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Magnetic Reconnection

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Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is the key mechanism that controls input as well as output of energy and momentum in the magnetosphere. The input occurs on the magnetopause, and the output is initiated in the magnetotail. This article presents basic features of the reconnection in the magnetosphere, namely, (1) where the reconnection line is formed, (2) how the reconnection operates, and (3) what the main consequences of the reconnection are, for themagnetopause and magnetotail reconnections, respectively. The process leading to onsets of reconnection in the near-Earth region of the magnetotail is also addressed.

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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, 611-0011, Uji, Japan

    Y. Kamide

  2. National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and World Institute for Space Environment Research (WISER), 515, 12227-010, São José dos Campos-SP, Brazil

    A. Chian

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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(2007). Magnetic Reconnection. In: Kamide, Y., Chian, A. (eds) Handbook of the Solar-Terrestrial Environment. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-46315-3_11

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