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We study the kinetic structure of intense ion-scale current sheetswith strong electron currents and the guide field having a bell-shape profile.We consider four crossings of the Earth magnetotail current sheet by theCluster mission in 2003. The thickness of these current sheets is about the ioninertial length and significantly smaller than the characteristic iongyroradius. We analyze the asymmetry of the electron velocity distributionfunctions and show that the electron current is provided by the small electronsubpopulation interpreted as an electron beam or two counter-streaming electronbeams. The beam (counter-streaming beams) has a bulk velocity of the order ofthe electron thermal velocity and a density (difference of beam densities) ofabout 1–5% of the plasma density. To describe the observed current sheets wedevelop a kinetic model with particle beams. The model predicts differentthickness of the current sheet for different types of current carriers (oneelectron beam or two counter-streaming electron beams). The observed ion-scalecurrent sheets can be explained assuming that the current is carried by oneelectron beam and a co-streaming ion beam. Although the ion beam does not carrya significant current, this beam is required to balance the electron currentperpendicular to the current sheet neutral plane. The developed model explainsthe dominance of the electron current and the ion scales of the currentsheets

Thin current sheets with strong bell-shape guide field: Cluster observations and models with beams