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Structure of the Magnetic Reconnection Diffusion Region from Four-Spacecraft Observations

André, M.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Vaivads, A. +6 more

Magnetic reconnection leads to energy conversion in large volumes in space but is initiated in small diffusion regions. Because of the small sizes of the diffusion regions, their crossings by spacecraft are rare. We report four-spacecraft observations of a diffusion region encounter at the Earth's magnetopause that allow us to reliably distinguish…

Theory and Observations of Slow-Mode Solitons in Space Plasmas

Stasiewicz, K.

A generalized model for one-dimensional magnetosonic structures of large amplitude in space plasmas is presented. The model is verified with multipoint measurements on Cluster satellites in the magnetosheath and the boundary layer under conditions of plasma beta (plasma/magnetic pressure) between 0.1 10. We demonstrate good agreement between the m…