Linear Theory of Drift Tearing Modes at the Magnetopause

Details Linear Theory of Drift Tearing Modes at the Magnetopause Linear Theory of Drift Tearing Modes at the Magnetopause

Dec 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufmsh31a1079d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #SH31A-1079

Physics

2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 7835 Magnetic Reconnection

Scientific paper

Although the tearing instability has been the subject of extensive research, the approximations typically employed are less accurate for current sheets with thickness comparable to a thermal ion gyroradius. In this work, the linear Vlasov stability of a Harris sheet with an arbitrary guide field is calculated using a formally exact approach in which the orbit integrals are computed numerically1. Both electromagnetic and electrostatic contributions to the field perturbation are included and the eigenvalue problem for the resulting system of integro-differential equations is solved using a finite element representation of the eigenfunction. In addition, the calculation includes a finite wavevector in the direction of the current to examine the linear properties of the obliquely propagating drift tearing modes. The growth rate and mode structure are computed for a range of interesting parameters and the results are compared with previous linear calculations. Significant differences are found between these new linear results and previous theoretical treatments. For example the resonant ion contribution, which has been neglected in previous calculations, is found to significantly modify the linear properties of the mode in certain regimes. Given that the linear growth rate is critical in the debate over the location of reconnection at the magnetopause, these new findings point to the need to revisit previous studies of the tearing mode at the magnetopause.
1 W. Daughton, Physics of Plasmas 10, 3103 (2003)

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