Electron acceleration and thermalization at reconnection separatrices
Abstract
During magnetic reconnection, electrons can be accelerated to large energies. This acceleration is known to take place in several steps, both before, during, and after the electrons have passed the separatrices or X line. In this study we use the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission to investigate the electron acceleration, and subsequent beam thermalization occurring along the separatrices at magnetotail separatrices. Here, initially cold electron populations are accelerated towards the X line forming beams with energies of one to a few keV's, corresponding to a substantial fraction of the electron thermal energy inside the exhaust. The accelerated population interacts with the exhaust population and leads to a two-stream instability and the formation of electrostatic waves. The wave's amplitudes are large enough to trap the accelerated electrons, leading to electron phase space holes, and aids in thermalising the beam.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMSM23B..02N
- Keywords:
-
- 2723 Magnetic reconnection;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 2744 Magnetotail;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 7526 Magnetic reconnection;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7835 Magnetic reconnection;
- SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS