GEOTAIL observation at the dayside magnetopause—Confirmation of reconnection events

Abstract

Geotail has surveyed the dayside magnetopause in the equatorial plane and studied the dayside reconnection of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with the magnetospheric field lines. When the IMF is directed southward leakage of ions from the low latitude boundary layer (LLBL) to the magnetosheath boundary layer (MSBL) are observed. Reconnection is shown to be responsible for the leakage. A variation in lower cut-off levels occurring in the velocity distribution function of the leakage ions is explained by the “velocity filter effect” model with a finite source region. In addition to such conditions, reconnection occurs also when the IMF has low-inclination angles, i.e., the condition between the southward and northward IMF conditions. Between the magnetosphere and the magnetosheath, two types of boundary region develop, i.e., the inner-LLBL and the outer-LLBL. The inner-LLBL is characterized by the bi-directional cold electrons and trapped cold ions coexisting with hot magnetospheric plasma. The field lines are regarded to be closed. The outer-LLBL is, on the other hand, open to the magnetosheath. It is characterized by the uni-directional cold electrons escaping to the magnetosheath. Newly penetrating solar wind ions are overtaking the trapped cold ions. The formation of the outer-LLBL is explained by the high-latitude reconnection at the equatorward regions of the cusp.