Related papers: MMS observation of asymmetric reconnection support…
We have used the high-resolution data of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission dayside phase to identify twenty-one previously unreported encounters with the electron diffusion region (EDR), as evidenced by electron agyrotropy, ion…
The Electron Diffusion Region (EDR) is the region where magnetic reconnection is initiated and electrons are energized. Because of experimental difficulties, the structure of the EDR is still poorly understood. A key question is whether the…
We compare case studies of Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)-observed magnetopause electron diffusion regions (EDRs) to determine how the rate of work done by the electric field,…
A great possible achievement for the MMS mission would be crossing electron diffusion regions (EDR). EDR are regions in proximity of reconnection sites where electrons decouple from field lines, breaking the frozen in condition. Decades of…
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) encountered the primary low-latitude magnetopause reconnection site when the inter-spacecraft separation exceeded the upstream ion inertial length. Classical signatures of the ion diffusion region (IDR),…
During magnetic reconnection, field lines interconnect in electron diffusion regions (EDRs). In some EDRs the reconnection and energy conversion rates are controlled by a steady out-of-plane electric field. In other EDRs the energy…
We analyze a high-resolution simulation of magnetopause reconnection observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and explain the occurrence of strongly localized dissipation with an amplitude more than an order of magnitude…
Kinetic particle-in-cell simulations are used to identify signatures of the electron diffusion region (EDR) and its surroundings during asymmetric magnetic reconnection. A "shoulder" in the sunward pointing normal electric field (EN > 0) at…
Fully kinetic simulations are applied to the study of 2D anti-parallel reconnection, elucidating the dynamics by which the electron fluid maintains force balance within both the electron diffusion region (EDR) and the ion diffusion region…
We compare a global high resolution resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation of Earth's magnetosphere with observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) constellation for a southward IMF magnetopause crossing during October…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that alters the magnetic field topology and releases magnetic energy. Most numerical simulations and spacecraft observations assume a two-dimensional diffusion region, with the electron…
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…
Data from the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to investigate asymmetric magnetic reconnection at the dayside boundary between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind (the magnetopause). High-resolution…
Electron heating and mixing during asymmetric reconnection are studied with a 3D kinetic simulation that matches plasma parameters from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations of a magnetopause diffusion region. The mixing…
We investigate the accuracy with which the reconnection electric field $E_M$ can be determined from in-situ plasma data. We study the magnetotail electron diffusion region observed by NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) on 2017-07-11 at…
A new look at the structure of the electron diffusion region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is presented. The research is based on a particle-in-cell simulation of asymmetric magnetic reconnection, which include a temperature…
Electron dynamics surrounding the X-line in magnetopause-type asymmetric reconnection is investigated using a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. We study electron properties of three characteristic regions in the vicinity of the…
Electron dynamics and energization are one of the key components of magnetic field dissipation in collisionless reconnection. In 2D numerical simulations of magnetic reconnection, the main mechanism that limits the current density and…
We use Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission data to investigate electron-scale energy transfer due to lower hybrid drift waves during magnetopause reconnection. We analyze waves observed in an electron-scale plasma mixing layer at the…
Supported by a kinetic simulation, we derive an exclusion energy parameter $\cal{E}_X$ 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,…