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February 5, 2026Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics0 citations

Comparative Study of Bipolar Hall Magnetic Field Structures at Earth's Dayside Magnetopause Using MMS Observations

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DBDipesh BudhathokiSQShican Qiu

Key Points

  • The aim is to analyze Hall magnetic field structures at Earth's magnetopause using MMS data to understand their characteristics and implications for reconnection processes.
  • Analyzed Hall fields at Earth's dayside magnetopause from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission observations.
  • Classified out-of-plane Hall fields into distinct groups based on composition and displacement.
  • Examined seven bipolar events (H1–H7) for Hall-field displacement and density asymmetry parameters.
  • First five earthward-type bipolar events (H1–H5) showed a correlation between Hall-density asymmetry and bipolar Hall field displacement.
  • Event H6 displayed a sunward-type Hall field that shifted toward the magnetosheath with moderate asymmetry.
  • Event H7 revealed a sunward bipolar structure deep in the magnetosphere with a nearly symmetric Hall-field ratio despite high density asymmetry.

Abstract

Abstract Hall magnetic fields at Earth's dayside magnetopause provide key diagnostics for collisionless reconnection and the associated Hall‐current closure. Using observations from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we present a unified framework to classify out‐of‐plane Hall fields by peak composition—central unipolar ( C ), sunward bipolar ( S + C ), earthward bipolar ( C + E ), and tripolar ( S + C + E ) ‐ and by their displacement relative to the magnetopause midplane. We apply this framework to seven bipolar events (H1–H7) and relate Hall‐field displacement to the Hall‐region density asymmetry parameter. For the first five earthward‐type events (H1–H5), Hall‐density asymmetry covaries with the observed displacement of the bipolar Hall field structure, indicating that asymmetric Hall‐density produces a larger offset of the peak amplitude toward the magnetosphere. Previously, the sunward‐type event H6 was displaced toward the magnetosheath with moderate Hall‐field asymmetry. On 16 October 2015 (H7), we find a sunward bipolar ( S + C ) signature but displaced deep into the magnetosphere, reaching a nearly symmetric Hall‐field ratio despite high Hall‐density asymmetry. In H7, the absence of a magnetospheric E peak, together with the complete traversal of the Hall‐region into the magnetosphere, rules out a tripolar configuration previously proposed for H6. In addition, sequential electron jets and a new pattern in the bipolar normal electric field coincide with the magnetospheric Hall interval in H7. This suggests that displaced Hall electron dynamics, together with extreme asymptotic density and high temperature asymmetry, reshaped the bipolar Hall magnetic field. The findings of this study provide observational constraints for kinetic Hall models of asymmetric guide‐field reconnection.

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Cite This Study

Budhathoki et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69843405f1d9ada3c1fb1aefhttps://doi.org/10.1029/2025ja034694
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