Determine the dominant origin mechanism of magnetic switchbacks

Determine which mechanism—solar-coronal formation through interchange magnetic reconnection or jet-like ejections, or local development through nonlinear Alfvénic turbulence, velocity shear, or large-scale magnetic-field bending—dominates the generation of magnetic switchbacks in the near-Sun solar wind, by connecting in-situ plasma measurements with their coronal source environments.

Background

The paper identifies the origin of magnetic switchbacks as unresolved. It contrasts a solar-origin scenario, in which switchbacks form near the Sun through interchange magnetic reconnection or jet-like ejections from open magnetic regions, with an in-situ scenario, in which they develop locally as the solar wind expands through nonlinear Alfvénic turbulence, velocity shear, or large-scale magnetic-field bending.

Resolving which mechanism dominates requires linking spacecraft measurements of switchback plasma and magnetic structure to the corresponding coronal source regions. The study contributes case-specific magnetic-connectivity and microphysical observations, but does not establish the dominant mechanism for switchback formation in general.

References

The origin of these structures remains a key open question. In the solar-origin scenario, SBs are thought to form near the Sun through processes such as interchange magnetic reconnection or jet-like ejections from open magnetic regions . Recent remote-sensing studies have provided complementary evidence that such reconnection-driven flows in the quiet Sun and coronal holes can give rise to magnetic field kinking and outflows that may evolve into SBs in the nascent solar wind . Alternatively, the in-situ hypothesis suggests that SBs can develop locally as the solar wind expands outward, driven by nonlinear Alfvénic turbulence, velocity shear, or large-scale magnetic-field bending . Determining which of these mechanisms dominates requires detailed case studies that directly connect in-situ plasma measurements with their coronal source environments.

— Microphysical Diversity in Two Very Closely Spaced Magnetic Switchbacks Observed by Parker Solar Probe  (2609.20760 - Vadher et al., 17 Sep 2026) in Introduction, paragraph 2