Measurements on the Kinetic Origin of Streamer Dynamics

Measurements on the Kinetic Origin of Streamer Dynamics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Measurements on the Kinetic Origin of Streamer Dynamics F. S. Mozer, K.-E. Choi, R. Sydora, Andrii Voshchepynets This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9237342/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A fundamental problem of solar physics is understanding the plasma, fields and currents during their transitions with altitude from the closed-loop magnetic environment of the corona to the open structure of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). While the large-scale dynamics occur in the MHD regime, the coronal physics must involve non-MHD processes that are unobserved in-situ until now. To attack this problem, a perihelion pass through a streamer stalk at 11.7 solar radii has been measured. DC electric fields in the plasma rest frame, reaching magnitudes of 400 mV/m, were observed. They do not result in an ExB drift because that component of the electric field was removed in transforming the data from the spacecraft frame to the plasma rest frame. Instead, these fields are a violation of the frozen-in condition and must be interpreted with the Generalized Ohm’s Law. The most important term in this law depended on the ratio of the ion skin depth to the ion gyroradius. When it was ~ 10, the η J term dominated because of turbulence. When it approached one, J×B /ne, dominated to produce a largely meridional ~ 5 mA/m 2 current that supported the forming HCS. In addition, measurements on 15 such crossings showed that the plasma flow speeds inside the current sheets exceeded those outside six times, and the 326 km/sec average speed inside the current sheets exceeded the average speed of 266 km/sec outside the region. Such findings challenge the traditional consensus that streamers are the source of the "slow" solar wind. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 20 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 26 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9237342","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":613361853,"identity":"3f4cfec2-0fd7-4cd2-923c-24d72e9eeb40","order_by":0,"name":"F. S. 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While the large-scale dynamics occur in the MHD regime, the coronal physics must involve non-MHD processes that are unobserved in-situ until now. To attack this problem, a perihelion pass through a streamer stalk at 11.7 solar radii has been measured. DC electric fields in the plasma rest frame, reaching magnitudes of 400 mV/m, were observed. They do not result in an \u003cb\u003eExB\u003c/b\u003e drift because that component of the electric field was removed in transforming the data from the spacecraft frame to the plasma rest frame. Instead, these fields are a violation of the frozen-in condition and must be interpreted with the Generalized Ohm\u0026rsquo;s Law. The most important term in this law depended on the ratio of the ion skin depth to the ion gyroradius. When it was ~\u0026thinsp;10, the η\u003cb\u003eJ\u003c/b\u003e term dominated because of turbulence. 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