Energy partition in magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetotail

Energy partition in magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetotail

The partition of energy flux in magnetic reconnection is examined experimentally using Cluster satellite observations of collisionless reconnection in Earth's magnetotail. In this plasma regime, the dominant component of the energy flux is ion enthalpy flux, with smaller contributions from the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters Vol. 110; no. 22; p. 225001
Main Authors: Eastwood, J P, Phan, T D, Drake, J F, Shay, M A, Borg, A L, Lavraud, B, Taylor, M G G T
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 31-05-2013
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Summary:The partition of energy flux in magnetic reconnection is examined experimentally using Cluster satellite observations of collisionless reconnection in Earth's magnetotail. In this plasma regime, the dominant component of the energy flux is ion enthalpy flux, with smaller contributions from the electron enthalpy and heat flux and the ion kinetic energy flux. However, the Poynting flux is not negligible, and in certain parts of the ion diffusion region the Poynting flux in fact dominates. Evidence for earthward-tailward asymmetry is ascribed to the presence of Earth's dipole fields.
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ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.225001