Switchbacks as signatures of magnetic flux ropes generated by interchange reconnection in the corona

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic flux ropes generated by interchange reconnection in the solar corona create switchbacks in the solar wind, using simulations and observations to understand their structure and dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking coronal interchange reconnection to flux rope formation and switchback signatures observed by the Parker Solar Probe.

Findings

Simulations reproduce key switchback features like rapid magnetic field rotation.

Flux ropes can reverse the radial magnetic field component.

Reconnection with a guide field influences flux rope structure.

Abstract

The structure of magnetic flux ropes injected into the solar wind during reconnection in the coronal atmosphere is explored with particle-in-cell simulations and compared with in situ measurements of magnetic "switchbacks" from the Parker Solar Probe. We suggest that multi-x-line reconnection between open and closed flux in the corona injects flux ropes into the solar wind and that these flux ropes convect outward over long distances before eroding due to reconnection. Simulations that explore the magnetic structure of flux ropes in the solar wind reproduce the following key features of the switchback observations: a rapid rotation of the radial magnetic field into the transverse direction, which is a consequence of reconnection with a strong guide field; and the potential to reverse the radial field component. The potential implication of the injection of large numbers of flux ropes in the coronal atmosphere for understanding the generation of the solar wind is discussed.