Structure of energy flux densities in Earth's magnetotail reconnection regions: Bridging simulation and observation

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is important in both space and laboratory contexts because it changes the topology of magnetic fields and converts magnetic energy into particle energies. Establishing where this energy conversion occurs is critical for understanding how reconnection partitions energy. Using a novel machine learning approach based on simulations that explicitly identifies the separatrix regions for the first time, the partition of energy flux densities within the magnetic reconnection site is evaluated through statistical study of magnetotail reconnection events observed in situ. The separatrices are found to have the largest electron energy flux densities, roughly twice those in the exhaust, and Poynting flux densities about four times those in the inflows, whereas typical ion enthalpy flux densities are largest in the exhaust. The separatrices are therefore sites of intense electron and electromagnetic energy transport, although their small thickness means that the exhaust may still carry most of the total energy flux.