Magnetic Reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz Modes at the Flanks of the Magnetosphere

The physics of the magnetospheric boundaries is central to the transport of mass, energy, and momentum into magnetosphere. However, for northward IMF the transport of mass into the magnetosphere is not well understood. The two major models for plasma transport into the magnetosphere are cusp reconnection and reconnection within nonlinear Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices. The second transport mechanism has attracted much attention, however, much work has focused on two-dimensional dynamics. In three-dimensions the system has an additional degree of freedom which is important because in a 3D system the orientation k vectors of instabilities is not restricted to a two-dimensional plane. Here we will discuss the interaction and relative importance of Kelvin-Helmholtz modes and magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional configuration relevant to the flank boundaries of the magnetosphere for preferably northward IMF conditions in the framework of three-dimensional MHD simulations. We will address dynamical properties and relevant signatures of the associated processes.