SM12B-02:
Electron Scale Signatures of Asymmetric Collisionless Reconnection Obtained from Particle-in-Cel Models.
Monday, 15 December 2014: 10:35 AM
Nicolas Aunai1, Michael Hesse2, Maria M Kuznetsova3 and Benoit Lavraud1, (1)IRAP, Toulouse, France, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Abstract:
The mechanisms controlling collisionless magnetic reconnection at electron scales are still poorly understood and the canonical symmetric 2D antiparallel reconnection configuration is quite limited in front of the great diversity of upstream plasma and field configurations reconnection can encounter. Therefore, efficient comparison between numerical simulations and in situ observations requires to look at features as generic as possible and to understand what can limit their generality. In this context, we will discuss the signatures of electron nongyrotropy, the impact of non kinetic equilibrium as an initial condition of asymmetric reconnection models, and of the orientation of the reconnection plane with respect to the upstream field in 2D models.
