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Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Transition Region of Quasi-Parallel Shocks

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 نشر من قبل Imogen Gingell
 تاريخ النشر 2019
  مجال البحث فيزياء
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Using observations of Earths bow shock by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we show for the first time that active magnetic reconnection is occurring at current sheets embedded within the quasi-parallel shocks transition layer. We observe an electron jet and heating but no ion response, suggesting we have observed an electron-only mode. The lack of ion response is consistent with simulations showing reconnection onset on sub-ion timescales. We also discuss the impact of electron heating in shocks via reconnection.



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