MMS Observations of Oscillating Energy Conversion and Electron Vorticity in an Electron‐Scale Layer Within a Southward Magnetopause Reconnection Exhaust

Abstract

Abstract The MMS satellites traversed a ∼6 di‐wide and ∼500 km/s southward reconnection exhaust at the dayside magnetopause on 6 December 2015 and ∼29 di from the associated X‐line region. A narrow ∼0.26–0.34 di layer of enhanced ±3.5 nW/m3 oscillating energy conversion perpendicular to the magnetic field resides in this exhaust. It contained two regions of diverging in‐plane electric fields in general agreement with two clockwise electron flow vortices and a proposed increase of the electron vorticity ∇ × Ve. The layer developed sunward of a unipolar Hall magnetic field for a duskward BM/BL ∼ 0.9 guide field. Each electron flow vortex supported a local ∆BM ∼ 10 nT strengthening of this Hall field. The presence of this electron‐scale layer in a southward exhaust for a duskward guide field is consistent with a two‐dimensional simulation of a similar structure that evolved from an X‐line into a northward exhaust for a similar strength dawnward guide field.

Keywords

• electron flow vortex
• electron Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability
• energy conversion