Determination of reconnected flux via remote sensing

Determination of reconnected flux via remote sensing

Magnetic reconnection is one of the most fundamental processes in the magnetosphere. We present here a simple method to determine the essential parameters of reconnection such as reconnected flux and location of the reconnection site out of single spacecraft data via remote sensing. On the basis of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in space research 2008, Vol.41 (8), p.1292-1297
Main Authors: Kiehas, S.A., Semenov, V.S., Kubyshkin, I.V., Kubyshkina, M.V., Penz, T., Biernat, H.K., Nakamura, R.
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Cluster
Magnetic reconnection
Magnetotail
Reconnected flux
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Magnetic reconnection is one of the most fundamental processes in the magnetosphere. We present here a simple method to determine the essential parameters of reconnection such as reconnected flux and location of the reconnection site out of single spacecraft data via remote sensing. On the basis of a time-dependent reconnection model, the dependence of the reconnected flux on the magnetic field z-component B z is shown. The integral of B z over time is proportional to the reconnected flux and depends on the distance between the reconnection site and the actual position where B z is measured. This distance can be estimated from analysis of magnetic field B z data. We apply our method to Cluster measurements in the Earth’s magnetotail.
ISSN:0273-1177
1879-1948