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Electron Bernstein waves driven by electron crescents near the electron diffusion region. Nat Commun 2020; 11:141. [PMID: 31919351 PMCID: PMC6952373 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13920-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft encounter an electron diffusion region (EDR) of asymmetric magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. The EDR is characterized by agyrotropic electron velocity distributions on both sides of the neutral line. Various types of plasma waves are produced by the magnetic reconnection in and near the EDR. Here we report large-amplitude electron Bernstein waves (EBWs) at the electron-scale boundary of the Hall current reversal. The finite gyroradius effect of the outflow electrons generates the crescent-shaped agyrotropic electron distributions, which drive the EBWs. The EBWs propagate toward the central EDR. The amplitude of the EBWs is sufficiently large to thermalize and diffuse electrons around the EDR. The EBWs contribute to the cross-field diffusion of the electron-scale boundary of the Hall current reversal near the EDR.
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2
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Cozzani G, Retinò A, Califano F, Alexandrova A, Le Contel O, Khotyaintsev Y, Vaivads A, Fu HS, Catapano F, Breuillard H, Ahmadi N, Lindqvist PA, Ergun RE, Torbert RB, Giles BL, Russell CT, Nakamura R, Fuselier S, Mauk BH, Moore T, Burch JL. In situ spacecraft observations of a structured electron diffusion region during magnetopause reconnection. Phys Rev E 2019; 99:043204. [PMID: 31108651 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.99.043204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
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 EDR has a homogeneous or patchy structure. Here we report Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations providing evidence of inhomogeneous current densities and energy conversion over a few electron inertial lengths within an EDR at the terrestrial magnetopause, suggesting that the EDR can be rather structured. These inhomogenenities are revealed through multipoint measurements because the spacecraft separation is comparable to a few electron inertial lengths, allowing the entire MMS tetrahedron to be within the EDR most of the time. These observations are consistent with recent high-resolution and low-noise kinetic simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Cozzani
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France.,Dipartimento di Fisica "E. Fermi", Università di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - A Retinò
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - F Califano
- Dipartimento di Fisica "E. Fermi", Università di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - A Alexandrova
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - O Le Contel
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - Y Khotyaintsev
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - A Vaivads
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - H S Fu
- School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, P.R. China
| | - F Catapano
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France.,Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, I-87036, Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
| | - H Breuillard
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Sud, Observatoire de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France.,Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace, CNRS-Université d'Orléans, UMR 7328, 45071 Orléans, France
| | - N Ahmadi
- Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - P-A Lindqvist
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - R E Ergun
- Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - R B Torbert
- Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
| | - B L Giles
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - C T Russell
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - R Nakamura
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 8042 Graz, Austria
| | - S Fuselier
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78238, USA.,University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78238, USA
| | - B H Mauk
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland 20723, USA
| | - T Moore
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - J L Burch
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78238, USA
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3
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Liu YH, Hesse M, Li TC, Kuznetsova M, Le A. Orientation and Stability of Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection X Line. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. SPACE PHYSICS 2018; 123:4908-4920. [PMID: 30364510 PMCID: PMC6196328 DOI: 10.1029/2018ja025410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The orientation and stability of the reconnection x line in asymmetric geometry is studied using three-dimensional (3-D) particle-in-cell simulations. We initiate reconnection at the center of a large simulation domain to minimize the boundary effect. The resulting x line has sufficient freedom to develop along an optimal orientation, and it remains laminar. Companion 2-D simulations indicate that this x line orientation maximizes the reconnection rate. The divergence of the nongyrotropic pressure tensor breaks the frozen-in condition, consistent with its 2-D counterpart. We then design 3-D simulations with one dimension being short to fix the x line orientation but long enough to allow the growth of the fastest growing oblique tearing modes. This numerical experiment suggests that reconnection tends to radiate secondary oblique tearing modes if it is externally (globally) forced to proceed along an orientation not favored by the local physics. The development of oblique structure easily leads to turbulence inside small periodic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Hsin Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - M Hesse
- Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - T C Li
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - M Kuznetsova
- NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - A Le
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
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4
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Liu YH, Hesse M, Cassak PA, Shay MA, Wang S, Chen LJ. On the Collisionless Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection Rate. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 2018; 45:3311-3318. [PMID: 30245534 PMCID: PMC6142184 DOI: 10.1002/2017gl076460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A prediction of the steady state reconnection electric field in asymmetric reconnection is obtained by maximizing the reconnection rate as a function of the opening angle made by the upstream magnetic field on the weak magnetic field (magnetosheath) side. The prediction is within a factor of 2 of the widely examined asymmetric reconnection model (Cassak & Shay, 2007, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2795630) in the collisionless limit, and they scale the same over a wide parameter regime. The previous model had the effective aspect ratio of the diffusion region as a free parameter, which simulations and observations suggest is on the order of 0.1, but the present model has no free parameters. In conjunction with the symmetric case (Liu et al., 2017, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.085101), this work further suggests that this nearly universal number 0.1, essentially the normalized fast-reconnection rate, is a geometrical factor arising from maximizing the reconnection rate within magnetohydrodynamic-scale constraints. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY To understand the evolution of many space and astrophysical plasmas, it is imperative to know how fast magnetic reconnection processes the magnetic flux. Researchers found that reconnection in both symmetric and asymmetric geometries exhibits a normalized reconnection rate of order 0.1. In this work, we show that this nearly universal value in asymmetric geometry is also the maximal rate allowed in the magnetohydrodynamic scale. This result has applications to the transport process at plasma boundary layers like Earth's magnetopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Hsin Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - M Hesse
- Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - P A Cassak
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - M A Shay
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - S Wang
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - L-J Chen
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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5
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Wang R, Nakamura R, Lu Q, Baumjohann W, Ergun RE, Burch JL, Volwerk M, Varsani A, Nakamura T, Gonzalez W, Giles B, Gershman D, Wang S. Electron-Scale Quadrants of the Hall Magnetic Field Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft during Asymmetric Reconnection. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2017; 118:175101. [PMID: 28498691 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.118.175101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
An in situ measurement at the magnetopause shows that the quadrupole pattern of the Hall magnetic field, which is commonly observed in a symmetric reconnection, is still evident in an asymmetric component reconnection, but the two quadrants adjacent to the magnetosphere are strongly compressed into the electron scale and the widths of the remaining two quadrants are still ion scale. The bipolar Hall electric field pattern generally created in a symmetric reconnection is replaced by a unipolar electric field within the electron-scale quadrants. Furthermore, it is concluded that the spacecraft directly passed through the inner electron diffusion region based on the violation of the electron frozen-in condition, the energy dissipation, and the slippage between the electron flow and the magnetic field. Within the inner electron diffusion region, magnetic energy was released and accumulated simultaneously, and it was accumulated in the perpendicular directions while dissipated in the parallel direction. The localized thinning of the current sheet accounts for the energy accumulation in a reconnection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongsheng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz 8042, Austria
| | - Rumi Nakamura
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz 8042, Austria
| | - Quanming Lu
- Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | | | - R E Ergun
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
| | - J L Burch
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78238, USA
| | - Martin Volwerk
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz 8042, Austria
| | - Ali Varsani
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz 8042, Austria
| | - Takuma Nakamura
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz 8042, Austria
| | - Walter Gonzalez
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Sao Jose dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Barbara Giles
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - Dan Gershman
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - Shui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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6
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Zhang YC. Distinct characteristics of asymmetric magnetic reconnections: Observational results from the exhaust region at the dayside magnetopause. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27592. [PMID: 27270685 PMCID: PMC4897780 DOI: 10.1038/srep27592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic reconnection plays a key role in the conversion of magnetic energy into the thermal and kinetic energy of plasma. On either side of the diffusion region in space plasma, the conditions for the occurrence of reconnections are usually not symmetric. Previous theoretical studies have predicted that reconnections under asymmetric conditions will bear different features compared with those of symmetric reconnections, and numerical simulations have verified these distinct features. However, to date, the features of asymmetric reconnections have not been thoroughly investigated using in situ observations; thus, some results from theoretical studies and simulations have not been tested with observations sufficiently well. Here, spacecraft observations are used in a statistical investigation of asymmetric magnetic reconnection exhaust at the dayside magnetopause. The resulting observational features are consistent with the theoretical predictions. The results presented here advance our understanding of the development of reconnections under asymmetric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y. C. Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
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7
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Burch JL, Torbert RB, Phan TD, Chen LJ, Moore TE, Ergun RE, Eastwood JP, Gershman DJ, Cassak PA, Argall MR, Wang S, Hesse M, Pollock CJ, Giles BL, Nakamura R, Mauk BH, Fuselier SA, Russell CT, Strangeway RJ, Drake JF, Shay MA, Khotyaintsev YV, Lindqvist PA, Marklund G, Wilder FD, Young DT, Torkar K, Goldstein J, Dorelli JC, Avanov LA, Oka M, Baker DN, Jaynes AN, Goodrich KA, Cohen IJ, Turner DL, Fennell JF, Blake JB, Clemmons J, Goldman M, Newman D, Petrinec SM, Trattner KJ, Lavraud B, Reiff PH, Baumjohann W, Magnes W, Steller M, Lewis W, Saito Y, Coffey V, Chandler M. Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space. Science 2016; 352:aaf2939. [PMID: 27174677 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf2939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process in plasmas whereby stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and kinetic energy of charged particles. Reconnection occurs in many astrophysical plasma environments and in laboratory plasmas. Using measurements with very high time resolution, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has found direct evidence for electron demagnetization and acceleration at sites along the sunward boundary of Earth's magnetosphere where the interplanetary magnetic field reconnects with the terrestrial magnetic field. We have (i) observed the conversion of magnetic energy to particle energy; (ii) measured the electric field and current, which together cause the dissipation of magnetic energy; and (iii) identified the electron population that carries the current as a result of demagnetization and acceleration within the reconnection diffusion/dissipation region.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Burch
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
| | - R B Torbert
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - T D Phan
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - L-J Chen
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - T E Moore
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - R E Ergun
- University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J P Eastwood
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - D J Gershman
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - P A Cassak
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - M R Argall
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - S Wang
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - M Hesse
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C J Pollock
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - B L Giles
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - R Nakamura
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - B H Mauk
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - S A Fuselier
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - C T Russell
- University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - J F Drake
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - M A Shay
- University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | | | - G Marklund
- Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - F D Wilder
- University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - D T Young
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - K Torkar
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - J Goldstein
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - J C Dorelli
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - L A Avanov
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Oka
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D N Baker
- University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - A N Jaynes
- University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - I J Cohen
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - D L Turner
- Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, USA
| | | | - J B Blake
- Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, USA
| | - J Clemmons
- Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, USA
| | - M Goldman
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - D Newman
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S M Petrinec
- Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | | | - B Lavraud
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France
| | - P H Reiff
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - W Baumjohann
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - W Magnes
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - M Steller
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - W Lewis
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Y Saito
- Institute for Space and Astronautical Sciences, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - V Coffey
- NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA
| | - M Chandler
- NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA
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9
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Rosenberg M, Li C, Fox W, Igumenshchev I, Séguin F, Town R, Frenje J, Stoeckl C, Glebov V, Petrasso R. A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly driven plasmas. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6190. [DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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10
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Yoo J, Yamada M, Ji H, Jara-Almonte J, Myers CE, Chen LJ. Laboratory study of magnetic reconnection with a density asymmetry across the current sheet. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2014; 113:095002. [PMID: 25215989 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.113.095002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The effects of a density asymmetry across the current sheet on anti-parallel magnetic reconnection are studied systematically in a laboratory plasma. Despite a significant density ratio of up to 10, the in-plane magnetic field profile is not significantly changed. On the other hand, the out-of-plane Hall magnetic field profile is considerably modified; it is almost bipolar in structure with the density asymmetry, as compared to quadrupolar in structure with the symmetric configuration. Moreover, the ion stagnation point is shifted to the low-density side, and the electrostatic potential profile also becomes asymmetric with a deeper potential well on the low-density side. Nonclassical bulk electron heating together with electromagnetic fluctuations in the lower hybrid frequency range is observed near the low-density-side separatrix. The dependence of the ion outflow and reconnection electric field on the density asymmetry is measured and compared with theoretical expectations. The measured ion outflow speeds are about 40% of the theoretical values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongsoo Yoo
- Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - Masaaki Yamada
- Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - Hantao Ji
- Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - Jonathan Jara-Almonte
- Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - Clayton E Myers
- Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - Li-Jen Chen
- Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
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11
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Malakit K, Shay MA, Cassak PA, Ruffolo D. New electric field in asymmetric magnetic reconnection. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2013; 111:135001. [PMID: 24116786 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.111.135001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We present a theory and numerical evidence for the existence of a previously unexplored in-plane electric field in collisionless asymmetric magnetic reconnection. This electric field, dubbed the "Larmor electric field," is associated with finite Larmor radius effects and is distinct from the known Hall electric field. Potentially, it could be an important indicator for the upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale mission to locate reconnection sites as we expect it to appear on the magnetospheric side, pointing earthward, at the dayside magnetopause reconnection site.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Malakit
- Department of Physics, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
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12
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Zenitani S, Hesse M, Klimas A, Kuznetsova M. New measure of the dissipation region in collisionless magnetic reconnection. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2011; 106:195003. [PMID: 21668168 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.106.195003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
A new measure to identify a small-scale dissipation region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is proposed. The energy transfer from the electromagnetic field to plasmas in the electron's rest frame is formulated as a Lorentz-invariant scalar quantity. The measure is tested by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in typical configurations: symmetric and asymmetric reconnection, with and without the guide field. The innermost region surrounding the reconnection site is accurately located in all cases. We further discuss implications for nonideal MHD dissipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiji Zenitani
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
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