10:45 AM Math, Statistics, and Physics Poster Session 5
Friday, July 29 10:45AM – 11:45AM
Location: Legacy
Elvis Fusina
College of St. Scholastica
Effects of O+ Ions on Reconnection Events in the Earth's Magnetotail
We examine the energy fluxes of oxygen ions (O+) and hydrogen ions (H+) during reconnection events. Previous research has shown that H+ ions carry a lot more energy than O+ ions. However, some studies have found rare events in which the integrated energy flux of O+ is comparable to, or more than that of H+. Using data from NASA’s MMS spacecraft, we compute, plot and analyze the kinetic and enthalpy energy fluxes of O+ and H+ in order to better understand their energization mechanisms and how they affect the reconnection process. We compare these events to other events in which there's little or no O+ to identify any trends in energy partitioning among heavy ions or the lack thereof.