Strong Westward Current Pulse at Auroral Latitudes Extending to Dawn‐Side Low‐Latitudes Due To Enhanced Density Within Kelvin‐Helmholtz Wave Vortex in Solar Wind

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Abstract A series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun, interacted with one another and formed a complex interplanetary‐CME (ICME) that impinged Earth's magnetosphere on 10 May 2024 and caused the strongest geomagnetic storm of the past two decades. We present a unique pulse‐like enhanced solar wind density structure associated with a giant Kelvin‐Helmholtz (KH) wave vortex formed within the ICME due to compression of sheath region by the surrounding ejecta. When impinged on the magnetosphere, it caused enhanced eastward and westward currents, leading to strong positive and negative geomagnetic field impulses at low and auroral latitudes, respectively. The negative disturbances extended to mid‐latitudes around the midnight sector. Interestingly, the westward current pulse (negative disturbance) penetrated deep into low‐latitudes (up to 24.49°N and 28.92°S) in both hemispheres, but exclusively on the dawn side. The mechanisms responsible for such an intensification and low‐latitude penetration of westward current pulse are discussed.

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