Speaker
Dr
Li-Jen Chen
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
Description
The electron diffusion region (EDR) holds the ultimate mystery of how
magnetic
reconnection can occur in a collisionless plasma,
and is the target region of the first science priority for the newly
launched
Magnetospheric Multi-scale (MMS) mission.
Processes of elctron acceleration, mixing and heating in the EDR can be
understood by analyzing the electron distribution functions
with knowledge of the DC field structures.
For reconnection with symmetric upstream conditions and negligible
guide field,
the EDR electron energization depends primarily on the reconnection
electric
field, parallel pre-acceleration before entering the EDR, and gyro-
turning by
the reconnected magnetic field.
For asymmetric reconnection with a negligible guide field, the in-plane
electric
field dominates over the reconnection electric field in energizing
electrons in
the EDR. Structures of the in-plane electric field, plasma flow patterns,
and
electron distribution functions for symmetric and asymmetric
reconnection
in PIC simulations
will be contrasted to provide predictions for the EDR encounters of
MMS.
Primary author
Dr
Li-Jen Chen
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
