title: Extended magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause from detection of bi-directional jets
abstract: Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts magnetic energy into bi-directional plasma jets; it is believed to be the dominant process by which solar-wind energy enters the Earth's magnetosphere. This energy is subsequently dissipated by magnetic storms and aurorae. Previous single-spacecraft observations revealed only single jets at the magnetopause--while the existence of a counter-streaming jet was implicitly assumed, no experimental confirmation was available. Here we report in situ two-spacecraft observations of bi-directional jets at the magnetopause, finding evidence for a stable and extended reconnection line; the latter implies substantial entry of the solar wind into the magnetosphere. We conclude that reconnection is determined by large-scale interactions between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, rather than by local conditions at the magnetopause.
authors.affiliation: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA. phan@ssl.berkeley.edu
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kistler
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Klecker
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haerendel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paschmann
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Sonnerup
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baumjohann
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bavassano-Cattaneo
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: DiLellis
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Fornacon
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Georgescu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kokubun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moebius
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oieroset
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reme