scholarly journals The MMS Dayside Magnetic Reconnection Locations During Phase 1 and Their Relation to the Predictions of the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (12) ◽  
pp. 11,991-12,005 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Trattner ◽  
J. L. Burch ◽  
R. Ergun ◽  
S. Eriksson ◽  
S. A. Fuselier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Shear Model

scholarly journals The Location of Magnetic Reconnection at Earth’s Magnetopause

2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Trattner ◽  
S. M. Petrinec ◽  
S. A. Fuselier
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Ion Beams ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
General Direction ◽  
Shear Model ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractOne of the major questions about magnetic reconnection is how specific solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions influence where reconnection occurs at the Earth’s magnetopause. There are two reconnection scenarios discussed in the literature: a) anti-parallel reconnection and b) component reconnection. Early spacecraft observations were limited to the detection of accelerated ion beams in the magnetopause boundary layer to determine the general direction of the reconnection X-line location with respect to the spacecraft. An improved view of the reconnection location at the magnetopause evolved from ionospheric emissions observed by polar-orbiting imagers. These observations and the observations of accelerated ion beams revealed that both scenarios occur at the magnetopause. Improved methodology using the time-of-flight effect of precipitating ions in the cusp regions and the cutoff velocity of the precipitating and mirroring ion populations was used to pinpoint magnetopause reconnection locations for a wide range of solar wind conditions. The results from these methodologies have been used to construct an empirical reconnection X-line model known as the Maximum Magnetic Shear model. Since this model’s inception, several tests have confirmed its validity and have resulted in modifications to the model for certain solar wind conditions. This review article summarizes the observational evidence for the location of magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause, emphasizing the properties and efficacy of the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model.

Orientation of the X-line in asymmetric magnetic reconnection

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Aunai ◽  
M. Hesse ◽  
B. Lavraud ◽  
J. Dargent ◽  
R. Smets
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Domain Size ◽  
Shear Angle ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Field Profile ◽  
Reconnection Rate ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Magnetic Field Profile ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Set Up

Magnetic reconnection can occur in current sheets separating magnetic fields sheared by any angle and of arbitrarily different amplitudes. In such asymmetric and non-coplanar systems, it is not yet understood what the orientation of the X-line will be. Studying how this orientation is determined locally by the reconnection process is important to understand systems such as the Earth magnetopause, where reconnection occurs in regions with large differences in upstream plasma and field properties. This study aims at determining what the local X-line orientation is for different upstream magnetic shear angles in an asymmetric set-up relevant to the Earth’s magnetopause. We use two-dimensional hybrid simulations and vary the simulation plane orientation with regard to the fixed magnetic field profile and search for the plane maximizing the reconnection rate. We find that the plane defined by the bisector of upstream fields maximizes the reconnection rate and this appears not to depend on the magnetic shear angle, domain size or upstream plasma and asymmetries.

THE DEPENDENCE OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION ON PLASMA β AND MAGNETIC SHEAR: EVIDENCE FROM SOLAR WIND OBSERVATIONS

2010 ◽  
Vol 719 (2) ◽  
pp. L199-L203 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Phan ◽  
J. T. Gosling ◽  
G. Paschmann ◽  
C. Pasma ◽  
J. F. Drake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Magnetic Shear

scholarly journals Ion bulk heating in magnetic reconnection exhausts at Earth's magnetopause: Dependence on the inflow Alfvén speed and magnetic shear angle

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (20) ◽  
pp. 7002-7010 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Phan ◽  
J. F. Drake ◽  
M. A. Shay ◽  
J. T. Gosling ◽  
G. Paschmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Shear Angle ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Bulk Heating

scholarly journals Secondary Magnetic Reconnection at Earth’s Flank Magnetopause

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Tang ◽  
W. Y. Li ◽  
C. Wang ◽  
Yu. V. Khotyaintsev ◽  
D. B. Graham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Diffusion Region ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Magnetospheric Multiscale ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Secondary Ion ◽  
Magnetospheric Field

We report local secondary magnetic reconnection at Earth’s flank magnetopause by using the Magnetospheric Multiscale observations. This reconnection is found at the magnetopause boundary with a large magnetic shear between closed magnetospheric field lines and the open field lines generated by the primary magnetopause reconnection at large scales. Evidence of this secondary reconnection are presented, which include a secondary ion jet and the encounter of the electron diffusion region. Thus the observed secondary reconnection indicates a cross-scale process from a global scale to an electron scale. As the aurora brightening is also observed at the morning ionosphere, the present secondary reconnection suggests a new pathway for the entry of the solar wind into geospace, providing an important modification to the classic Dungey cycle.

scholarly journals The steepness of the magnetic shear angle “saddle”: A parameter for constraining the location of dayside magnetic reconnection?

2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (10) ◽  
pp. 8404-8414 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Petrinec ◽  
K. J. Trattner ◽  
S. A. Fuselier ◽  
J. Stovall
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Shear Angle ◽  
Magnetic Shear

scholarly journals Electron bulk heating in magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause: Dependence on the inflow Alfvén speed and magnetic shear

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (17) ◽  
pp. 4475-4480 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Phan ◽  
M. A. Shay ◽  
J. T. Gosling ◽  
M. Fujimoto ◽  
J. F. Drake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Bulk Heating

scholarly journals The location of reconnection at the magnetopause: Testing the maximum magnetic shear model with THEMIS observations

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (A1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Trattner ◽  
S. M. Petrinec ◽  
S. A. Fuselier ◽  
T. D. Phan
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Shear Model
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