In Situ Observations of Magnetic Reconnection Caused by the Interactions of Two Dipolarization Fronts

Autor: K. Jiang, S. Y. Huang, Y. Y. Wei, Z. G. Yuan, Q. Y. Xiong, S. B. Xu, J. Zhang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 51, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2024GL109685
Popis: Abstract Using high‐resolution data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, an electron‐only reconnection current sheet is found between two successive dipolarization fronts (DFs). The electron‐only reconnection occurs between the northward component of the magnetic field of the flux pileup region (FPR) of the first DF (DF1) and the southward component of the magnetic dip of the second DF (DF2). The faster DF2 compresses the FPR of DF1, which constitutes an anti‐parallel topology and reduces the thickness of the current sheet. Further analysis shows that the current sheet is unstable to the electron tearing instability, which may power the onset of the reconnection. Our results suggest that these two DFs may merge into one by the reconnection, which sheds light on the evolution of DFs during their earthward propagation.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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