Kinetic-scale Current Sheets in the Solar Wind at 1 au: Properties and the Necessary Condition for Reconnection

We present a data set and properties of 18,785 proton kinetic-scale current sheets collected over 124 days in the solar wind using magnetic field measurements at 1/11 s resolution aboard the Wind spacecraft. We show that all of the current sheets are in the parameter range where reconnection is not suppressed by diamagnetic drift of the X-line. We argue this necessary condition for magnetic reconnection is automatically satisfied due to the geometry of current sheets dictated by their source, which is the local plasma turbulence. The current sheets are shown to be elongated along the background magnetic field and dependence of the current sheet geometry on local plasma beta is revealed. We conclude that reconnection in the solar wind is not likely to be suppressed or controlled by the diamagnetic suppression condition.

Automated summary

The study found that the current sheets in the solar wind satisfy the necessary conditions for magnetic reconnection and are unlikely to be suppressed or controlled by the diamagnetic suppression condition. The geometry of current sheets is influenced by the local plasma beta.