A kinetic theory of driven reconnection in the earth's magnetotail

Physics

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Earth Magnetosphere, Geomagnetic Tail, Kinetic Theory, Magnetic Field Reconnection, Magnetohydrodynamic Flow, Magnetopause, Boundary Layer Plasmas, Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, Magnetohydrodynamics, Plasma Equilibrium, Plasma Layers, Tearing Modes (Plasmas), Trapped Particles

Scientific paper

An analytical investigation of the process of driven magnetic reconnection induced by perturbing the magnetopause boundary of the earth's magnetotail is presented within the framework of kinetic theory. An explicit expression for the reconnected flux is obtained. The driven reconnection can either be exponential or bursty (i.e., short-lived) type. The exponential type reconnection can occur only when the trapped electron population is less than 30 percent. The reconnection rates for the exponential type reconnection are either smaller than or at most equal to the ion-tearing mode instability growth rates. The bursty type reconnection generally occurs at rates much faster than the growth rates of the ion-tearing instability. The size of the magnetic islands formed, and the magnitude and duration of the plasma flows induced along the tail axis are much larger during the exponential type than during the bursty type reconnection. Under certain conditions the bursty type reconnection is expected to be important for the onset of magnetospheric substorms and their energization.

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