Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation
Abstract Geospace plasma simulations have progressed toward more realistic descriptions of the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction from magnetohydrodynamic to hybrid ion‐kinetic, such as the state‐of‐the‐art Vlasiator model. Despite computational advances, electron scales have been out of reach in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098329 |
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| author | M. Alho M. Battarbee Y. Pfau‐Kempf Yu. V. Khotyaintsev R. Nakamura G. Cozzani U. Ganse L. Turc A. Johlander K. Horaites V. Tarvus H. Zhou M. Grandin M. Dubart K. Papadakis J. Suni H. George M. Bussov M. Palmroth |
| author_facet | M. Alho M. Battarbee Y. Pfau‐Kempf Yu. V. Khotyaintsev R. Nakamura G. Cozzani U. Ganse L. Turc A. Johlander K. Horaites V. Tarvus H. Zhou M. Grandin M. Dubart K. Papadakis J. Suni H. George M. Bussov M. Palmroth |
| author_sort | M. Alho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Geospace plasma simulations have progressed toward more realistic descriptions of the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction from magnetohydrodynamic to hybrid ion‐kinetic, such as the state‐of‐the‐art Vlasiator model. Despite computational advances, electron scales have been out of reach in a global setting. eVlasiator, a novel Vlasiator submodule, shows for the first time how electromagnetic fields driven by global hybrid‐ion kinetics influence electrons, resulting in kinetic signatures. We analyze simulated electron distributions associated with reconnection sites and compare them with Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations. Comparison with MMS shows that key electron features, such as reconnection inflows, heated outflows, flat‐top distributions, and bidirectional streaming, are in remarkable agreement. Thus, we show that many reconnection‐related features can be reproduced despite strongly truncated electron physics and an ion‐scale spatial resolution. Ion‐scale dynamics and ion‐driven magnetic fields are shown to be significantly responsible for the environment that produces electron dynamics observed by spacecraft in near‐Earth plasmas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-88fc0a1feb7c42da94b885d6ccd7a3bf |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-88fc0a1feb7c42da94b885d6ccd7a3bf2025-08-20T02:17:21ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-07-014914n/an/a10.1029/2022GL098329Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator SimulationM. Alho0M. Battarbee1Y. Pfau‐Kempf2Yu. V. Khotyaintsev3R. Nakamura4G. Cozzani5U. Ganse6L. Turc7A. Johlander8K. Horaites9V. Tarvus10H. Zhou11M. Grandin12M. Dubart13K. Papadakis14J. Suni15H. George16M. Bussov17M. Palmroth18Department of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandSwedish Institute of Space Physics Uppsala SwedenSpace Research Institute Austrian Academy of Sciences Graz AustriaDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandAbstract Geospace plasma simulations have progressed toward more realistic descriptions of the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction from magnetohydrodynamic to hybrid ion‐kinetic, such as the state‐of‐the‐art Vlasiator model. Despite computational advances, electron scales have been out of reach in a global setting. eVlasiator, a novel Vlasiator submodule, shows for the first time how electromagnetic fields driven by global hybrid‐ion kinetics influence electrons, resulting in kinetic signatures. We analyze simulated electron distributions associated with reconnection sites and compare them with Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations. Comparison with MMS shows that key electron features, such as reconnection inflows, heated outflows, flat‐top distributions, and bidirectional streaming, are in remarkable agreement. Thus, we show that many reconnection‐related features can be reproduced despite strongly truncated electron physics and an ion‐scale spatial resolution. Ion‐scale dynamics and ion‐driven magnetic fields are shown to be significantly responsible for the environment that produces electron dynamics observed by spacecraft in near‐Earth plasmas.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098329kinetic simulationreconnectionelectron distribution functionmagnetospherevlasov equationelectric field |
| spellingShingle | M. Alho M. Battarbee Y. Pfau‐Kempf Yu. V. Khotyaintsev R. Nakamura G. Cozzani U. Ganse L. Turc A. Johlander K. Horaites V. Tarvus H. Zhou M. Grandin M. Dubart K. Papadakis J. Suni H. George M. Bussov M. Palmroth Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation Geophysical Research Letters kinetic simulation reconnection electron distribution function magnetosphere vlasov equation electric field |
| title | Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation |
| title_full | Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation |
| title_fullStr | Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation |
| title_short | Electron Signatures of Reconnection in a Global eVlasiator Simulation |
| title_sort | electron signatures of reconnection in a global evlasiator simulation |
| topic | kinetic simulation reconnection electron distribution function magnetosphere vlasov equation electric field |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098329 |
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