Ion Larmor radius effects near a reconnection X line at the magnetopause: THEMIS observations and simulation comparison

T. D. Phan; M. A. Shay; C. C. Haggerty; J. T. Gosling; J. P. Eastwood; M. Fujimoto; K. Malakit; F. S. Mozer; P. A. Cassak; M. Oieroset; V. Angelopoulos

doi:10.1002/2016GL070224

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Ion Larmor radius effects near a reconnection X line at the magnetopause: THEMIS observations and simulation comparison

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Ion Larmor radius effects near a reconnection X line at the magnetopause: THEMIS observations and simulation comparison

T. D. Phan, M. A. Shay, C. C. Haggerty, J. T. Gosling, J. P. Eastwood, M. Fujimoto, K. Malakit, F. S. Mozer, P. A. Cassak, M. Oieroset, …

Geophysical research letters, Vol.43(17), pp.8844-8852

09/16/2016

DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070224

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Abstract

We report a Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS-D) spacecraft crossing of a magnetopause reconnection exhaust similar to 9 ion skin depths (d(i)) downstream of an X line. The crossing was characterized by ion jetting at speeds substantially below the predicted reconnection outflow speed. In the magnetospheric inflow region THEMIS detected (a) penetration of magnetosheath ions and the resulting flows perpendicular to the reconnection plane, (b) ion outflow extending into the magnetosphere, and (c) enhanced electron parallel temperature. Comparison with a simulation suggests that these signatures are associated with the gyration of magnetosheath ions onto magnetospheric field lines due to the shift of the flow stagnation point toward the low-density magnetosphere. Our observations indicate that these effects, similar to 2-3 d(i) in width, extend at least 9 d(i) downstream of the X line. The detection of these signatures could indicate large-scale proximity of the X line but do not imply that the spacecraft was upstream of the electron diffusion region.

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Physical Sciences

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

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Title: Subtitle: Ion Larmor radius effects near a reconnection X line at the magnetopause: THEMIS observations and simulation comparison
Creators: T. D. Phan - University of California, Berkeley
M. A. Shay - University of Delaware
C. C. Haggerty - University of Delaware
J. T. Gosling - University of Colorado Boulder
J. P. Eastwood - Imperial College London
M. Fujimoto - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
K. Malakit - Mahidol University
F. S. Mozer - University of California, Berkeley
P. A. Cassak - West Virginia University
M. Oieroset - Univ Calif Berkeley, Space Sci Lab, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
V. Angelopoulos - University of California, Los Angeles
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Geophysical research letters, Vol.43(17), pp.8844-8852
DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070224
ISSN: 0094-8276
eISSN: 1944-8007
Publisher: Amer Geophysical Union
Number of pages: 9
Grant note: ST/K001051/1 / STFC; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) NNX13AD72G; NNX15AW58G; NNX08AO83G; NNX08A084G; NNX16AF75G; NNX16AG76G / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) ST/K001051/1; ST/N000692/1 / STFC(UK); UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) AGS-1103303; AGS-0953463 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) ST/K001051/1 / Science and Technology Facilities Council; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Language: English
Date published: 09/16/2016
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9985224414602771

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