Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsm43c..04e&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SM43C-04
Other
2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 2744 Magnetotail, 2764 Plasma Sheet, 7835 Magnetic Reconnection (2723, 7526)
Scientific paper
A key prediction of theories explaining collisionless magnetic reconnection in magnetotail-like geometries is the formation of Hall magnetic and electric field structure in the vicinity of the diffusion region. Here we present multi-point in-situ observations of a diffusion region observed in the Earth's magnetotail plasma sheet by Cluster and investigate both the electric and magnetic field structure. Observations made by spacecraft above the current sheet are compared with simultaneous observations made by another spacecraft below the current sheet, thus allowing the spatial structure of the Hall electric and magnetic field to be probed directly. It is found that close to the diffusion region, the Hall magnetic field displays the expected symmetric quadrupolar structure. For the first time, the symmetry and structure of the Hall electric field is observed directly; although symmetric about the current sheet, it is much larger on the Earthward side of the diffusion region. In conjunction with the diffusion region, a small scale magnetic flux rope was observed. This flux rope, observed so close to the reconnection site may correspond to what are called secondary islands in computer simulations. Such islands are thought to play an important role in particle acceleration. The core magnetic field is enhanced by a factor of three and observations of the electric field inside the magnetic island show extremely strong electric fields which are likely to play a significant role in the electron dynamics during reconnection.
Balogh André
Eastwood Jonathan P.
Hesse Matthias
Lucek Elizabeth
Mozer F.
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