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Magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause: A fundamental process and manifold properties
Author(s) -
Otto A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/95rg00351
Subject(s) - magnetopause , magnetosphere , magnetosphere of saturn , physics , magnetosphere of jupiter , solar wind , polar wind , magnetosheath , plasma , geophysics , magnetic reconnection , ionosphere , computational physics , atmospheric sciences , quantum mechanics
The solar wind ‐ magnetosphere plasma system provides a unique opportunity to study the interaction of plasmas of different origin. One of the major challenges for our understanding of both basic plasma dynamics and the dynamics of the magnetosphere is the coupling of the solar wind plasma and the magnetosphere ‐ ionosphere system. Being the interface between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, the magnetopause controls the interaction between these plasmas. Although the plasma in the vicinity of the magnetopause is highly collisionless, a multitude of observations implies the transport of plasma, momentum and energy from the solar wind into the magnetosphere. The dynamics of the magnetosphere cannot be understood without processes which facilitate this transport.