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Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space.

Roy B TorbertJames L BurchT D PhanMichael HesseM R ArgallJ R ShusterRobert E ErgunL AlmRumi NakamuraK J GenestretiDaniel J GershmanW R PatersonDrew L TurnerIan J CohenBarbara L GilesC J PollockShan WangLi-Jen ChenJulia E StawarzJonathan B EastwoodKyoung-Joo HwangC J FarrugiaI DorsH VaithC MouikisA ArdakaniBarry H MaukStephen A FuselierChristopher T RussellRobert J StrangewayThomas Earle MooreJames F DrakeM A ShayYuri V KhotyaintsevPer-Arne LindqvistWolfgang BaumjohannF D WilderN AhmadiJ C DorelliLevon A AvanovMitsuo OkaDaniel N BakerJ F FennellJ B BlakeAllison N JaynesOlivier Le ContelS M PetrinecBenoit LavraudYoshifumi Saito
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2018)
Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process that occurs in many astrophysical contexts including Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in situ by spacecraft. On 11 July 2017, the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft encountered a reconnection site in Earth's magnetotail, where reconnection involves symmetric inflow conditions. The electron-scale plasma measurements revealed (i) super-Alfvénic electron jets reaching 15,000 kilometers per second; (ii) electron meandering motion and acceleration by the electric field, producing multiple crescent-shaped structures in the velocity distributions; and (iii) the spatial dimensions of the electron diffusion region with an aspect ratio of 0.1 to 0.2, consistent with fast reconnection. The well-structured multiple layers of electron populations indicate that the dominant electron dynamics are mostly laminar, despite the presence of turbulence near the reconnection site.
Keyphrases
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