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Inside the magnetosheath, the IBEX-Hi energetic neutral atom (ENA) imager measures a distinct background count rate that is more than 10 times the typical heliospheric ENA emissions observed when IBEX is outside the magnetosheath. The source of this enhancement is magnetosheath ions of solar wind (SW) origin that deflect around the Earth's magnetopause (MP), scatter and neutralize from the anti-sunward part of the IBEX-Hi sunshade, and continue into the instrument as neutral atoms, behaving indistinguishably from ENAs emitted from distant plasma sources. While this background pollutes observations of outer heliospheric ENAs, it provides a clear signature of IBEX crossings over the magnetospheric boundaries. In this study, we investigate IBEX encounters with the magnetosheath boundaries using ∼8 yr of orbital data, and we determine the MP and bow shock (BS) locations derived from this background signal. We find 280 BS crossings from

On December 08, 2018 the Twin Rocket Investigation of Cusp Electrodynamics 2 (TRICE 2) mission was successfully launched. The mission consisted of two sounding rockets, each carrying a payload capable of measuring electron and ion distributions, electric and magnetic fields, and plasma waves occurring in the northern magnetospheric cusp. This study highlights the ion and wave observations obtained by TRICE 2 in the cusp and observations from the magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) spacecraft at the low-latitude magnetopause two hours prior to the TRICE 2 traversal of the cusp. Within the cusp, typical ion cusp features were observed, that is, energy-latitude dispersion of injected magnetosheath plasma. However, a lower energy population was also measured near the equatorward edge of the cusp on open field lines. Pitch-angle distributions of the low-energy ions suggest that this population was magnetospheric in origin, and not from ionospheric upflows. Data from MMS show that counterstreaming ions were present in the outer magnetosphere and low-latitude boundary layer at similar energies to those observed by TRICE 2 in the cusp. Correlations between the low-energy ions within the cusp and broadband extremely low frequency waves suggest that the low-energy magnetospheric ions that filled the flux tube may have undergone wave-particle interactions. These interactions may cause pitch-angle scattering of low-energy magnetospheric ions closer to the loss cone, thereby allowing them to precipitate into the cusp and be measured by the TRICE 2 sounding rockets.

Observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to quantify the maximum effect of magnetospheric H+ and He+ on dayside magnetopause reconnection. A data base of current-sheet crossings from the first 2 years of the MMS mission is used to identify magnetopause crossings with the highest He+ concentrations. While all of these magnetopause crossings exhibit evidence of plasmaspheric plume material, only half of the crossings are directly associated with plasmaspheric plumes. The He+ density varies dramatically within the magnetosphere adjacent to the magnetopause, with density variations of an order of magnitude on timescales as short as 10 s, the time resolution of the composition instrument on MMS. Plasma wave observations are used to determine the total electron density, and composition measurements are used to determine the mass density in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere. These mass densities are then used with the magnetic field observations to determine the theoretical reduction in the reconnection rate at the magnetopause. The presence of high-density plasmaspheric plume material at the magnetopause causes transient reductions in the reconnection rate of up to ∼40%. publishedVersion

In this study, the ion composition of flux transfer events (FTEs) observed within the magnetosheath proper is examined. These FTEs were observed just upstream of the Earth's postnoon magnetopause by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft constellation. The minor ion characteristics are described using energy spectrograms, flux distributions, and ion moments as the constellation encountered each FTE. In conjunction with electron data and magnetic field observations, such observations provide important contextual information on the formation, topologies, and evolution of FTEs. In particular, minor ions, when combined with the field‐aligned streaming of electrons, are reliable indicators of FTE topology. The observations are also placed (i) in context of the solar wind magnetic field configuration, (ii) the connection of the sampled flux tube to the ionosphere, and (iii) the location relative to the modeled reconnection line at the magnetopause. While protons and alpha particles were often depleted within the FTEs relative to the surrounding magnetosheath plasma, the He+ and O+ populations showed clear enhancements either near the center or near the edges of the FTE, and the bulk plasma flow directions are consistent with magnetic reconnection northward of the spacecraft and convection from the dayside toward the flank magnetopause., Key Points Long‐duration magnetosheath FTEs observed under at postnoon local times and under similar solar wind conditions are compared and contrastedMinor ions from the magnetosphere are observed at higher energies at the edges than at the center of the FTEsThe cores of the magnetosheath FTEs are on closed field lines

Observations from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer/Electron Spectrometer (CAPS/ELS) are used in an in‐depth investigation of the occurrence and location of reconnection at Saturn's magnetopause. Heated, streaming electrons parallel and/or antiparallel to the magnetic field in the magnetosheath adjacent to the magnetopause indicate that reconnection is occurring somewhere on the boundary. In these instances, the Cassini spacecraft is connected to open magnetic field lines that thread the magnetopause boundary. A survey of 99 crossings with sufficient pitch angle coverage from CAPS/ELS indicates that 65% of the crossings had this evidence of reconnection. Specific crossings from this survey are used to demonstrate that there are times when reconnection at Saturn's low‐latitude magnetopause may be suppressed.

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission provides global energetic neutral atom (ENA) observations from the heliosphere and the Earth's magnetosphere, including spatial, temporal, and energy information. IBEX views the magnetosphere from the sides and almost always perpendicular to noon‐midnight plane. We report the first ENA images of the energization process in the Earth's ion foreshock and magnetosheath regions. We show ENA flux and spectral images of the dayside magnetosphere with significant energization of ENA plasma sources (above ~2.7 keV) in the region magnetically connected to the Earth's bow shock (BS) in its quasi‐parallel configuration of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We also show that the ion energization increases gradually with decreasing IMF‐BS angle, suggesting more efficient suprathermal ion acceleration deeper in the quasi‐parallel foreshock., Key Points We present the first remote‐sensing global images of ion energization in the Earth's foreshockWe provide ion energization profile as a function of bow shock obliquityWe quantify the difference of energization in magnetosheath and its magnetically connected counterpart in the upstream foreshock

The Earth’s plasmasphere contains cold (~eV energy) dense (>100 cm-3) plasma of ionospheric origin. The primary ion constituents of the plasmasphere are H+ and He+, and a lower concentration of O+. The outer part of the plasmasphere, especially on the duskside of the Earth, drains away into the dayside outer magnetosphere when geomagnetic activity increases. Because of its high density and low temperature, this plasma has the potential to modify magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause. To investigate the effect of plasmaspheric material at the magnetopause, Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) data are surveyed to identify magnetopause crossings with the highest He+densities. Plasma wave, ion, and ion composition data are used to determine densities and mass densities of this plasmaspheric material and the magnetosheath plasma adjacent to the magnetopause. These measurements are combined with magnetic field measurements to determine how the highest density plasmaspheric material in the MMS era may affect reconnection at the magnetopause.

The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) convected with the solar wind drapes around the region of space dominated by Earth’s geomagnetic field and undergoes a process called magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause; the boundary layer that separates these two distinct regimes. Magnetic reconnection changes the topology of magnetic field lines and is known to convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy and heat. This fundamental process occurs in many environments, spanning from laboratory plasmas to the heliosphere, the solar atmosphere, and to astrophysical phenomena. Magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause has been observed at various times and places as either anti-parallel and/or component reconnection. A model known as the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model combines these two scenarios, creating long reconnection lines crossing the dayside magnetopause along a ridge of maximum magnetic shear. The connection points between the anti-parallel and the component reconnection segments of the reconnection line are known as ‘Knee’ regions. Using observations from the MMS satellites, it was shown that the location of the Knee region depends strongly on the local draping conditions of the IMF across the magnetopause, with certain draping conditions causing a deflection of the location along the anti-parallel reconnection region. This study discusses an event that shows that the entire component reconnection X-line crossing the dayside magnetopause can be affected by this deflection. This result emphasizes the importance of anti-parallel reconnection that seems to control where component reconnection is occurring.

Flux transfer events (FTEs) are transient phenomena frequently observed at the Earth's magnetopause. Their usual interpretation is a flux rope moving away from the reconnection region. However, the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission revealed that magnetic reconnection sometimes occurs inside these structures, questioning their flux rope configuration. Here we investigate 229 FTE‐type structures and find reconnection signatures inside 19% of them. We analyze their large‐scale magnetic topology using electron heat flux and find that it is significantly different across the FTE reconnecting current sheets, demonstrating that they are constituted of two magnetically disconnected structures. We also find that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) associated with reconnecting FTEs presents a strong By component. We discuss several formation mechanisms to explain these observations. In particular, the maximum magnetic shear model predicts that for large IMF By, two spatially distinct X lines coexist at the magnetopause. They can generate separate magnetic flux tubes that may become interlaced.

Energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) created by charge‐exchange of ions with the Earth's hydrogen exosphere near the subsolar magnetopause yield information on the distribution of plasma in the outer magnetosphere and magnetosheath. ENA observations from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) are used to image magnetosheath plasma and, for the first time, low‐energy magnetospheric plasma near the magnetopause. These images show that magnetosheath plasma is distributed fairly evenly near the subsolar magnetopause; however, low‐energy magnetospheric plasma is not distributed evenly in the outer magnetosphere. Simultaneous images and in situ observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft from November 2015 (during the solar cycle declining phase) are used to derive the exospheric density. The ~11–17 cm−3 density at 10 RE is similar to that obtained previously for solar minimum. Thus, these combined results indicate that the exospheric density 10 RE from the Earth may have a weak dependence on solar cycle., Key Points ENA cameras image both magnetosheath and magnetospheric plasmas in the vicinity of the subsolar magnetopauseMagnetospheric plasma is not distributed evenly across the dayside near the magnetopauseThe exospheric hydrogen density near the magnetopause may have a weak dependence on solar F10.7

We report the observation of solar wind‐magnetosphere‐ionosphere interactions using a series of flux transfer events (FTEs) observed by Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission located near the dayside magnetopause on 18 December 2017. The FTEs were observed to propagate duskward and either southward or slightly northward, as predicted under duskward and southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The Cooling model also predicted a significant dawnward propagation of northward‐moving FTEs. Near the MMS footprint, a series of poleward‐moving auroral forms (PMAFs) occurred almost simultaneously with those FTEs. They propagated poleward and westward, consistent with the modeled FTE propagation. The intervals between FTEs, relatively consistent with those between PMAFs, strongly suggest a one‐to‐one correspondence between the dayside transients and ionospheric responses. The FTEs embedded in continuous reconnection observed by MMS and corresponding PMAFs individually occurred during persistent auroral activity recorded by an all‐sky imager strongly indicate that those FTEs/PMAFs resulted from the temporal modulation of the reconnection rate during continuous reconnection. With the decay of the PMAFs associated with the FTEs, patch‐like plasma density enhancements were detected to form and propagate poleward and then dawnward. Propagation to the dawn was also suggested by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) convection and Global Positioning System (GPS) total electron content data. We relate the temporal variation of the driving solar‐wind and magnetospheric mechanism to that of the high‐latitude and polar ionospheric responses and estimate the response time.

In this paper we report on a sequence of large-amplitude Alfvenic fluctuations terminating in a field and flow discontinuity and their effects on electromagnetic fields and plasmas in the near-magn ...

International audience; Magnetic flux ropes of various scale sizes have been observed at the Earth's magnetopause for four decades. These multiple structures resulting from reconnection have complex internal field and plasma signatures, and evolve as they propagate along the dayside magnetopause. Here plasma and magnetic field observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to describe a different type of large-scale multiple reconnection, magnetic flux rope-like structure at the Earth's magnetopause. These observations show at least two X lines separated by many Earth radii. Unlike smaller-scale flux ropes or flux transfer events, these multiple X lines are stationary and consist of primary and secondary X lines. The secondary X line is either transient in time or does not reconnect all of the magnetic flux that reconnects at the primary X line. Several examples of these large-scale reconnection structures are tabulated. These examples indicate that this type of structure may be common at the magnetopause at least for a narrow range of interplanetary magnetic field clock angles.

Magnetospheric ions have the potential to affect magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause. The results of a survey of magnetospheric ions near the magnetopause are reported here. Composition measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to determine the total mass density of all magnetospheric ions and distinguish two populations of magnetospheric ions: the warm plasma cloak and the plasmaspheric drainage plume. The warm plasma cloak can contain substantial O+ and the plasmaspheric plume can contain substantial He+. The results of the survey show that, for nominal magnetospheric activity, the warm plasma cloak and plasmaspheric plume will reduce the normalized reconnection rate at the magnetopause by greater than 20% only a few percent of the time.

The MMS mission was designed to make observations in the very small electron diffusion region (EDR), where magnetic reconnection takes place. From a data set of over 4500 magnetopause crossings obtained in the first phase of the mission, MMS had encounters near or within 12 EDRs. These 12 events and associated magnetopause crossings are considered as a group to determine if they span the widest possible range of external and internal conditions (i.e, in the solar wind and magnetosphere). In addition, observations from MMS are used to determine if there are multiple X-lines present and also to provide information on X-line location relative to the spacecraft. These 12 events represent nearly the widest possible range of conditions at the dayside magnetopause. They occur over a wide range of local times and magnetic shear angles between the magnetosheath and magnetospheric magnetic fields. Most show evidence for multiple reconnection sites.

International audience; When the interplanetary magnetic field is northward for a period of time, O + from the high-latitude ionosphere escapes along reconnected magnetic field lines into the dayside magnetopause boundary layer. Dual-lobe reconnection closes these field lines, which traps O + and mass loads the boundary layer. This O + is an additional source of magnetospheric plasma that interacts with magnetosheath plasma through magnetic reconnection. This mass loading and interaction is illustrated through analysis of a magnetopause crossing by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. While in the O +-rich boundary layer, the interplanetary magnetic field turns southward. As the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft cross the high-shear magnetopause, reconnection signatures are observed. While the reconnection rate is likely reduced by the mass loading, reconnection is not suppressed at the magnetopause. The high-latitude dayside ionosphere is therefore a source of magnetospheric ions that contributes often to transient reduction in the reconnection rate at the dayside magnetopause.

International audience; When the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is southward and has a substantial Y component, reconnection at the magnetopause occurs at low latitudes. Under these conditions, the maximum magnetic shear model for the reconnection X-line at the magnetopause predicts a continuous X-line stretching from the dawn to dusk terminators. During the solstices, the X-line is not at the subsolar point and may be located in a region where the magnetosheath bulk flow is super-Alfvenic. For a fixed IMF direction, the maximum shear model also predicts a stationary X-line. In response to IMF clock angle changes on the timescale of minutes, the X-line moves on the same timescale. The stationarity of the reconnection X-line is testable observationally under certain, restrictive conditions. This stationarity is tested using observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. For two events, the distance from the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft to the X-line is constant over several minutes (within relatively large error bars) and the X-line is also near the location predicted by the maximum magnetic shear model. Thus, the reconnection X-line at the magnetopause appears to be quasi-stationary for constant IMF clock angle. These observations also place constraints on the formation and motion of multiple X-lines at the magnetopause.

The warm plasma cloak is a source of magnetospheric plasma that contain significant O+. When the O+ density in the magnetosphere near the magnetopause is >0.2 cm‐3 and the H+ density is 20% due to mass‐loading only about 2% to 4% of the time. However, during geomagnetic storms, O+ dominates the mass density of the warm plasma cloak and these mass densities are very high. Therefore, a separate study is conducted to determine the effect of the warm plasma cloak on magnetopause reconnection during geomagnetically disturbed times. This study shows that the warm plasma cloak reduces the reconnection rate significantly about 25% of the time during disturbed conditions. publishedVersion

Context.Pre-equinox measurements of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with the mass spectrometer ROSINA/DFMS on board the Rosetta spacecraft revealed a strongly heterogeneous coma. The abundances of major and various minor volatile species were found to depend on the latitude and longitude of the nadir point of the spacecraft. The observed time variability of coma species remained consistent for about three months up to equinox. The chemical variability could be generally interpreted in terms of surface temperature and seasonal effects superposed on some kind of chemical heterogeneity of the nucleus.Aims.We compare here pre-equinox (inbound) ROSINA/DFMS measurements from 2014 to measurements taken after the outbound equinox in 2016, both at heliocentric distances larger than 3 AU. For a direct comparison we limit our observations to the southern hemisphere.Methods.We report the similarities and differences in the concentrations and time variability of neutral species under similar insolation conditions (heliocentric distance and season) pre- and post-equinox, and interpret them in light of the previously published observations. In addition, we extend both the pre- and post-equinox analysis by comparing species concentrations with a mixture of CO2and H2O.Results.Our results show significant changes in the abundances of neutral species in the coma from pre- to post-equinox that are indicative of seasonally driven nucleus heterogeneity.Conclusions.The observed pre- and post-equinox patterns can generally be explained by the strong erosion in the southern hemisphere that moves volatile-rich layers near the surface.

The dusk flank magnetopause was surveyed with instruments on board the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft on 28 August 2015 between 13:55 UT and 14:15 UT during a period of persistent southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with varying dawn-dusk component. Plasma measurements (500 eV electrons are greater than 2 keV ions) revealed the existence of at least one active reconnection region that persisted throughout the interval. The reconnection region convected equatorward despite the poleward and tailward magnetosheath flow, which ranged from slightly sub-Alfvenic to slightly super-Alfvenic throughout the interval. These results suggest that magnetic reconnection moved in response to changes in the IMF clock angle rather than the magnetosheath flow, which is corroborated using predictions of the maximum magnetic shear model.

Many dynamic processes of the magnetosphere are directly driven by the solar wind and the occurrence of magnetic merging at the magnetopause. The location of magnetopause magnetic merging, or reconnection, is now fairly well understood when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) contains large B y and B z components in relation to the B x component (in Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric (GSM) coordinates). However, when the IMF contains a large X -component (i.e., is closely flow-aligned), it is not yet well understood how the shocked IMF drapes about the magnetopause, and how this affects the occurrence and location of magnetic merging. In this initial study, we examine from observations how a nearly flow-aligned IMF drapes about the magnetopause. The results of this study are expected to be useful for comparisons with both analytic and global numerical models of the magnetosheath magnetic field.

Magnetic reconnection at the Earths magnetopause is the primary process by which solar wind plasma and energy gains access to the magnetosphere. One indication that magnetic reconnection is occurring is the observation of accelerated plasma as a jet tangential to the magnetopause. The direction of ion jets along the magnetopause surface as observed by the Fast Plasma Instrument (FPI) and the Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (HPCA) instrument on board the recently launched Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) set of spacecraft is examined. For those cases where ion jets are clearly discerned, the direction of origin compares well statistically with the predicted location of magnetic reconnection using convected solar wind observations in conjunction with the Maximum Magnetic Shear model.

Reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause is the mechanism by which magnetic fields in different regions change topology to create open magnetic field lines that allow energy, mass, and momentum to flow into the magnetosphere. It is the primary science goal of the recently launched MMS mission to unlock the mechanism of magnetic reconnection with a novel suite of plasma and field instruments. This study investigates several magnetopause crossings in the vicinity of the X-line on 19 September 2015 and compares the observed X-line location with predictions from the Maximum Magnetic Shear model. Rotations of the interplanetary magnetic field OMF) during the magnetopause crossings together with the close proximity of the four MMS satellites are used to determine the response time of the reconnection X-line location to changes in the IMF. The reconnection location exhibits a continuous motion during slow changes in the IMF but a delayed response to sudden changes in the IMF.

Voyager 1 and 2 observed very different boundary layers adjacent to their respective heliopause crossings. Voyager 1 observed a very thick boundary layer in the inner heliosheath while Voyager 2 observed a very thin boundary layer. Voyager 2 observed a thick magnetic barrier with enhanced total magnetic field in the inner heliosheath while Voyager 1 did not observe a similar barrier. Predicted and observed plasma properties in the inner and outer heliosheath and the magnetic shear at the heliopause crossings are used to investigate the possibility of local reconnection at the heliopause crossings. For the Voyager 1 crossing, local reconnection is suppressed. However, for the Voyager 2 crossing, the magnetic barrier reduced plasma beta in the inner heliosheath and may have facilitated local magnetic reconnection at the heliopause.

International audience; Under northward interplanetary magnetic field conditions, magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause is usually thought to operate through the merging of magnetosheath magnetic field lines and open magnetic field lines from the magnetospheric lobe. However, reconnection also occurs between magnetosheath field lines and closed magnetic field lines in the magnetosphere. Under certain conditions, this nonlobe field line reconnection has distinct plasma and magnetic field signatures that distinguish it from reconnection of lobe field lines. A survey of these conditions suggests that nonlobe reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause may be common even for relatively strong northward IMF. Plain Language Summary Magnetic reconnection interconnects magnetic field lines across a current sheet like that at the Earth's magnetopause or like that in the solar corona. This paper describes a type of interconnection of magnetic field lines at the magnetopause that was first reported for the solar corona. It appears that this type of reconnection is fairly common at the magnetopause. The different topology of this reconnection suggests a different type of interaction between the magnetic field lines in the solar wind and the field lines of the Earth.

S. A. Fuselier, S. M. Petrinec, and K. J. TrattnerLockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA, USAReceived: 30 August 2008 – Revised: 30 November 2008 – Accepted: 10 December 2008 – Published: 26 January 20091 IntroductionIn a recent paper, Whitaker et al. (2007) (hereafter referredto as paper 1) described energetic particle observations in themagnetospheric cusp from the International Sun Earth Ex-plorer (ISEE)-1 spacecraft. This event, on 30 October 1978,has been studied by the authors in a previous publication(Whitaker et al., 2006) and some ISEE-2 observations fromthis event were presented by Phillips et al. (1993). In paper 1,the authors argue that energetic particle pitch angle distribu-tions observed in and “above” the cusp demonstrate that 24–44.5keV ions observed in the region cannot be from the bowshock. In particular, they present energetic ion fluxes at sev-eral pitch angles that appear to indicate that the 24–44.5keVions propagate to the spacecraft from “below” (presumablyfrom the cusp). From these observations, they conclude that:“if the bow shock was the source, a large population of par-ticles would be observed from above”, “The deficit in par-ticles with pitch angles less than about 60

著者人数: 49名(所属. 宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙科学研究所 (JAXA)(ISAS): 齋藤, 義文), Accepted: 2018-11-06, 資料番号: SA1180352000

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) frequently images the Earth's magnetosphere in Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs). In May 2013, there was an extended period of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) while IBEX was imaging the Earth's magnetotail. During this period, IBEX imaged the development of the cold plasma sheet between about 15 and 20 Earth radii (RE) down the tail from the Earth. The ENA fluxes changed in both amplitude and average energy during this development. In addition, the plasma sheet may have thickened. At the end of the interval, the IMF turned southward and ENA fluxes decreased. The thickening of the plasma sheet suggests that the plasma in this region increases in both density and volume as it develops during extended periods of northward IMF. The decrease in the ENA flux suggests thinning of the plasma sheet and loss of plasma associated with the IMF turning.

Magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause plays an important role in magnetospheric dynamics. Understanding the dynamics requires theory and observations. Previous theoretical work suggests that for no guide field, ions in the exhaust region on the magnetosheath side of the boundary counterstream with a velocity separation that is twice the upstream Alfven speed (vA) and that the counterstreaming velocity decreases with increasing guide field. These theoretical predictions are tested for reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause using observations from the Cluster spacecraft. The difference between the incident and reflected ion velocities (vsep) in the magnetosheath boundary layer (MSBL) ion populations is used to determine the exhaust velocity. The ratio of vsep over twice the Alfven speed (RV = vsep/2vA,L) is predicted to approach 1 for reconnection with shear angles near 180° (no guide field), but is observed to reach a value of approximately 0.84 for the magnetopause crossings analyzed with shear angles near 180°. This value is consistent with previous observations of ion velocities from reconnection at the magnetopause investigated using the Walen relation. While magnetic shear angle can contribute to the disagreement between observations and the Walen relation, it does not play a large role, given the reduced ratio for the events near 180° in this study.

We estimate the reconnection rates for eight dayside magnetopause reconnection events observed by the Cluster spacecraft and compare them with the predictions of the Cassak-Shay Formula (Rcs) Cassak and Shay (2007). The measured reconnection rate is determined by calculating the product of the inflow velocity and magnetic field in the magnetosheath inflow region. The predicted reconnection rate is calculated using the plasma parameters on both sides of the current layer, including the contributions of magnetosheath H+, magnetospheric hot H+ and O+, and magnetospheric cold ions. The measured reconnection rates show clear correlations with Rcs with an aspect ratio of 0.07. The O+ and cold ions can contribute up to ~30% of the mass density, which may reduce the reconnection rate for individual events. However, the variation of the reconnection rate is dominated by the variation of the magnetosheath parameters. In addition, we calculated the predicted reconnection rate using only magnetosheath parameters (Rsh). The correlation of the measured rate with Rsh was better than the correlation with Rcs, with an aspect ratio of 0.09. This might indicate deviations from the Cassak-Shay theory caused by the asymmetric reconnection structure and kinetic effects of different inflow populations. A better aspect ratio is expected to be between the ones determined using Rcs and Rsh. The aspect ratio does not show a clear dependence on the O+ concentration, likely because the O+ contribution is too small in these events. The aspect ratio also does not show a clear correlation with density asymmetry or guide field.

Magnetic reconnection has been established as the dominant mechanism by which magnetic fields in different regions change topology to create open magnetic field lines that allow energy and momentum to flow into the magnetosphere. One of the persistent problems of magnetic reconnection is the question of whether the process is continuous or intermittent and what input condition(s) might favor one type of reconnection over the other. Observations from imagers that record FUV emissions caused by precipitating cusp ions demonstrate the global nature of magnetic reconnection. Those images show continuous ionospheric emissions even during changing interplanetary magnetic field conditions. On the other hand, in situ observations from polar‐orbiting satellites show distinctive cusp structures in flux distributions of precipitating ions, which are interpreted as the telltale signature of intermittent reconnection. This study uses a modification of the low‐velocity cutoff method, which was previously successfully used to determine the location of the reconnection site, to calculate for the cusp ion distributions the “time since reconnection occurred.” The “time since reconnection” is used to determine the “reconnection time” for the cusp magnetic field lines where these distributions have been observed. The profile of the reconnection time, either continuous or stepped, is a direct measurement of the nature of magnetic reconnection at the reconnection site. This paper will discuss a continuous and pulsed reconnection event from the Polar spacecraft to illustrate the methodology., Key Points Methodology to distinguish pulsed form continuous reconnectionDetermine the reconnection time for cusp magnetic field linesDetermine the reconnection location simultaneously

Several studies have validated the accuracy of the Maximum Magnetic Shear model to predict the location of the reconnection site at the dayside magnetopause. These studies found agreement between model and observations for 74% to 88% of events examined. It should be noted that, of the anomalous events that failed the prediction of the model, 72% shared a very specific parameter range. These events occurred around equinox for an IMF clock angle of about 240°. This study investigates if this remarkable grouping of events is also present in data from the recently launched MMS mission. The MMS magnetopause encounter data base from the first dayside phase of the mission includes about 4500 full and partial magnetopause crossings and FTEs. We use the known reconnection line signature of switching accelerated ion beams in the magnetopause boundary layer to identify encounters with the reconnection region and identify 302 events during phase 1a when the spacecraft are at reconnection sites. These confirmed reconnection locations are compared with the predicted location from the Maximum Magnetic Shear model and revealed an 80% agreement. The study also revealed the existence of anomalous cases as mentioned in an earlier study. The anomalies are concentrated for times around the equinoxes together with IMF clock angles around 140° and 240°. Another group of anomalies for the same clock angle ranges was found during December events.

On 20 September 2015, the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft crossed the dusk magnetopause after a compression of the magnetosphere. Enhanced densities and fluxes of both colder (≤10 eV) an ...

Magnetic reconnection changes the topology of magnetic field lines. This process is most readily observable with in situ instrumentation at the Earth's magnetopause as it creates open magnetic field lines to allow energy and momentum flux to flow from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. Most models use the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) to determine the location of these magnetopause entry points, known as reconnection lines. Dayside locations of magnetic reconnection equatorward of the cusps are generally found during sustained intervals of southward IMF, while high-latitude region regions poleward of the cusps are observed for northward IMF conditions. In this study we discuss Double Star magnetopause crossings and a conjunction with a Polar cusp crossing during northward IMF conditions with a dominant IMF BY component. During all seven dayside magnetopause crossings, Double Star detected switching ion beams, a known signature for the presence of reconnection lines. In addition, Polar observed a cusp ion-energy dispersion profile typical for a dayside equatorial reconnection line. Using the cutoff velocities for the precipitating and mirrored ion beams in the cusp, the distance to the reconnection site is calculated, and this distance is traced back to the magnetopause, to the vicinity of the Double Star satellite locations. Our analysis shows that, for this case, the predicted line of maximum magnetic shear also coincides with that dayside reconnection location.

International audience; We present MMS observations during two dayside magnetopause crossings under hitherto unexamined conditions: (i) when the bow shock is weakening and the solar wind transitioning to sub-Alfvénic flow and (ii) when it is reforming. Interplanetary conditions consist of a magnetic cloud with (i) a strong B (20 nT) pointing south and (ii) a density profile with episodic decreases to values of 0.3 cm-3 followed by moderate recovery. During the crossings the magnetosheath magnetic field is stronger than the magnetosphere field by a factor of 2.2. As a result, during the outbound crossing through the ion diffusion region, MMS observed an inversion of the relative positions of the X and stagnation (S) lines from that typically the case: the S line was closer to the magnetosheath side. The S line appears in the form of a slow expansion fan near which most of the energy dissipation is taking place. While in the magnetosphere between the crossings, MMS observed strong field and flow perturbations, which we argue to be due to kinetic Alfvén waves. During the reconnection interval, whistler mode waves generated by an electron temperature anisotropy (Te⊥>Te||) were observed. Another aim of the paper is to distinguish bow shock-induced field and flow perturbations from reconnection-related signatures. The high-resolution MMS data together with 2-D hybrid simulations of bow shock dynamics helped us to distinguish between the two sources. We show examples of bow shock-related effects (such as heating) and reconnection effects such as accelerated flows satisfying the Walén relation.

Observations of cutoff velocities in plasma distribution functions within the cusps have been used to remotely map reconnection sites on the dayside magnetopause. From these observations, a model of the location of magnetic reconnection along the dayside magnetopause has been developed during conditions of southward interplanetary magnetic field. The reconnection merging region runs along a crest of maximum magnetic shear across the magnetopause, either along two separate antiparallel lines or along a single continuous line. The single, continuous line also follows along a crest of a “saddle” topology in the magnetic shear angle, crossing local noon at low to middle latitudes. In this study the steepness of the saddle at local noon as a function of the solar wind condition and the dipole tilt angle of the Earth is examined. In addition, the locations of dayside low to middle latitude magnetopause crossings by spacecraft for which plasma velocity signatures suggest that the reconnection X line passed over the spacecraft are compared to the expected location of the model X line and as a function of the steepness of the saddle. The comparisons between model and observations are used to help determine to what extent the steepness of the saddle constrains the location of the X line.

Data from the Cassini Electron Spectrometer are used to investigate the location of magnetic reconnection at Saturn's magnetopause. Heated, streaming electron distributions in the boundary layer on the magnetosheath side of the magnetopause are evidence of reconnection and an open magnetopause. A model for the location of reconnection is used to compare the modeled and observed streaming direction of the heated electron distributions. Magnetic reconnection at Saturn's magnetopause is predicted and observed to occur at locations similar to those at Earth's magnetopause. Although not conclusive, the results here are consistent with the expected importance of X-line drifts in suppressing low-shear reconnection. Because of different conditions at Saturn's magnetopause, this suppression is predicted to be more severe at Saturn than at Earth.

In the heliosheath beyond the termination shock, low energy (

[1] The Earth's bow shock is very efficient in accelerating ions out of the incident solar wind distribution to high energies (≈ 200 keV/e). Fluxes of energetic ions accelerated at the quasi-parallel bow shock, also known as diffuse ions, are best represented by exponential spectra in energy/charge, which require additional assumptions to be incorporated into these model spectra. One of these assumptions is a so-called “free escape boundary” along the interplanetary magnetic field into the upstream direction. Locations along the IBEX orbit are ideally suited for in situ measurements to investigate the existence of an upstream free escape boundary for bow shock accelerated ions. In this study we use 2 years of ion measurements from the background monitor on the IBEX spacecraft, supported by ACE solar wind observations. The IBEX Background Monitor is sensitive to protons > 14 keV, which includes the energy of the maximum flux for diffuse ions. With increasing distance from the bow shock along the interplanetary magnetic field, the count rates for diffuse ions stay constant for ions streaming away from the bow shock, while count rates for diffuse ions streaming toward the shock gradually decrease from a maximum value to ~1/e at distances of about 10 RE to 14 RE. These observations of a gradual decrease support the transition to a free escape continuum for ions of energy >14 keV at distances from 10 RE to 14 RE from the bow shock.