Spacecraft observations and analytic theory of crescent-shaped electron distributions in asymmetric magnetic reconnection
Plasma Physics
2016-11-02 v1
Abstract
Supported by a kinetic simulation, we derive an exclusion energy parameter providing a lower kinetic energy bound for an electron to cross from one inflow region to the other during magnetic reconnection. As by a Maxwell Demon, only high energy electrons are permitted to cross the inner reconnection region, setting the electron distribution function observed along the low density side separatrix during asymmetric reconnection. The analytic model accounts for the two distinct flavors of crescent-shaped electron distributions observed by spacecraft in a thin boundary layer along the low density separatrix.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1607.05670,
title = {Spacecraft observations and analytic theory of crescent-shaped electron distributions in asymmetric magnetic reconnection},
author = {J. Egedal and A. Le and W. Daughton and B. Wetherton and P. A. Cassak and L. -J Chen and B. Lavraud and R. B. Trobert and J. Dorelli and D J Gershman and L. A. Avanov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1607.05670},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
6 pages, 3 figures