Antiparallel and component reconnection at the dayside magnetopause

Abstract

Two types of reconnection occur at the Earth's magnetopause: component and antiparallel reconnection. Recently, an empirical model was developed that purportedly determines under what solar wind conditions one or the other type of reconnection is dominant. This empirical model is tested using observations at the magnetopause from the Cluster spacecraft. For a range of interplanetary magnetic field orientations, there are regions on the magnetopause where these two types of reconnection can be distinguished from one another by the direction of the flow of reconnection jets observed in magnetopause boundary layers. Cluster spacecraft observations at the magnetopause under these specific interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientations confirm model predictions of the type of reconnection. In addition, these observations show evidence of possible multiple reconnection (both component and antiparallel) occurring at the magnetopause. Copyright © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.