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EP: Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 4: Magnetosph
ären und Plasmen

EP 4.3: Talk

Tuesday, March 19, 2002, 11:35–11:50, HS 15

OBSERVATIONS OF FTE’S AND MAGNETOPAUSE RECONNECTION BY CLUSTER — •B. Nikutowski¹, J. Büchner², P. Daly², U. Mall², K.-H. Glaßmeier¹, K.-H. Fornacon¹, A. Korth², F. Frutos-Alfaro², J.A. Sauvaud³, and A Otto⁴ — ¹Technische Universität Braunschweig — ²Max-Planck-Institut Katlenburg-Lindau — ³CESR Toulouse — ⁴University of Fairbanks

Reconnection is an important mechanism of transport of energy and plasma from the solar wind to the magnetosphere through the magnetopause. CLUSTER offers the possibility to investigate processes related to reconnection at the high latitude magnetopause near the outer cusp. We observed both FTE’s (flux transfer events) and evidences for local reconnection. High energetic particles found by RAPID in the magnetosheath just outside the magnetopause could be identified as FTE’s. Occasionally, RAPID observed only particles in the low energy channel perpendicular to the magnetic field while CIS saw at the same time accelerated plasma. This behaviour can be interpreted as an direct indication for current sheet acceleration due to reconnection. Further, the velocity of FTE’s was determined.