Super-Alfv\'enic propagation of reconnection signatures and Poynting flux during substorms
Abstract
The propagation of reconnection signatures and their associated energy are examined using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations and Cluster satellite observations. It is found that the quadrupolar out-of-plane magnetic field near the separatrices is associated with a kinetic Alfv\'en wave. For magnetotail parameters, the parallel propagation of this wave is super-Alfv\'enic (Vparallel ~ 1500 - 5500 km/s) and generates substantial Poynting flux (S ~ 10-5 - 10-4 W/m2) consistent with Cluster observations of magnetic reconnection. This Poynting flux substantially exceeds that due to frozen-in ion bulk outflows and is sufficient to generate white light aurora in the Earth's ionosphere.
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