Dungey Cycle

Schematic of the Dungey cycle flow mapped into the ionosphere

The Dungey cycle, officially proposed by James Dungey in 1961,[1] is a phenomenon that explains interactions between a planet's magnetosphere and solar wind.[2] Dungey originally proposed a cyclic behavior of magnetic reconnection between Earth's magnetosphere and flux of solar wind. This reconnection explained previously observed dynamics within Earth's magnetosphere.[3] The rate of reconnection in the beginning of the cycle is dependent on the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field[4] as well as the resultant plasma conditions at the site of reconnection. On Earth, the reconnection cycle takes around 1 hour, but this differs from planet to planet.

  1. ^ Dungey, J. W. (1961). "Interplanetary Magnetic Field and the Auroral Zones". Physical Review Letters. 6 (2): 47–48. Bibcode:1961PhRvL...6...47D. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.6.47. ISSN 0031-9007.
  2. ^ Cowley FRS, Stanley W. H. (2015), "Dungey's Reconnection Model of the Earth's Magnetosphere: The First 40 Years", Magnetospheric Plasma Physics: The Impact of Jim Dungey’s Research, Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol. 41, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–32, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18359-6_1, ISBN 978-3-319-18358-9
  3. ^ Milan, S. E.; Provan, G.; Hubert, B. (2007). "Magnetic flux transport in the Dungey cycle: A survey of dayside and nightside reconnection rates". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 112 (A1): n/a. Bibcode:2007JGRA..112.1209M. doi:10.1029/2006JA011642. hdl:2027.42/140049. ISSN 2156-2202.
  4. ^ Seki, K.; Nagy, A.; Jackman, C. M.; Crary, F.; Fontaine, D.; Zarka, P.; Wurz, P.; Milillo, A.; Slavin, J. A.; Delcourt, D. C.; Wiltberger, M. (2015). "A Review of General Physical and Chemical Processes Related to Plasma Sources and Losses for Solar System Magnetospheres". Space Science Reviews. 192 (1–4): 27–89. Bibcode:2015SSRv..192...27S. doi:10.1007/s11214-015-0170-y. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 118335073.