Spectral Properties and Energy Injection in Mercury's Magnetotail Current Sheet
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mercury's magnetotail hosts a thin and highly dynamic current sheet (CS), where magnetic reconnection and strong fluctuations frequently occur. Here, we statistically analyze magnetic field power spectra across 370 magnetotail CSs observed by MESSENGER. About 20% of the events are quasi‐laminar, showing single power‐law spectra, whereas ∼80% are turbulent, exhibiting a spectral break separating inertial and kinetic ranges. A dawn–dusk asymmetry is identified: inertial‐range slopes are systematically shallower on the dawnside, whereas kinetic‐range slopes are steeper, indicating more developed turbulence there, consistent with the higher occurrence of reconnection‐related processes on the dawnside. Component analysis shows that the transverse components, orthogonal to the tail‐aligned principal field ( B X ), display shallow slopes near −1 in the inertial range, suggesting energy injection at ion scales rather than a classical inertial range. These results demonstrate that Mercury's unique plasma environment fundamentally reshapes the initiation of turbulence and the redistribution of energy in the magnetotail.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl120144
Institutions: Boston University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, University of Michigan, Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, National Institute for Astrophysics
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Award: G7664246261
OpenAlex ID: W7130375114