19 December 2024

Switchbacks: Could solar jets hold the key?

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission has detected ubiquitous magnetic deflections in the nascent solar wind, known as switchbacks. To better understand these phenomena, whose origins remain uncertain, a study was conducted by a network of collaborators including the LPP (J. Touresse and E. Pariat) , the French-Spanish Laboratory for Astrophysics in Canarias (FSLAC), the LPC2E (Clara Froment) and several UK researchers. This groundbreaking study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, reveals that solar jets can create similar disturbances, but without leading to a complete reversal of the magnetic field.

Learn more:

“Propagation of untwisting solar jets from the low-beta corona into the super-Alfvénic wind : Testing a solar origin scenario for switchbacks.”

Sorbonne Université press release

News LPP