Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and induced magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause: a 3D simulation based on satellite data

Abstract

A 3D two-fluid simulation, using plasma parameters as measured by MMS on 8 September 2015, shows the nonlinear development of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability at the Earth’s magnetopause. It shows extremely rich dynamics, including the development of a complex magnetic topology, vortex merging and secondary instabilities. Vortex induced and mid-latitude magnetic reconnection coexist and produce an asymmetric distribution of magnetic reconnection events. Off-equator reconnection exhibits a predominance of events in the Southern Hemisphere during the early nonlinear phase, as observed by satellites at the dayside magnetopause. The late nonlinear phase shows the development of vortex pairing for all latitudes while secondary Kelvin–Helmholtz instability develops only in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to an enhancement of the occurrence of off-equator reconnection there. Since vortices move tailward while evolving, this suggests that reconnection events in the Northern Hemisphere should dominate at the nightside magnetopause.