Torsional Alfven wave embedded ICME magnetic cloud and corresponding geomagnetic storm

TL;DR

This study confirms the presence of torsional Alfven waves within a magnetic cloud associated with a CME and demonstrates their role in injecting energy into the Earth's magnetosphere, affecting storm recovery.

Contribution

It provides the first observational evidence of torsional Alfven waves embedded in a magnetic cloud and analyzes their impact on geomagnetic storm evolution.

Findings

Torsional Alfven waves are present in a CME-associated magnetic cloud.

These waves inject energy into the magnetosphere during storms.

Presence of these waves influences the storm's recovery time.

Abstract

The energy transfer during the interaction of large-scale solar wind structure and the Earth's magnetosphere is the chronic issue in space-weather studies. To understand this, researchers widely studied the geomagnetic storms and sub-storms phenomena. The present understanding suggests that long duration of southward interplanetary magnetic field component is the most important parameter for the geomagnetic storm. Such long duration strong southward magnetic field is often associated with ICMEs, torsional Alfven fluctuations superposed co-rotating interacting regions (CIRs) and fast solar wind streams. Torsional Alfven fluctuations embedded CIRs have been known for a long, however magnetic cloud embedded with such fluctuations are rarely observed. The presence of Alfven waves in the ICME/MC and influence of these waves on the storm evolution remains an interesting topic of study. The present work confirms the torsional Alfven waves in a magnetic cloud associated with a CME launched on 15th February which impacted the Earth's magnetosphere on February 18, 2011. Further, observations indicate that these waves inject energy into the magnetosphere during the storm and contribute to the long recovery time of geomagnetic storms. Our study suggests that presence of torsional Alfven waves significantly controls the storm dynamics.