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Abstract

Methods. We analyse magnetic field and plasma data from the Magnetometer and Solar Wind Analyser instruments aboard Solar Orbiter between 10 August and 30 August 2021. During this period, the spacecraft was 0.6 -– 0.7 au from the Sun. Using hodographs and Walén analysis methods, we test for rotational discontinuities (RDs) in the magnetic field and reconnection-associated outflows at the boundaries of the identified switchback structures. Results.

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Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental energy conversion process occurring in many laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Reconnection converts magnetic energy into kinetic and thermal energy through a change in magnetic field topology across current sheets (Pontin 2011; Gosling 2012; Cassak 2016; Hesse & Cassak 2020). In the context of heliospheric physics, reconnection is a key candidate process to explain coronal heating (Parker 1983, 1988) and solar wind acceleration (Zank et al. 2014; Khabarova et al. 2015; Adhikari et al. 2019). Statistical studies show that up to 20% of the magnetic energy is converted into particle heating, while the remainder is converted into particle acceleration, creating a pair of oppositely directed bulk outflow jets that stream into the background plasma (Enžl et al. 2014; Mistry et al. 2017). The proportion of magnetic energy converted into particle heating and acceleration depends on the magnetic shear angle (Drake et al. 2009). In the rest frame of the reconnection current sheet (RCS), the bulk velocity of the outflow jets is of the order of the local Alfvén speed, although reconnection events with sub-Alfvénic outflows are not unusual (Haggerty et al. 2018; Phan et al. 2020).

Using Solar Orbiter data from 10 August and 30 August 2021, we identify three magnetic switchbacks at heliocentric distances between 0.6 – 0.7 au. The trailing edge boundaries of all three events show signatures of jetting and current sheet bifurcation consistent with the Gosling reconnection model (Gosling et al. 2005a). We propose a possible configuration of the switchback observed on 10 August and reconnection geometry based on measurements of the switchback. In this scenario, reconnection at the trailing edge boundary of the switchback results in the formation of a magnetic flux rope on one side of the reconnection site and kinked field lines on the other. Magnetic tension causes the reconnected field lines to recoil away from the reconnection site, resulting in the unwinding of the switchback. In this paper, we only find cases in which magnetic reconnection occurs at the trailing edge boundary of switchbacks. However, in principle, this process may also occur at the leading edge boundary of switchbacks or at the leading and trailing edge boundaries simultaneously. Although magnetic tension acts naturally to straighten field line kinks in non-reconnecting switchbacks as well, our observation-driven scenario suggests that reconnection can increase the rate at which these structures unwind.

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