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Extended Magnetic Reconnection Across the Dayside MagnetopauseThe extent of where magnetic reconnection (MR), the dominant process responsible for energy and plasma transport into the magnetosphere, operates across Earth's dayside magnetopause has previously been only indirectly shown by observations. We report the first direct evidence of X-line structure resulting from the operation of MR at each of two widely separated locations along the tilted, subsolar line of maximum current on Earth's magnetopause, confirming the operation of MR at two or more sites across the extended region where MR is expected to occur. The evidence results from in-situ observations of the associated ion and electron plasma distributions, present within each magnetic X-line structure, taken by two spacecraft passing through the active MR regions simultaneously.
Document ID
20110022963
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Dunlop, M. W.
(Rutherford Appleton Lab. Chilton, United Kingdom)
Zhang, Q.-H.
(Polar Research Inst. of China Shanghai, China)
Bogdanova, Y. V.
(Mullard Space Science Lab. Dorking, United Kingdom)
Lockwood, M.
(Rutherford Appleton Lab. Chilton, United Kingdom)
Pu, Z.
(Peking Univ. Beijing, China)
Hasegawa, H.
(Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Sagamihara, Japan)
Wang, J.
(Peking Univ. Beijing, China)
Taylor, M. G. G. T.
(European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Berchem, J.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Lavraund, B.
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Toulouse, France)
Eastwood, J.
(Imperial Coll. of London London, United Kingdom)
Volwerk, M.
(Space Research Inst. Graz, Austria)
Shen, C.
(Center for Space Sciences and Applied Research Beijing, China)
Shi, J.-K.
(Center for Space Sciences and Applied Research Beijing, China)
Constantinescu, D.
(Technische Univ. Germany)
Frey, H.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Fazakerley, A. N.
(Mullard Space Science Lab. Dorking, United Kingdom)
Sibeck, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Escoubet, P.
(European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Wild, J. A.
(Lancaster Univ. United Kingdom)
Liu, Z.-X.
(Center for Space Sciences and Applied Research Beijing, China)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
July 8, 2011
Publication Information
Publication: Physical Review Letters
Volume: 107
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0031-9007
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.5103.2011
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: CAS 2009S1-54
CONTRACT_GRANT: CNSF 40974095
CONTRACT_GRANT: CSOA 201005017
CONTRACT_GRANT: CNSF 40731056
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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