Potential Solar Precursors to Magnetic Switchbacks
Durgesh Tripathi, Maria S. Madjarska, Judy Karpen, Marco Velli, Clara Froment, Etienne Pariat, Spiros Patsourakos, Nour E. Raouafi, Alexis P. Rouillard, Alphonse C. Sterling, Kostas Tziotziou, Peter F. Wyper
astro-ph.SR
Submitted: 2026-07-13
Comments: 86 pages, 20 figrues, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: The origin of magnetic switchbacks-large-amplitude, spherically polarized magnetic-field fluctuations with local polarity inversions shown to be nearly ubiquitous in the inner heliosphere by Parker
Terminology
Abstract
The origin of magnetic switchbacks-large-amplitude, spherically polarized magnetic-field fluctuations with local polarity inversions shown to be nearly ubiquitous in the inner heliosphere by Parker Solar Probe-is presently one of the most outstanding open questions in solar and heliospheric science. The occurrence of these structures in the young solar wind is a topic of active research, focusing not only on their characteristics and evolution but also on unraveling the puzzle of their origin. We first discuss the potential influence on switchback (SB) formation of large-scale coronal dynamics and restructuring processes that shape and regulate the extended solar corona. Following that, we review the dynamics, physical properties, occurrence rate, and energetics of numerous possible precursor small-scale dynamic events that occur throughout the solar atmosphere, emphasizing their possible roles in creating SBs. Finally, we discuss some recent studies attempting to connect in situ observations of SBs and SB patches with remote-sensing observations, and the related challenges in identifying solar wind source regions precisely and linking in situ observations to transient solar phenomena. We also clarify the terminology used by the solar community to describe small-scale solar phenomena.
Sources
- Direct observations of a complex coronal web driving highly structured slow solar wind
- Structured Slow Solar Wind Variability: Streamer-blob Flux Ropes and Torsional Alfv'en Waves
- The Formation of Heliospheric Arcs of Slow Solar Wind
- On the Propagation and Damping of Alfvenic Fluctuations in the Outer Solar Corona and Solar Wind
- Numerical Simulation of Helical Jets at Active Region Peripheries
- Global Non-Potential Magnetic Models of the Solar Corona During the March 2015 Eclipse
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