First observation of magnetic flux rope inside electron diffusion region

Abstract

Magnrtic flux ropes (MFRs) play a crucial role during magnetic reconnection. They are believed to be primarily generated by tearing mode instabilities in the electron diffusion region (EDR). However, they have never been observed inside the EDR. Here, we present the first observation of an MFR inside an EDR. The bifurcated non-force-free MFR, with a width of 27.5de in the L direction and 4.8de in the N direction, was moving away from the X-line. Inside the MFR, strong energy dissipation was detected. The MFR can modulate the electric field in the EDR. We reconstructed magnetic topology of the electron-scale MFR. Our study promotes understanding of MRFs' initial state and its role in electron-scale processes during magnetic reconnection.

27 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Observation of An Evolving Magnetic Flux Rope Prior To and During A Solar Eruption
• New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection
• Why does steady-state magnetic reconnection have a maximum local rate of order 0.1?
• Observational evidence of magnetic reconnection in the terrestrial bow shock transition region
• In situ spacecraft observations of a structured electron diffusion region during magnetopause reconnection