Detection of Large Guide Field Electron-Only Reconnection in a Filamentary Current Sheet Immersed in a Large-Scale Magnetopause Reconnection Exhaust
We present the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission's observations of large-scale reconnection with a laminar ion exhaust containing many electron-scale filamentary current sheets, one of which exhibited a super-ion-Alfvénic electron jet flowing opposite to the ion exhaust jet, identified as electron-only reconnection. Despite the close proximity (a few electron inertial lengths) of the four MMS spacecraft, they recorded different electron-only reconnection signatures, including differences in the magnitude and profile of the electron jet, parallel electric fields, and dissipation j·E^{'}≡j·[E+v_{e}×B], indicating extremely short-scale spatial and temporal variability. Furthermore, the leading spacecraft did not detect reconnection signatures, suggesting that MMS may have witnessed the onset of electron-only reconnection. Hall magnetic field perturbations associated with an electron-scale current sheet were detected after the onset. The dissipation j·E^{'} in the electron-only current sheet was dominated by the component perpendicular to the magnetic field, contrasting with the dominance of the parallel component in previous large guide field reconnection events.
Authors
- J. F. Drake (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9150-1841)
- D. J. Gershman
- N. Ahmadi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5267-0485)
- P. S. Pyakurel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4832-7638)
- K. J. Genestreti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6890-2973)
- M. Øieroset (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3112-1561)
- M. Oka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2191-1025)
- M. A. Shay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1861-4767)
- R. J. Strangeway (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9839-1828)
- J. E. Stawarz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5702-5802)
- B. L. Giles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8054-825X)
- Alfred Mallet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-1340)
- Shan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6783-7759)
- R. B. Torbert
- T. D. Phan
- J. L. Burch
- R. E. Ergun
Institutions
- Southwest Research Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- University of New Hampshire (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of New Hampshire at Manchester (US)
- Peking University (CN)
- University of Colorado System (US)
- Northumbria University (GB)
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (US)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Delaware (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-03-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.134.115201
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.62
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center