BV technique for investigating 1-D interfaces

TL;DR

The paper introduces the BV technique, a new method combining magnetic field and velocity data from a single spacecraft to determine the normal direction and spatial profiles of 1-D interfaces like the magnetopause.

Contribution

It presents a novel single-spacecraft method, the BV technique, for analyzing 1-D interfaces, improving upon previous approaches by effectively using magnetic and velocity data.

Findings

Validated on simulation data

Successfully applied to Cluster spacecraft data

Offers improved accuracy over previous methods

Abstract

To investigate the internal structure of the magnetopause with spacecraft data, it is crucial to be able to determine its normal direction and to convert the measured time series into spatial profiles. We propose here a new single-spacecraft method, called the BV method, to reach these two objectives. Its name indicates that the method uses a combination of the magnetic field (B) and velocity (V) data. The method is tested on simulation and Cluster data, and a short overview of the possible products is given. We discuss its assumptions and show that it can bring a valuable improvement with respect to previous methods.