A Characterization of Reconnection at the Far Flanks of the Earth's Magnetopause

Abstract

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission observations previously indicated that magnetic reconnection, under certain circumstances, is prevalent at low latitudes at and past the Earth's terminator. This insight revealed a new regime to study reconnection. This study investigates some close encounters between MMS satellites and reconnection x-lines at the far-flank magnetopause. This study finds that magnetic reconnection on the far flanks is typically anti-parallel, and that the plasma bulk flow in the magnetosheath is nearly parallel to the plane of the reconnection x-line and perpendicular to the outflow direction. An LMN coordinate transform showed that L, the dominant direction of the reconnection exhaust outflow, is in the positive Z (Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric) direction. Finally, observations along the far flanks serve as reasonable input conditions for numerical simulations.