that the roughening of fire fronts in slow combustion of paper [7] follows the scaling predictions of the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation with thermal noise. By improved experimental accuracy it is now possible to observe the short-time and short-range correlations of the interfaces. These do not adhere to any standard picture, and in particular, do not seem to be related to any of the existing models of front propagation in the presence of quenched disorder.

Solar-wind control of plasma sheet dynamics

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to quantify how solar-wind conditions affect the energy and plasma transport in the geomagnetic tail and its large-scale configuration. To identify the role of various effects, the magnetospheric data were sorted according to different solar-wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) parameters: speed, dynamic pressure, IMF north–south component, epsilon parameter, Auroral Electrojet (AE) index and IMF ultra low-frequency (ULF) fluctuation power. We study variations in the average flow speed pattern and the occurrence rate of fast flow bursts in the magnetotail during different solar-wind conditions using magnetospheric data from five Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission spacecraft and solar-wind data from NASAs OMNIWeb. The time interval covers the years from 2008 to 2011 during the deep solar minimum between cycles 23 and 24 and the relatively quiet rising phase of cycle 24. Hence, we investigate magnetospheric processes and solar-wind–magnetospheric coupling during a relatively quiet state of the magnetosphere. We show that the occurrence rate of the fast (|Vtail| > 100 km s−1) sunward flows varies under different solar-wind conditions more than the occurrence of the fast tailward flows. The occurrence frequency of the fast tailward flows does not change much with the solar-wind conditions. We also note that the sign of the IMF BZ has the most visible effect on the occurrence rate and pattern of the fast sunward flows. High-speed flow bursts are more common during the slow than fast solar-wind conditions.

The Cross-Polar Cap Saturation in GUMICS-4 During High Solar Wind Driving

It is well known that the Earths ionospheric cross‐polar cap potential (CPCP) saturates as a response to the solar wind driver especially when the level of driving is high and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is oriented southward. Moreover, previous studies have shown that the upstream Alfven Mach number may be an important factor in the saturation effect. While the CPCP is often viewed as a measure of the solar wind ‐ magnetosphere ‐ ionosphere ‐coupling the processes associated with the nonlinearity of the coupling remains an open issue. We use the Grand Unified Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere Coupling Simulation (GUMICS‐4) and artificial solar wind data to mimic weak and strong driving in order to study the CPCP response to a wide range of IMF magnitudes (3.5 nT – 30 nT) and upstream Alfven Mach number values (1.2 – 22). The results provide the first overview of the CPCP saturation in GUMICS‐4 and show that the onset of saturation is strongly dependent on the upstream Alfven Mach number and the physical processes responsible for the saturation effect might take place both in the Earths magnetosheath and in the upstream solar wind.

Interplay of solar wind parameters and physical mechanisms producing the saturation of the cross polar cap potential: SOLAR WIND CONTROL OF POLAR CAP REGION

The nonlinear response of the cross polar cap potential (CPCP) to solar wind driving electric field is a well-known phenomenon. The reasons behind this saturation, however, are still under debate. We have performed a statistical study of the coupling efficiency between the solar wind and the northern polar cap index (PCN). PCN is used as a proxy for the CPCP. Our main focus is in quantifying how the solar wind dynamic pressure alters the efficiency. We show that the saturation of PCN occurs both during low and moderate upstream MA conditions. We also show that the increasing dynamic pressure is associated with increasing PCN. In addition, we find that the coupling is different depending on which parameter, the velocity or the magnetic field, increases the solar wind driving electric field: the higher the velocity the higher the coupling efficiency.