Magnetotail Hall Physics in the Presence of Cold IonsShow others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Geophysical Research Letters, ISSN 0094-8276, E-ISSN 1944-8007, Vol. 45, no 20, p. 10,941-10,950Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
We present the first in situ observation of cold ionospheric ions modifying the Hall physics of magnetotail reconnection. While in the tail lobe, Magnetospheric Multiscale mission observed cold (tens of eV) E × B drifting ions. As Magnetospheric Multiscale mission crossed the separatrix of a reconnection exhaust, both cold lobe ions and hot (keV) ions were observed. During the closest approach of the neutral sheet, the cold ions accounted for ∼30% of the total ion density. Approximately 65% of the initial cold ions remained cold enough to stay magnetized. The Hall electric field was mainly supported by the j × B term of the generalized Ohm's law, with significant contributions from the ∇·P e and v c ×B terms. The results show that cold ions can play an important role in modifying the Hall physics of magnetic reconnection even well inside the plasma sheet. This indicates that modeling magnetic reconnection may benefit from including multiscale Hall physics.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Blackwell Publishing Ltd , 2018. Vol. 45, no 20, p. 10,941-10,950
Keywords [en]
cold ions, Hall physics, magnetic reconnection, magnetotail, MMS, Ohm's law, Electric fields, Ions, Magnetism, Magnetosphere, Plasma sheaths, Magnetic reconnections, Magnetotails, Magnetoplasma, electric field, electromagnetic field, in situ measurement, ion, physics, plasma
National Category
Physical Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-247111DOI: 10.1029/2018GL079857ISI: 000451510500017Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85055921259OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-247111DiVA, id: diva2:1302234
Note
QC 20190404
2019-04-042019-04-042024-03-15Bibliographically approved