Planar Magnetic Structures Downstream of Coronal Mass Ejection–driven Shocks in the Inner Heliosphere

Abstract

Planar magnetic structures (PMSs), characterized by interplanetary magnetic field vectors remaining parallel to a specific plane, are commonly observed in the solar wind, especially in the sheath region of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). In this study, PMS events in the 2 hr regions downstream of ICME-driven shocks were investigated to reveal the relationship between PMS formation and shock environment using data collected by the Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, and Venus Express spacecraft in the inner heliosphere. PMS events are identified in the majority (around 93%) of the postshock 2 hr regions, with transit times ranging from 10 to 120 minutes, which demonstrates their common occurrence associated with ICME-driven shocks. About 33% of the detected PMS events cover the whole 2 hr intervals, called full PMS events. Most of the full PMS events are observed in the downstream region of quasi-perpendicular shocks. In addition, statistical results show that full PMS events occurring in the downstream region of quasi-perpendicular shocks are generally associated with higher magnetic compression ratios, which implies that full PMS events are more likely to be formed in the downstream region of strong quasi-perpendicular shocks.

Keywords

• Interplanetary magnetic fields
• Interplanetary shocks
• Interplanetary physics
• Solar wind