Energetic electron acceleration observed by MMS in the vicinity of an X-line crossing

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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Date
2016-07-28
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
7356–7363
Series
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, Volume 43, issue 14
Abstract
During the first months of observations, the Magnetospheric Multiscale Fly's Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer instrument has observed several instances of electron acceleration up to >100 keV while in the vicinity of the dayside reconnection region. While particle acceleration associated with magnetic reconnection has been seen to occur up to these energies in the tail region, it had not yet been reported at the magnetopause. This study reports on observations of electron acceleration up to hundreds of keV that were recorded on 19 September 2015 around 1000 UT, in the midst of an X-line crossing. In the region surrounding the X-line, whistler-mode and broadband electrostatic waves were observed simultaneously with the appearance of highly energetic electrons which exhibited significant energization in the perpendicular direction. The mechanisms by which particles may be accelerated via reconnection-related processes are intrinsic to understanding particle dynamics among a wide range of spatial scales and plasma environments.
Description
Keywords
Dayside reconnection, Electron acceleration, Magnetopause, MMS, VLF waves, Wave-particle interactions
Other note
Citation
Jaynes , A N , Turner , D L , Wilder , F D , Osmane , A , Baker , D N , Blake , J B , Fennell , J F , Cohen , I J , Mauk , B H , Reeves , G D , Ergun , R E , Giles , B L , Gershman , D J , Torbert , R B & Burch , J L 2016 , ' Energetic electron acceleration observed by MMS in the vicinity of an X-line crossing ' , Geophysical Research Letters , vol. 43 , no. 14 , pp. 7356–7363 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069206