Large-Scale Characteristics of Flux Transfer Events on the Dayside Magnetopause

By using global MHD simulation, we present the large-scale characteristics of flux transfer events (FTEs) on the dayside magnetopause during periods of generic southward interplanetary magnetic field. It is revealed that FTEs can be generated both at lower and higher latitudes, and also at almost all local times. The occurrence rate of FTEs has an apparent longitudinal/latitudinal dependence, with a higher occurrence rate near noon/at lower latitudes. It is further shown that even under constant solar wind conditions, the azimuthal lengths of FTEs can have large variability, changing from as short as <1R _E to as long as >10R _E for different FTEs. Moreover, FTEs generated closer to the subsolar point tend to have longer extensions along their axes. These new knowledge of large-scale properties of FTEs will improve our understanding of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction.