Dynamo circuits for magnetopause reconnection

Abstract

From the perspective of electric circuit theory a question regarding the existence of magnetopause reconnection arises because in circuit theory reconnection is a load and a load needs a dynamo to supply it. However, among current systems that have been identified that thread the presumed regions of magnetopause reconnection, none also treads a dynamo. Yet there is overwhelming observational evidence that magnetopause reconnection occurs. This paper attempts to reconcile the circuit theory viewpoint with observations of reconnection. The procedure is first to show that results of MHD simulation can be translated into circuit theory language. Then MHD simulation is applied to show that magnetopause reconnection is associated with current systems that close through the bow shock or the magnetosheath, which from the viewpoint of circuit theory are dynamos. Thus the reconciliation is simply that reconnection current systems are different from the standard set of current systems that have traditionally been associated with the magnetopause. Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union.