CORE ELECTRON HEATING IN SOLAR WIND RECONNECTION EXHAUSTS

Journal Article · Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/791/1/L17· OSTI ID:22365363

Pulupa, M. P.; Salem, C.; Phan, T. D.; Bale, S. D. ^[1]

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1. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

We present observational evidence of core electron heating in solar wind reconnection exhausts. We show two example events, one which shows clear heating of the core electrons within the exhaust, and one which demonstrates no heating. The event with heating occurred during a period of high inflow Alfvén speed (V {sub AL}), while the event with no heating had a low V {sub AL}. This agrees with the results of a recent study of magnetopause exhausts, and suggests that similar core electron heating can occur in both symmetric (solar wind) and asymmetric (magnetopause) exhausts.

• OSTI ID: 22365363
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 791, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ALFVEN WAVES
ASYMMETRY
ELECTRONS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAGNETOPAUSE
PLASMA
SOLAR WIND
SYMMETRY
VELOCITY