The first in-situ observation of torsional Alfven waves during the interaction of large-scale magnetic clouds

TL;DR

This study provides the first direct observational evidence of sunward torsional Alfven waves during the collision of large-scale magnetic clouds, highlighting their role in energy exchange and dissipation in space weather phenomena.

Contribution

It presents the first in-situ detection of torsional Alfven waves in interacting magnetic clouds, confirming their presence and significance during CME collisions.

Findings

Detection of sunward torsional Alfven waves in CME interactions

Confirmation of Alfven waves using the Walen relation

Implication of Alfven waves in energy dissipation during magnetic cloud collisions

Abstract

The large-scale magnetic cloud such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is the fundamental driver of the space weather. The interaction of the multiple CMEs in interplanetary space affects their dynamic evolution and geo-effectiveness. The complex and merged multiple magnetic clouds appear as the in-situ signature of the interacting CMEs. The Alfven waves are speculated to be one of the major possible energy exchange/dissipation mechanism during the interaction. However, no such observational evidence has been found in the literature. The case studies of CME-CME collision events suggest that the magnetic and thermal energy of the CME is converted into the kinetic energy. Moreover, the magnetic reconnection process is justified to be responsible for the merging of multiple magnetic clouds. Here, we present unambiguous evidence of sunward torsional Alfven waves in the interacting region after the super-elastic collision of multiple CMEs. The Walen relation is used to confirm the presence of Alfven waves in the interacting region of multiple CMEs/magnetic clouds. We conclude that Alfven waves and magnetic reconnection are the possible energy exchange/dissipation mechanisms during large-scale magnetic clouds collisions. The present study has significant implications not only in CME-magnetosphere interactions but also in the interstellar medium where interactions of large-scale magnetic clouds are possible.