On magnetospheric response to solar wind discontinuities

The interaction of the Earth's magnetosphere with the solar wind is a fundamental problem in space plasma physics. Sudden changes in the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)/solar wind conditions, e.g., coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar energetic particles (SEPs), and interplanetary shocks, provide excellent opportunities to study the complex response of the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere to the solar wind. The interaction of solar wind discontinuities with the magnetosphere includes several phases, including interaction with the bow shock, propagation in the magnetosheath, interaction with the magnetopause, transmission into the magnetosphere and the ionosphere.The studies of magnetospheric phenomena in conjunction with solar wind discontinuities are tractable from at least two obvious vantage points: First, unlike other magnetospheric phenomena, e.g., substorms, the specific energy source for the solar wind discontinuity related magnetospheric phenomena is clear. Second, the response of the magnetospheric system to solar wind discontinuities usually yield a significant and easily identified electromagnetic signal. Thus, there is no temporal ambiguity for the solar wind discontinuity related phenomena.