Authors: S.M. Petrinec, S.A. Fuselier, K.J. Trattner, J. Berchem
Affiliation: Lockheed Martin, Advanced Technology Center
Magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and the geomagnetic field is believed to be an important, if not dominant, process for transporting plasma mass, energy and momentum from the heliosphere into the magnetosphere. While this concept has received strong support from observational evidence, theory, and modeling efforts, the details of the reconnection process remain poorly understood. In particular, it is not clear where on the magnetopause surface reconnection occurs. This has important consequences for understanding the rate and amount of plasma entry into the magnetosphere. The rate and amount of plasma transferred by reconnection strongly influence magnetospheric activity, including ring current and radiation belt interactions. Variables such as the magnetic shear (anti-parallel or component reconnection) and velocity shear across the magnetopause boundary, solar wind plasma beta and momentum flux may all play important roles in determining where the reconnection process occurs. This presentation will discuss the variety of observations, theory, and numerical modeling efforts as they pertain to determining the location of reconnection at the magnetopause.