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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 107, NO. A9,
1256,
doi:10.1029/2001JA009148,
2002
Reconnection onset in the tail of Earth's magnetosphere
M. I. Sitnov
Department of Astronomy,
University of Maryland at College Park,
College Park,
Maryland,
USA
A. S. Sharma
Department of Astronomy,
University of Maryland at College Park,
College Park,
Maryland,
USA
P. N. Guzdar
Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics,
University of Maryland at College Park,
Maryland,
USA
P. H. Yoon
Institute for Physical Science and Technology,
University of Maryland at College Park,
College Park,
Maryland,
USA
Abstract
We present the nonlocal kinetic linear stability analysis of the self-consistent isotropic collisionless plasma equilibrium
with strongly stretched magnetic field lines (the so-called modified Harris sheet) with respect to the tearing mode, which
provides the onset of laminar reconnection in the system. The stability problem is solved using the finite element technique
and the drift-kinetic description for the electron species with additional averaging over the bounce motion of the trapped
electrons. The mode is found unstable for ion-to-electron temperature ratios typical for the tail current sheet of Earth's
magnetosphere when this sheet is sufficiently long, so that the electrons leaving it may be treated as transient particles.
Comparison of the theory with earlier fluid modeling shows that the onset of reconnection is controlled by the Hall effect
and a purely kinetic effect arising from different responses of the trapped and transient electrons. Geophysical implications
such as the formation of the near-Earth neutral line and thin current sheets during substorms are discussed.
Published 27
September
2002.
Index Terms: 2772 Magnetospheric Physics: Plasma waves and instabilities; 2744 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetotail; 2788 Magnetospheric Physics: Storms and substorms; 3230 Mathematical Geophysics: Numerical solutions.
Read Full Article (file size: 314098 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Sitnov, M. I., A. S. Sharma, P. N. Guzdar, and P. H. Yoon
(2002),
Reconnection onset in the tail of Earth's magnetosphere,
J. Geophys. Res.,
107(A9),
1256,
doi:10.1029/2001JA009148.
Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union.
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