Dayside Magnetic Reconnection With Outflow Below the Mars' Escape Velocity: MAVEN Observation
Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that magnetic reconnection can cause ionospheric ions to escape from Mars. Using data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, we observed a dayside magnetic reconnection event with a jet speed of approximately 1.1 km/s, which is below Mars' escape velocity of 5 km/s. This event, characterized by a clear Hall magnetic field between draped interplanetary magnetic fields and open crustal field lines, was detected in the dayside ionosphere of the southern hemisphere. Due to the high density of heavy ions, the inflow Alfvén speed is low, around 2 km/s. Consequently, the reconnection jet, moving approximately at the inflow Alfvén speed, cannot escape Mars despite moving towards space. However, the reconnection significantly heated the ionospheric ions. Our findings may offer valuable insights into the study of similar processes, such as failed eruptions in the solar corona.
Authors
- Xiaojun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2309-0649)
- Siqi Yi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2596-5664)
- Zilu Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8407)
- Jun Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4721-8184)
- Hengyan Man (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5869-4899)
- Lei Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-1564)
- Zhihong Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0617-4418)
- Jing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0471-5532)
- Xiaohua Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2267-018X)
- Peishan He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6721-0497)
- Xing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6369-4669)
- Pu Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1591-2947)
- Wenjing Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8199-8442)
Institutions
- Macau University of Science and Technology (MO)
- Nanchang University (CN)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- China National Space Administration (CN)
- Nanchang Institute of Science & Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
- Published
- 2025-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008846
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China