2020/04/24 by Harsha Gurram, Jan Egedal, Gurram, Harsha +3
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2004.11755
arxiv created 2020/04/24 · arxiv updated 2020/04/27
Previous studies have concluded that the Hall magnetic field structures generated during magnetic reconnection are carried away by kinetic Alfvén waves (KAW). Here we apply a kinetic simulation with an ion/electron mass ratio closer to its natural value and find that much-reduced damping rates permit the KAW to convert into shear Alfvén waves (SAW). For magnetotail reconnection these SAW provides efficient transport of wave energy, enhancing the energy input for the Aurora Borealis by orders of magnitude above previous estimates.