A comparison of the IMF structure and the magnetic field in the magnetosheath under the radial IMF conditions

•The magnetic fields in the solar wind and in the magnetosheath are reasonably correlated under the radial IMF condition.•The Bz has the best correlation between the magnetic fields of the two regions among all components.•IMF Bx diverts to By more than to Bz after flowing through the bow shock in this case.

In previous studies, the magnetic field structures in the solar wind and in the magnetosheath usually have a high dependence on only the Y component. In this study, we compared the simultaneous data from OMNI database, THEMIS-B in the solar wind, and THEMIS-C in the magnetosheath to investigate the relationship between the magnetic field structures in the solar wind and in the magnetosheath under the radial IMF conditions. We find that Bz has a better correlation than By between the magnetic fields in the two regions, and the correlation for Bx is poor. When the magnetic field transits through the bow shock, the magnetic field will be enhanced in all components, especially in By. After that, Bx will divert to the Y and Z components, but the diversion to By will be larger than that to Bz in this case.