Abstract
We present observations in Earth’s magnetotail by the Magnetospheric
Multiscale spacecraft that are consistent with magnetic field
annihilation, rather than magnetic topology change, causing fast
magnetic-to-electron energy conversion in an elongated electron-scale
current sheet. This energy conversion process is in contrast to that in
the standard electron diffusion region (EDR) of a reconnecting current
sheet where the energy of antiparallel magnetic fields is mostly
converted to electron bulk-flow energy. Fully kinetic simulation also
demonstrates that an elongated EDR is subject to the formation of
electron-scale magnetic islands in which fast energy conversion is
dominated by the annihilation. Consistent with the observations and
simulation, theoretical analysis shows that fast magnetic diffusion can
occur in an elongated EDR in the presence of nongyrotropic electron
effects. The discovery of the annihilation-dominated EDR reveals a new
form of energy conversion in the collisionless reconnection process.