Journal Article

Electron Acceleration via Secondary Reconnection in the Separatrix Region of Magnetopause Reconnection

Ou, X. J., Deng, X. H., Fu, X. S., Zhong, Z. H., Zhou, M., Song, L. J., Ma, W. Q., Pang, Y., Jin, R. Q.

2024

Overview

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process known to play a crucial role in electron acceleration and heating, however, the mechanism of electron energization during reconnection is still not fully understood. This study introduces a novel electron acceleration mechanism in which electrons can be accelerated by secondary reconnection in the separatrix region. The secondary reconnection occurs in a thin current sheet resulted from the shear of the out‐of‐plane Hall magnetic fields of the primary magnetopause reconnection. It results in the intense electron energy fluxes toward the primary X‐line. This mechanism will likely be an important piece in the puzzle of particle acceleration by reconnection. Plain Language Summary Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process that plays a critical role in electron acceleration and heating. The separatrix region of magnetic reconnection, which distinguishes the inflow and outflow regions, is a crucial area in the particle acceleration of the reconnection process. However, previous studies mainly focused on the electron acceleration mechanism in the separatrix region under two‐dimensional reconnection, without considering the influence of the three‐dimensional structures. This paper reports, for the first time, the secondary reconnection occurring in the opposite Hall magnetic field in the three‐dimensional separatrix region of magnetopause primary reconnection. This secondary reconnection can accelerate and heat the inflow electrons of the primary reconnection, which provides important clues on how the particles are accelerated and heated by reconnection. Key Points Secondary reconnection occurs between Hall magnetic fields in the separatrix region of the primary magnetopause reconnection Intense electron enthalpy fluxes are injected toward the primary X‐line along the separatrix Electrons are accelerated by the secondary reconnection before being injected into the primary X‐line for further energization

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Current sheets / Electron acceleration / Electron energy / Electrons / Heating / Inflow / Magnetic field / Magnetic fields / Magnetic reconnection / Magnetopause / Magnetopause reconnection / Particle acceleration