Magnetotail dipolarization front and associated ion reflection: Particle-in-cell simulations

For the Earth magnetotail, the Svenes et al. (2008) statistical study infers the lobe density to be highly variable, in the range of 0.007-0.092 cm(-3). Such lobe density variation modifies reconnection diffusion region physical processes and reconnection rate drastically. This letter addresses observable reconnection signatures in the vicinity of the X-line that are to be affected by the dynamic changes of reconnection. Using a 2.5D particle-in-cell (PIC) code, we find the dipolarization front (DF) a moving ram that pushes the initial equilibrium plasma sheet in front of it. The DF propagation velocity scales with the upstream Alfven speed, leading to faster, steeper, and more compressed DFs with stronger B-z at low lobe densities. These DFs reflect plasma sheet ions in a streaming manner. The streaming ions create a bipolar magnetic field straddling the central plasma sheet and can excite various instabilities. Citation: Wu, P., and M. A. Shay (2012), Magnetotail dipolarization front and associated ion reflection: Particle-in-cell simulations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L08107, doi:10.1029/2012GL051486.