Properties and Acceleration Mechanisms of Electrons Up To 200 keV Associated With a Flux Rope Pair and Reconnection X-Lines Around It in Earth's Plasma Sheet.

ABSTRACT: The properties and acceleration mechanisms of electrons (<200 keV) associated with a pair of tailward traveling flux ropes and accompanied reconnection X-lines in Earth's plasma sheet are investigated with MMS measurements. Energetic electrons are enhanced on both boundaries and core of the flux ropes. The power-law spectra of energetic electrons near the X-lines and in flux ropes are harder than those on flux rope boundaries. Theoretical calculations show that the highest energy of adiabatic electrons is a few keV around the X-lines, tens of keV immediately downstream of the X-lines, hundreds of keV on the flux rope boundaries, and a few MeV in the flux rope cores. The X-lines cause strong energy dissipation, which may generate the energetic electron beams around them. The enhanced electr

SUBMITTER: Sun W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10078532 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature