Electron-Scale Dynamics of the Diffusion Region during Symmetric Magnetic Reconnection in Space
Abstract
Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process important in many astrophysical contexts including the Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in-situ. Here we present the first encounter of a reconnection site by NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft in the magnetotail, where reconnection involves symmetric inflow conditions. The unprecedented electron-scale plasma measurements revealed (1) super-Alfvenic electron jets reaching 20,000 km/s, (2) electron meandering motion and acceleration by the electric field, producing multiple crescent-shaped structures, (3) spatial dimensions of the electron diffusion region implying a reconnection rate of 0.1-0.2. The well-structured multiple layers of electron populations indicate that, despite the presence of turbulence near the reconnection site, the key electron dynamics appears to be largely laminar.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1809.06932,
title = {Electron-Scale Dynamics of the Diffusion Region during Symmetric Magnetic Reconnection in Space},
author = {R. B. Torbert and J. L. Burch and T. D. Phan and M. Hesse and M. R. Argall and J. Shuster and R. E. Ergun and L. Alm and R. Nakamura and K. Genestreti and D. J. Gershman and W. R. Paterson and D. L. Turner and I. Cohen and B. L. Giles and C. J. Pollock and S. Wang and L. -J. Chen and Julia Stawarz and J. P. Eastwood and K. - J. Hwang and C. Farrugia and I. Dors and H. Vaith and C. Mouikis and A. Ardakani and B. H. Mauk and S. A. Fuselier and C. T. Russell and R. J. Strangeway and T. E. Moore and J. F. Drake and M. A. Shay and Yu. V. Khotyaintsev and P. -A. Lindqvist and W. Baumjohann and F. D. Wilder and N. Ahmadi and J. C. Dorelli and L. A. Avanov and M. Oka and D. N. Baker and J. F. Fennell and J. B. Blake and A. N. Jaynes and O. Le Contel and S. M. Petrinec and B. Lavraud and Y. Saito},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1809.06932},
year = {2019}
}
Comments
4 pages, 3 figures, and supplementary material