Variation of model-predicted reconnection voltages applied to Uranus’ dayside magnetosphere
Author(s)
Zomerdijk-Russell, Sophia
Jasinski, Jamie
Masters, Adam
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Uranus provides a key missing piece for fundamentally understanding solar wind-magnetospheric interactions due to its location in the outer solar system. Whether the viscous-like interaction overtakes global magnetic reconnection as the dominant process at the magnetopause of the outer planets remains unresolved. Here, we present theoretical predictions of dayside reconnection voltages applied to the Uranian system under different magnetospheric configurations to assess the effectiveness of global magnetic reconnection in the driving of Uranus' magnetosphere. We find the median model-predicted dayside reconnection voltage applied to Uranus' magnetosphere is 22.4 kV. Over just one full planetary rotation, the reconnection voltages are found to vary by tens of kV under Uranus' magnetospheric configuration during its solstice and equinox seasons with fixed solar wind conditions. However, we do not find a significant difference between average voltages at the different seasons, despite the large differences in magnetospheric configuration between solstice and equinox at Uranus. An increase from ∼17 to ∼31 kV in the modeled reconnection voltages is observed when the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field is increased corresponding to expected conditions during solar maximum. Our results suggest that variability resulting from the planet's diurnal rotation and changing solar wind conditions, are more important in controlling the reconnection voltages than seasonal dependencies.
Date Issued
2025-06-01
Date Acceptance
2025-05-15
Citation
JGR: Space Physics, 2025, 130 (6)
ISSN
2169-9402
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Journal / Book Title
JGR: Space Physics
Volume
130
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2025. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and The Author(s). Government sponsorship acknowledged. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1029/2025JA033834
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e2025JA033834
Date Publish Online
2025-06-03