Abstract
The structure of the reconnection layer in the magnetotail is studied by solving the Riemann problem of the decay of a current sheet with a normal magnetic field component using 2‐D hybrid and Hall MHD simulations. In the first run a segment of the reconnection layer obtained from a hybrid simulation of reconnection is used as initial state in a periodic system. The thin central current sheet becomes instable in the direction parallel to the current sheet: the electrical current becomes filamentary and a warped magnetic field structure develops. In a second run, where the initial state is a Harris sheet with a superposed normal magnetic field component, a similar behavior is found. In both cases the boundary of the layer is not bounded by slow mode switch‐off shocks and no large‐amplitude rotational wave train develops within the layer, in contrast to 1‐D hybrid simulations of the same Riemann problem. The corresponding 2‐D Hall MHD simulation results in a stable layer bounded by slow‐mode switch‐off shocks.
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