☆ 4.7 Article

Electron energization and mixing observed by MMS in the vicinity of an electron diffusion region during magnetopause reconnection

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS (2016)

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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 43, Issue 12, Pages 6036-6043

Publisher

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2016GL069215

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Categories

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

Funding

  1. NSF [AGS-1202537, AGS-1543598, AGS-1552142]
  2. Theory and Modeling Program
  3. Fast Plasma Investigation of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission
  4. NASA
  5. Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences
  6. Directorate For Geosciences [1543598] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

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Measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are reported to show distinct features of electron energization and mixing in the diffusion region of the terrestrial magnetopause reconnection. At the ion jet and magnetic field reversals, distribution functions exhibiting signatures of accelerated meandering electrons are observed at an electron out-of-plane flow peak. The meandering signatures manifested as triangular and crescent structures are established features of the electron diffusion region (EDR). Effects of meandering electrons on the electric field normal to the reconnection layer are detected. Parallel acceleration and mixing of the inflowing electrons with exhaust electrons shape the exhaust flow pattern. In the EDR vicinity, the measured distribution functions indicate that locally, the electron energization and mixing physics is captured by two-dimensional reconnection, yet to account for the simultaneous four-point measurements, translational invariant in the third dimension must be violated on the ion-skin-depth scale.

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