LAUSR

When spacecraft cross the heliospheric plasma sheet (HPS) that separates large-scale magnetic sectors of opposite directions in the solar wind, multiple rapid fluctuations in the sign of the magnetic radial component are often observed. These fluctuations indicate the change of the sign of the azimuth electric current density within the HPS. Possible mechanisms of formation of the multilayered current structure of the HPS are proposed. Within the context of a stationary magnetohydrodynamic solar wind model, we test one of the most popular hypotheses regarding an extension of multiple current sheets from the streamer belt oriented along the neutral line of the solar magnetic field into the solar wind. Properties of self-consistent distributions of the solar wind key characteristics are investigated as function of the fine structure of streamers. The results show that both single and multiple streamers can be the source of the set of a multilayered structure with alternating azimuthal currents. The significance of the results for the interpretation of solar wind data is discussed.