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We report strong repeated magnetic reconnection pulses that occurred deep inside closed plasma sheet flux tubes at r ≤ 14Re. They have been observed with a fortuitous spacecraft constellation during three consecutive turbulent magnetic dipolarizations, accompanied by localized auroral brightenings near the equatorward edge of a wide auroral oval. The reconnection separatrix was mapped to ∼64° CGLat in the ionosphere, where a very energetic and narrow energy-dispersed ion injection with unusually steep dispersion slope was observed. Reconstruction of the reconnection rate from magnetic waveforms at Cluster provided a reconnection pulse duration (∼1 min) and peak strength (ER ∼ 8 mV/m) consistent with direct observations in the reconnection outflow region. The magnetic activity was rather weak, although the concurrent solar wind flow pressure was above the norm. We suggest that near-Earth reconnection events may be a phenomenon more frequent than generally thought. We also confirm that reconnection and the growth of strong turbulence in the near tail are strongly coupled together in near-Earth reconnection events.
Original language | English |
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Article number | L02103 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 28 Jan 2007 |
ID: 18137491