An Investigation Into Far‐Flank Magnetic Reconnection at Earth's Magnetopause

Abstract

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations have revealed that reconnection occurs along the flanks of Earth's magnetopause, near and past the terminator when the interplanetary magnetic field is southward. However, the question remains how common this reconnection is. Previous research has indicated that reconnection may be suppressed in the far‐flank regions due to the high velocity shear between the plasma in the magnetosheath and the plasma in the magnetosphere. This study investigates far‐flank reconnection by looking for evidence of reconnection in crossings of the far‐flank magnetopause. Forty‐one magnetopause crossing events were found that satisfied certain criteria and 35 of these events showed identifiable signs of reconnection. Based on these findings, reconnection is not suppressed along the magnetospheric flanks due to the velocity shear during southward IMF.