Journal
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS
Volume 119, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020453
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Funding
- NSF GEM [AGS-1303649]
- NASA [NNX10AQ45G, NNX08AF35G]
- NSF [1102572, AGS-0953463]
- STFC [ST/G008493/1, ST/H004130/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/H004130/1, ST/G008493/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- UK Space Agency [ST/M003132/1, ST/J004758/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- NASA [NNX10AQ45G, 126333] Funding Source: Federal RePORTER
- Directorate For Geosciences [0953463] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences [1102572] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences [0953463] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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When the interplanetary magnetic field is northward, reconnection occurs in each hemisphere on lobe field lines, poleward of the cusp. We have identified a case where the Cluster spacecraft crossed the magnetopause and encountered a tailward retreating x line. The x line is identified by the encounter of both a tailward and sunward jet, as well as Hall magnetic field signatures in the out-of-plane direction. Additionally, we find no signatures of electron heating and hypothesize that the spacecraft is too close to the x line to observe the accelerated electrons. Using two spacecraft, we are able to resolve the velocity of the structure, which moves near the magnetosheath speed. The speed of the x line is also consistent with the asymmetric reconnection theory. To our knowledge, this is the first time the speed of a retreating x line has been measured directly. Additionally, we observe ion distribution functions with counterstreaming populations, suggesting that a second x line formed sunward of the original one, leading to a magnetic island.
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