Hodographic approach for determining spacecraft trajectories throughmagnetic reconnection diffusion regions

Authors

J. R. Shuster, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Matthew R. Argall, University of New HampshireFollow
Roy B. Torbert, University of New HampshireFollow
L. J. Chen, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Charlie J. Farrugia, University of New HampshireFollow
L. Alm, University of New Hampshire
S. Wang, University of Maryland
W. Daughton, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Daniel J. Gershman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
B. L. Giles, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
C. T. Russell, University of California
J. L. Burch, Southwest Research Institute
C. J. Pollock, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Abstract

We develop an algorithm that finds a trajectory through simulations of magnetic reconnection along which input Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations are matched. Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of asymmetric reconnection, the method is applied to a magnetopause electron diffusion region (EDR) encountered by the MMS spacecraft to facilitate interpretation of the event based on fully kinetic models. The recently discovered crescent-shaped electron velocity distributions measured by MMS in the EDR are consistent with simulation distributions at the corresponding time along the computed trajectory.

Publication Date

2-1-2017

Journal Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Publisher

AGU

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072570

Document Type

Article

Recommended Citation

Shuster, J. R.; Argall, M. R.; Torbert, R. B.; Chen, L. -J.; Farrugia, C. J.; Alm, L.; Wang, S.; Daughton, W.; Gershman, D. J.; Giles, B. L.; Russell, C. T.; Burch, J. L.; Pollock, C. J. (2017). Hodographic approach for determining spacecraft trajectories throughmagnetic reconnection diffusion regions, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 44, No. 4, 1625-1633. DOI: 10.1002/2017GL072570