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Detailed Reference Information |
Sergeev, V., Semenov, V., Kubyshkina, M., Ivanova, V., Baumjohann, W., Nakamura, R., Penz, T., Runov, A., Zhang, T.L., Glassmeier, K.-H., Angelopoulos, V., Frey, H., Sauvaud, J.-A., Daly, P., Cao, J.B., Singer, H. and Lucek, E. (2007). Observation of repeated intense near-Earth reconnection on closed field lines with Cluster, Double Star, and other spacecraft. Geophysical Research Letters 34: doi: 10.1029/2006GL028452. issn: 0094-8276. |
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We report strong repeated magnetic reconnection pulses that occurred deep inside closed plasma sheet flux tubes at r ≤ 14Re. They have been observed with a fortuitous spacecraft constellation during three consecutive turbulent magnetic dipolarizations, accompanied by localized auroral brightenings near the equatorward edge of a wide auroral oval. The reconnection separatrix was mapped to ~64¿ CGLat in the ionosphere, where a very energetic and narrow energy-dispersed ion injection with unusually steep dispersion slope was observed. Reconstruction of the reconnection rate from magnetic waveforms at Cluster provided a reconnection pulse duration (~1 min) and peak strength (E R ~ 8 mV/m) consistent with direct observations in the reconnection outflow region. The magnetic activity was rather weak, although the concurrent solar wind flow pressure was above the norm. We suggest that near-Earth reconnection events may be a phenomenon more frequent than generally thought. We also confirm that reconnection and the growth of strong turbulence in the near tail are strongly coupled together in near-Earth reconnection events. |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetic reconnection (7526, 7835), Magnetospheric Physics, Plasma sheet, Magnetospheric Physics, Energetic particles, precipitating, Magnetospheric Physics, Auroral phenomena |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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