Direct Observations of Reconnection Fronts in Earth's Turbulent Magnetosheath

Abstract

Reconnection fronts (RFs), ion-scale magnetic transients characterized by dramatic enhancement of reconnected magnetic fields, have been documented as crucial energy transfer regions during magnetic reconnection. RFs have hitherto been observed only in the planetary (e.g., Earth, Saturn, Mars, and Venus) magnetotails. Whether RFs can exist in other magnetospheric regions remains unclear. Here, using high-cadence data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we present the first observation of successive RFs in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath. The RFs were detected inside an ion diffusion region and several di (ion inertial length) away from reconnection X-line. In addition, we find that the strongest energy conversion occurs at the RF rather than at the X-line. The present observation indicates that RFs may be universal in the planetary magnetosphere and play a crucial role in the reconnection dynamics.

Keywords

• Space plasmas