Externally driven magnetic reconnection in the presence of a normal magnetic field

摘要: [1] Studies of tearing instabilities and magnetic reconnection in the terrestrial magnetotail must consider effect finite normal field component Bz. Three-dimensional (3-D) particle-in-cell simulations with an open geometry are used to investigate impact externally applied convection electric on stability a moderately thick (1.6c/ωpi) current sheet configuration containing nonzero The driving is localized direction main (x) but uniform cross-tail (y) direction. initial response dominated by formation embedded electron layer scale inertial length. This forms nearly uniformly y; modes do not play important role. Once driven southward local region sheet, global initiated at rate comparable that seen studies simple 1-D sheets. thin accompanied development electrostatic potential structure which serves confine ions deflect into outflow region. process high-energy tail distribution extending up ∼mec2. These electrons accelerated then spread out along separatrices.