Reconnection in the Centre of the Near-Earth Plasma Sheet: Control by Plasma Drifts and Magnetic Flux Convection close to the Earth

Abstract

Convection inside the magnetosphere can be regarded as the transfer of magnetic flux and plasma from the magnetotail into the nightside and then convection and drift from there to the dayside. As in many fluid flow situations, the downstream flow (the convection and drift to the dayside) is an important boundary condition for the upstream flow (reconnection and inflow from the tail). Tail-like flux tubes in the near-earth plasma sheet block inflow from the tail between reconnection events. However, the westward drift of the energetic ions (curvature and gradient drift and ExB drift) removes plasma energy from near midnight causing deflation and earthward flow in the equatorial plane. (The process can be described as the westward drift of the eastern of the plasma sheet / partial ring current.) The earthward flow removes magnetic flux and plasma from the center of the thick plasma sheet and creates a thin current sheet, which, in turn, favors the onset of reconnection. The X line forms just tailward of the earthward-flow region. Initially, reconnection occurs by the earthward propagation of the X line and the growth of a magnetic island on its tailward side, since there is no downtail flow. Subsequently, the system evolves towards lobe merging, and the X line propagates tailward consistent with the standard picture of tail reconnection. The east-west width of the local-time slot in which inflow and reconnection occur is determined by the scale-length of the decrease in plasma energy at the eastern end of the drifting ions. It is expected that the reconnection slot follows the westward drift of the eastern end of the partial ring current. The model appears to be consistent with bursty bulk flows, the westward traveling surge and many other observed properties of substorms.