Investigating the microphysics of novel electron-only reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere
Prayash Sharma Pyakurel, Research Scientist
Space Sciences Laboratory
Applications for Spring 2026 are closed for this project.
Magnetic reconnection in current sheets is an energy conversion process that rapidly converts magnetic energy into particle energy. In turbulent plasmas, which contain a large number of intense current sheets, reconnection has long been suggested to play an important role in the dissipation of turbulence energy at kinetic scales. The Earth’s magnetosheath region downstream of the quasi-parallel shock is an ideal natural laboratory to study the role of reconnection in turbulence because it is highly turbulent and contains thousands of small-scale current sheets. It was recently discovered that reconnection does indeed occur in some of the turbulent magnetosheath current sheets, but surprisingly, the process only involves electrons, with no ion coupling. The lack of ion coupling was attributed to the small scale sizes of the current sheets.
To assess the role of reconnection in turbulence one needs to perform statistical studies of the occurrence and properties of electron-only reconnection in the turbulent current sheets. One of the biggest challenges in studying electron-only reconnection is to conclusively identify electron-only reconnection events in spacecraft data. While the most convincing evidence for electron-only reconnection would be the detections of bi-directional electron jets emanating from the reconnection site, such fortuitous observations are extremely rare. To mitigate this difficulty, a set of key signatures extrapolated from the bi-direction jet events and simulations need to be established and applied to a single jet events. Because of the difficulty in identifying electron-only reconnection events in spacecraft data, our understanding of the role that the electron-only reconnection plays in damping of the turbulent magnetic energy and the plasma energy distribution mechanism is incomplete.
The main objective is to investigate the occurrence of electron-only reconnection in the Earth’s magnetosphere and establish the underlying properties of this process.
Role: The student will identify electron-only reconnection events observed in the Earth's magnetosphere, analyze the observations using existing software, and perform more detailed case studies on selected events.
Qualifications: We are seeking applicants with a strong interest in space physics/astronomy. Programming experience is helpful but not required. We are looking for highly motivated and intellectually curious individuals with attention to detail and the ability to work well independently and collaboratively. Students from underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Work can be done remotely, but weekly in-person meetings via Zoom will be conducted.
Related website: https://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Related website: https://www.ssl.berkeley.edu/