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

I. Gingell , S. J. Schwartz , J. P. Eastwood , J. L. Burch , R. E. Ergun , S. Fuselier , D. J. Gershman , B. L. Giles , Y. V. Khotyaintsev , B. Lavraud (1) , P. -A. Lindqvist , W. R. Paterson , T. D. Phan , C. T. Russell , J. E. Stawarz , R. J. Strangeway , R. B. Torbert , F. Wilder

1 IRAP - Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie

Using observations of Earth's 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 shock's 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 time scales. We also discuss the impact of electron heating in shocks via reconnection.

Keywords: collisionless shocks; magnetic reconnection; bow shock; magnetospheric multiscale; Physics - Space Physics; Physics - Plasma Physics

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

I. Gingell, S. J. Schwartz, J. P. Eastwood, J. L. Burch, R. E. Ergun, et al.. Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Transition Region of Quasi-Parallel Shocks. Geophysical Research Letters, 2019, 46, pp.1177-1184. ⟨10.1029/2018GL081804⟩. ⟨insu-03674460⟩