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Extended magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause from detection of bi-directional jets

Nature volume 404, pages 848–850 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts magnetic energy into bi-directional plasma jets; it is believed to be the dominant process by which solar-wind energy enters the Earth's magnetosphere1,2. This energy is subsequently dissipated by magnetic storms and aurorae3,4. Previous single-spacecraft observations5,6,7 revealed only single jets at the magnetopause—while the existence of a counter-streaming jet was implicitly assumed, no experimental confirmation was available. Here we report in situ two-spacecraft observations of bi-directional jets at the magnetopause, finding evidence for a stable and extended reconnection line; the latter implies substantial entry of the solar wind into the magnetosphere. We conclude that reconnection is determined by large-scale interactions between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, rather than by local conditions at the magnetopause.

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Figure 1: Three-dimensional cutaway view of the magnetosphere showing the spacecraft positions and the presence of an extended reconnection line.
Figure 2: Overview of Equator-S and Geotail encounters of bi-directional jets.
Figure 3: Quantitative comparison with reconnection prediction.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Lepping and R. Lin for making the Wind spacecraft data available, and A. Raj, H. Kucharek, D. Patel and P. Schroeder for their help in the processing of Equator-S plasma data. We also thank S. Krucker for comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    T. D. Phan, C. W. Carlson & M. Øieroset

  2. Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 03824, New Hampshire, USA

    L. M. Kistler & E. Moebius

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, 85740, Germany

    B. Klecker, G. Haerendel, G. Paschmann, W. Baumjohann & E. Georgescu

  4. Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, 03755, New Hampshire, USA

    B. U. Ö. Sonnerup

  5. IFSI-CNR, Roma, 00133, Italy

    A. M. DiLellis

  6. Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, 38106, Germany

    K.-H. Fornacon

  7. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, 52242, Iowa, USA

    L. A. Frank & W. R. Paterson

  8. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, 152, Japan

    M. Fujimoto

  9. Institute of Space Sciences, Bucharest, 76900, Romania

    E. Georgescu

  10. Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Aichi, 442, Japan

    S. Kokubun

  11. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Sagamihara, 229, Kanagawa, Japan

    T. Mukai

  12. Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, 31029, France

    H. Reme

Authors
  1. T. D. Phan
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  2. L. M. Kistler
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  7. W. Baumjohann
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  8. M. B. Bavassano-Cattaneo
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  14. E. Georgescu
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  15. S. Kokubun
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  16. E. Moebius
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  17. T. Mukai
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  18. M. Øieroset
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  19. W. R. Paterson
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  20. H. Reme
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. D. Phan.

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Phan, T., Kistler, L., Klecker, B. et al. Extended magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause from detection of bi-directional jets. Nature 404, 848–850 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35009050

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