Magnetotail Hall Physics in the Presence of Cold Ions.

We present the first in situ observation of cold ionospheric ions modifying the Hall physics of magnetotail reconnection. While in the tail lobe, Magnetospheric Multiscale mission observed cold (tens of eV) E × B drifting ions. As Magnetospheric Multiscale mission crossed the separatrix of a reconnection exhaust, both cold lobe ions and hot (keV) ions were observed. During the closest approach of the neutral sheet, the cold ions accounted for ∼30% of the total ion density. Approximately 65% of the initial cold ions remained cold enough to stay magnetized. The Hall electric field was mainly supported by the j × B term of the generalized Ohm's law, with significant contributions from the ∇·Pe and vc×B terms. The results show that cold ions can play an important role in modifying the Hall physics of magnetic reconnection even well inside the plasma sheet. This indicates that modeling magnetic reconnection may benefit from including multiscale Hall physics. Plain Language Summary: Cold ions have the potential of changing the fundamental physics behind magnetic reconnection. Here we present the first direct observation of this process in action in the magnetotail. Cold ions from the tail lobes were able to remain cold even deep inside the much hotter plasma sheet. Even though the cold ions only accounted for 30% of the total ions, they had a significant impact on the electric fields near the reconnection region. Key Points: MMS observes mixing of cold and hot ions inside a magnetotail reconnection exhaustApproximately 65% of the cold ions remain magnetized even deep inside the plasma sheetExplaining the Hall electric field requires treating the cold and hot ions separately [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]