Marc Swisdak
University of Maryland
Magnetic Reconnection at Earth's Magnetopause: The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission and Kinetic Simulations
The MMS mission is a constellation of four closely spaced spacecraft designed to observe magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere. Its unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution has, for the first time, allowed a close comparison between the predictions from kinetic simulations and reconnection as it occurs in nature. Among the surprises has been the formation and impact of turbulence near the reconnection X-line and the development of strongly localized dissipation. Many of features seen in MMS data can be reproduced by simulations.