3D fully kinetic simulations of magnetic reconnection in asymmetric, anti-parallel configuration

Understanding of the influence of microscopic instabilities and turbulence on magnetic reconnection is a long-standing problem in reconnection research. In this work we present the results of fully kinetic 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection in asymmetric configuration without a guide field. The parameters of simulations (degree of asymmetry, plasma beta, etc) are chosen to mimic magnetopause current sheet. We demonstrate that while the reconnection layers are almost always unstable against a spectrum of electromagnetic instabilities in the lower-hybrid range, the saturation amplitude and the role played by those instabilities varies greatly depending on the local current sheet parameters. In addition to elucidating the role played by instabilities in the reconnection process, the simulations provide observational signatures that can be directly compared against the observations made during traverse of reconnection regions by a spacecraft. The implication of these results for reconnection at the magnetopause is discussed.