HR: 09:40h
AN: SM51D-07    [Abstracts]
TI: The Microphysics of Magnetic Reconnection Observed by the Cluster Spacecraft
AU: * Andre, M
EM: mats.andre@irfu.se
AF: Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 537, Uppsala, SE-751 21, Sweden
AU: Vaivads, A
EM: andris.vaivads@irfu.se
AF: Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 537, Uppsala, SE-751 21, Sweden
AB: Magnetic reconnection leads to energy conversion in large volumes in space but is initiated in small regions. We report on Cluster observations of reconnection separatrices and diffusion regions. We concentrate on fundamentals of the microphysics on spatial scales at and below the ion scale. We compare detailed observations of reconnection obtained in large-scale regions such as the magnetopause and the magnetotail with recent observations in the turbulent magnetosheath. All the observations are compared to theoretical predictions. The microphysics of reconnections seems independent of the large-scale structure of the surrounding plasma.
DE: 2723 Magnetic reconnection (7526, 7835)
DE: 7845 Particle acceleration
DE: 7846 Plasma energization
DE: 7863 Turbulence (4490)
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting