Energy conversion due to non-ideal electric field in separatrix region of magnetotail reconnection

Abstract

A recent satellite observation has revealed the presence of energy conversion in the separatrix region (SR) of magnetotail reconnection, driven by perpendicular components. We investigated this phenomenon by means of particle-in-cell simulations in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) systems. Our result indicates that in the 2D simulation, energy conversion in the SR is dominated by parallel components, with the main influencing factor being the parallel electric field, which is not consistent with the observation. However, a case that is similar to the observation is found in the 3D simulation, suggesting that the observation result may be attributed to the 3D characteristics. Our findings provide a potential explanation for the satellite observation.

Keywords

• magnetic reconnection
• energy conversion
• pic simulation
• separatrix region