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Torbert RB, Burch JL, Phan TD, Hesse M, Argall MR, Shuster J, Ergun RE, Alm L, Nakamura R, Genestreti KJ, Gershman DJ, Paterson WR, Turner DL, Cohen I, Giles BL, Pollock CJ, Wang S, Chen LJ, Stawarz JE, Eastwood JP, Hwang KJ, Farrugia C, Dors I, Vaith H, Mouikis C, Ardakani A, Mauk BH, Fuselier SA, Russell CT, Strangeway RJ, Moore TE, Drake JF, Shay MA, Khotyaintsev YV, Lindqvist PA, Baumjohann W, Wilder FD, Ahmadi N, Dorelli JC, Avanov LA, Oka M, Baker DN, Fennell JF, Blake JB, Jaynes AN, Le Contel O, Petrinec SM, Lavraud B, Saito Y. Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space. Science 2018; 362:1391-1395. [PMID: 30442767 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat2998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- R B Torbert
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA. .,Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - J L Burch
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - T D Phan
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - M Hesse
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, USA.,University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - M R Argall
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - J Shuster
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - R E Ergun
- University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - L Alm
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - R Nakamura
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - K J Genestreti
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - D J Gershman
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - W R Paterson
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - D L Turner
- Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, USA
| | - I Cohen
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - B L Giles
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C J Pollock
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S Wang
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - L-J Chen
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - J E Stawarz
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - J P Eastwood
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - K J Hwang
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - C Farrugia
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - I Dors
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - H Vaith
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - C Mouikis
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - A Ardakani
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - B H Mauk
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - S A Fuselier
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, USA.,University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - C T Russell
- University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - T E Moore
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J F Drake
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - M A Shay
- University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | | | - W Baumjohann
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - F D Wilder
- University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - N Ahmadi
- University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J C Dorelli
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - L A Avanov
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Oka
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D N Baker
- University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - J B Blake
- Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, USA
| | | | - O Le Contel
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université/Univ. Paris Sud/Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France
| | - S M Petrinec
- Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - B Lavraud
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, CNRS, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Y Saito
- Institute for Space and Astronautical Sciences, Sagamihara, Japan
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