Evidence of high‐latitude reconnecting during northward IMF: Hawkeye observations

Kessel, R. L.; Chen, S.-H.; Green, J. L.; Fung, S. F.; Boardsen, S. A.; Tan, L. C.; Eastman, T. E.; Craven, J. D.; Frank, L. A.

doi:10.1029/95gl03083

Cited by 163 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The existence of high-latitude "lobe" reconnection during northward IMF conditions has been verified by in-situ spacecraft observations of mixed populations of accelerated magnetosheath and magnetospheric plasma close to the magnetopause (Gosling et al, 1991;Kessel et al, 1996), and by the observation of reconnection-associated plasma jets at the high-latitude magnetopause (Phan et al, 2003). Further evidence of lobe reconnection is often seen in low-altitude spacecraft measurements of particle precipitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Measuring the dayside reconnection rate during an interval of due northward interplanetary magnetic field

et al. 2004

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Abstract. This study presents, for the first time, detailed spatiotemporal measurements of the reconnection electric field in the Northern Hemisphere ionosphere during an extended interval of northward interplanetary magnetic field. Global convection mapping using the SuperDARN HF radar network provides global estimates of the convection electric field in the northern polar ionosphere. These are combined with measurements of the ionospheric footprint of the reconnection X-line to determine the spatiotemporal variation of the reconnection electric field along the whole X-line. The shape of the spatial variation is stable throughout the interval, although its magnitude does change with time. Consequently, the total reconnection potential along the X-line is temporally variable but its typical magnitude is consistent with the cross-polar cap potential measured by low-altitude satellite overpasses. The reconnection measurements are mapped out from the ionosphere along Tsyganenko model magnetic field lines to determine the most likely reconnection location on the lobe magnetopause. The X-line length on the lobe magnetopause is estimated to be ∼6-11 R E in extent, depending on the assumptions made when determining the length of the ionospheric X-line. The reconnection electric field on the lobe magnetopause is estimated to be ∼0.2 mV/m in the peak reconnection region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Measuring the dayside reconnection rate during an interval of due northward interplanetary magnetic field

et al. 2004

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“…[3] Magnetic reconnection has been shown to occur somewhere at the Earth's magnetopause for any orientation of the IMF [e.g., Sonnerup et al, 1981;Kessel et al, 1996;Fuselier et al, 1991Fuselier et al, , 2000. More typical than the purely southward or northward IMF are conditions with a significant IMF westeast component (B Y 6 ¼ 0).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probing the boundary between antiparallel and component reconnection during southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions

et al. 2007

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[1] One of the major outstanding questions about magnetic reconnection is where reconnection will occur at the Earth's magnetopause for specific conditions of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). There are two scenarios discussed in the literature: (1) antiparallel reconnection, which occurs where the magnetospheric magnetic field and the IMF are antiparallel (shear angle of approximately 180°) and (2) component reconnection, where shear angles between the magnetospheric field and the IMF as low as 50°have been reported. The distinction between the two reconnection scenarios is important for the energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. Here we report on a method using three-dimensional plasma observations from the Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph instrument on the Polar spacecraft as it passes through the northern magnetospheric cusp to calculate the distance to the reconnection line and subsequently trace the distance along model magnetic field lines back to the magnetopause. Results from 130 events reveal that in general, magnetic reconnection occurs along an extended line across the dayside magnetopause (i.e., consistent with the component reconnection scenario). During strong sunward or antisunward IMF conditions (B X ), however, the reconnection location resembles the antiparallel reconnection model at high latitudes and does not cross the dayside magnetopause as a single tilted reconnection line. These results show that either reconnection scenario can occur at the magnetopause, depending on the specific IMF conditions. Citation: Trattner, K. J., J. S. Mulcock, S. M. Petrinec, and S. A. Fuselier (2007), Probing the boundary between antiparallel and component reconnection during southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions,

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“…There is now increasing evidence that reconnection is also an important coupling process during northward IMF conditions [Kessel et al, 1996;Berchem et al, 1995].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the magnetosphere for northward interplanetary magnetic field: Effects of electrical resistivity

Raeder¹

1999

J. Geophys. Res.

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Evidence of high‐latitude reconnecting during northward IMF: Hawkeye observations

Cited by 163 publications

References 14 publications

Measuring the dayside reconnection rate during an interval of due northward interplanetary magnetic field

Measuring the dayside reconnection rate during an interval of due northward interplanetary magnetic field

Probing the boundary between antiparallel and component reconnection during southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions

Modeling the magnetosphere for northward interplanetary magnetic field: Effects of electrical resistivity

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