Three-Dimensional Ion-Scale Magnetic Flux Rope Generated from
Electron-Scale Magnetopause Current Sheet: Magnetospheric Multiscale
Observations
Abstract
We present in-depth analysis of three southward-moving meso-scale (ion-
to magnetohydrodynamic-scale) flux transfer events (FTEs) and subsequent
crossing of a reconnecting electron-scale current sheet (ECS), which
were observed on 8 December 2015 by the Magnetospheric Multiscale
spacecraft near the subsolar magnetopause under southward and duskward
magnetosheath magnetic field conditions. Our aims are to understand the
generation mechanism of ion-scale magnetic flux ropes (ISFRs) and to
reveal causal relationship among magnetic structures of the ECS,
electromagnetic energy conversion, and kinetic processes in magnetic
reconnection layers. Magnetic field reconstruction methods show that a
flux rope with a length of about one ion inertial length existed and was
growing in the ECS, supporting the idea that ISFRs can be generated from
secondary magnetic reconnection in ECS. Grad-Shafranov reconstruction
applied to the three FTEs shows that the FTE flux ropes had axial
orientations similar to that of the ISFR in the ECS. This suggests that
these FTEs also formed through the same secondary reconnection process,
rather than multiple X-line reconnection at spatially separated
locations. Four-spacecraft observations of electron pitch-angle
distributions and energy conversion rate suggest that the ISFR had
three-dimensional magnetic topology and secondary reconnection was
patchy or bursty. Previously reported positive and negative values of ,
with magnitudes much larger than expected for typical magnetopause
reconnection, were seen in both magnetosheath and magnetospheric
separatrix regions of the ISFR. Many of them coexisted with
bi-directional electron beams and intense electric field fluctuations
around the electron gyrofrequency, consistent with their origin in
separatrix activities.