In Situ Evidence of Ion Acceleration between Consecutive Reconnection Jet FrontsJohns Hopkins Univ, Appl Phys Lab, Laurel, MD USA..
Johns Hopkins Univ, Appl Phys Lab, Laurel, MD USA..
Univ Paris Sud, Lab Phys Plasmas, CNRS, Ecole Polytech,Sorbonne Univ,Observ Paris, Paris, France..
Swedish Inst Space Phys, Uppsala, Sweden..
Univ Calabria, Dipartimento Fis, Arcavacata Di Rende, Italy..
Univ Calabria, Dipartimento Fis, Arcavacata Di Rende, Italy..
Univ Paris Sud, Lab Phys Plasmas, CNRS, Ecole Polytech,Sorbonne Univ,Observ Paris, Paris, France.;CNRS, Lab Phys & Chim Environm & Espace, Orleans, France..
CNRS, Lab Phys & Chim Environm & Espace, Orleans, France..
Univ Paris Sud, Lab Phys Plasmas, CNRS, Ecole Polytech,Sorbonne Univ,Observ Paris, Paris, France..
Swedish Inst Space Phys, Uppsala, Sweden..
Swedish Inst Space Phys, Uppsala, Sweden..
Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD USA..
Johns Hopkins Univ, Appl Phys Lab, Laurel, MD USA..
Southwest Res Inst, San Antonio, TX USA.;Univ Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX USA..
Univ New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 USA..
Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Earth & Space Sci, Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA..
Univ Colorado, LASP, Boulder, CO 80309 USA..
Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD USA..
Southwest Res Inst, San Antonio, TX USA..
Show others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Astrophysical Journal, ISSN 0004-637X, E-ISSN 1538-4357, Vol. 908, no 1, article id 73Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Processes driven by unsteady reconnection can efficiently accelerate particles in many astrophysical plasmas. An example is the reconnection jet fronts in an outflow region. We present evidence of suprathermal ion acceleration between two consecutive reconnection jet fronts observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the terrestrial magnetotail. An earthward propagating jet is approached by a second faster jet. Between the jets, the thermal ions are mostly perpendicular to magnetic field, are trapped, and are gradually accelerated in the parallel direction up to 150 keV. Observations suggest that ions are predominantly accelerated by a Fermi-like mechanism in the contracting magnetic bottle formed between the two jet fronts. The ion acceleration mechanism is presumably efficient in other environments where jet fronts produced by variable rates of reconnection are common and where the interaction of multiple jet fronts can also develop a turbulent environment, e.g., in stellar and solar eruptions.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Astronomical Society , 2021. Vol. 908, no 1, article id 73
Keywords [en]
Space plasmas, Plasma jets, Solar magnetic reconnection
National Category
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-292057DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abce5aISI: 000618345100001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85101512751OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-292057DiVA, id: diva2:1540541
Note
QC 20210329
2021-03-292021-03-292022-06-25Bibliographically approved