@article{Hosner:2024:10.1029/2023ja031976,
author = {Hosner, M and Nakamura, R and Schmid, D and Nakamura, TKM and Panov, EV and Volwerk, M and Vörös, Z and Roberts, OW and Blasl, KA and Settino, A and Korovinskiy, D and Marshall, AT and Denton, RE and Burch, JL and Giles, BL and Torbert, RB and Le, Contel O and Escoubet, CP and Dandouras, IS and Carr, C and Fazakerley, AN},
doi = {10.1029/2023ja031976},
journal = {JGR: Space Physics},
title = {Reconnection inside a Dipolarization Front of a diverging Earthward fast flow},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2023ja031976},
volume = {129},
year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - We examine a Dipolarization Front (DF) event with an embedded electron diffusion region (EDR), observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft on 08 September 2018 at 14:51:30 UT in the Earth's magnetotail by applying multi-scale multipoint analysis methods. In order to study the large-scale context of this DF, we use conjunction observations of the Cluster spacecraft together with MMS. A polynomial magnetic field reconstruction technique is applied to MMS data to characterize the embedded electron current sheet including its velocity and the X-line exhaust opening angle. Our results show that the MMS and Cluster spacecraft were located in two counter-rotating vortex flows, and such flows may distort a flux tube in a way that the local magnetic shear angle is increased and localized magnetic reconnection may be triggered. Using multi-point data from MMS we further show that the local normalized reconnection rate is in the range of R ∼ 0.16 to 0.18. We find a highly asymmetric electron in- and outflow structure, consistent with previous simulations on strong guide-field reconnection events. This study shows that magnetic reconnection may not only take place at large-scale stable magnetopause or magnetotail current sheets but also in transient localized current sheets, produced as a consequence of the interaction between the fast Earthward flows and the Earth's dipole field.
AU  - Hosner,M
AU  - Nakamura,R
AU  - Schmid,D
AU  - Nakamura,TKM
AU  - Panov,EV
AU  - Volwerk,M
AU  - Vörös,Z
AU  - Roberts,OW
AU  - Blasl,KA
AU  - Settino,A
AU  - Korovinskiy,D
AU  - Marshall,AT
AU  - Denton,RE
AU  - Burch,JL
AU  - Giles,BL
AU  - Torbert,RB
AU  - Le,Contel O
AU  - Escoubet,CP
AU  - Dandouras,IS
AU  - Carr,C
AU  - Fazakerley,AN
DO  - 10.1029/2023ja031976
PY  - 2024///
SN  - 2169-9402
TI  - Reconnection inside a Dipolarization Front of a diverging Earthward fast flow
T2  - JGR: Space Physics
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2023ja031976
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/109196
VL  - 129
ER  - 

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