Particle-in-cell Modeling of Thin Current Sheet Formation and the Onset of Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail

Details Particle-in-cell Modeling of Thin Current Sheet Formation and the Onset of Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail Particle-in-cell Modeling of Thin Current Sheet Formation and the Onset of Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail

May 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agusmsm32a..15h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2002, abstract #SM32A-15

Physics

2744 Magnetotail, 2753 Numerical Modeling, 2764 Plasma Sheet, 2788 Storms And Substorms

Scientific paper

The formation of thin current sheets is often observed during the late growth phase of magnetospheric substorms. Within these current sheets, strong current density enhancements are supported by electron streaming in the cross-tail direction. Although the ion pressure is providing the majority of the total diamagnetic current, ion currents are limited by momentum conservation. Instead, the electron current is enabled by the presence of Hall-type electric fields in the center of the current sheet, as well as extending toward the Earth. The increase of total current density inside the thin current sheet produces a reduction of the magnetic normal component. The increase in electron Larmor radius eventually leads to a demagnetization of electrons, and subsequently to the onset of magnetic reconnection. We present results from a fully electromagnetic simulation of this scenario. The evolution is fashioned after that of an MHD model through the use of similar initial configuration and driving. We will compare the similarities and differences between the models and focus on the onset of kinetic processes when the MHD model predicts a singular current sheet.

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