title: Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space.
abstract: Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process in plasmas whereby stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and kinetic energy of charged particles. Reconnection occurs in many astrophysical plasma environments and in laboratory plasmas. Using measurements with very high time resolution, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has found direct evidence for electron demagnetization and acceleration at sites along the sunward boundary of Earth's magnetosphere where the interplanetary magnetic field reconnects with the terrestrial magnetic field. We have (i) observed the conversion of magnetic energy to particle energy; (ii) measured the electric field and current, which together cause the dissipation of magnetic energy; and (iii) identified the electron population that carries the current as a result of demagnetization and acceleration within the reconnection diffusion/dissipation region.
authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA. jburch@swri.edu.
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authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Burch
authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
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authors.lastname: Torbert
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria.
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authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
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authors.affiliation: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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authors.affiliation: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: University of Colorado LASP, Boulder, CO, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France.
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authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
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authors.affiliation: Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria.
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authors.affiliation: Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria.
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authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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