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Abstract Magnetic reconnection and the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) are the two fundamental processes in planetary magnetospheres that can lead to plasma, momentum, and energy transport across the magnetospheric boundary. Flux Transfer Events (FTEs), being characterized by the bipolar variation of the magnetic normal component, are often considered to be generated by magnetic reconnection. However, several possible mechanisms can also give rise to FTE‐like features in the boundary layer and potentially mislead observational analysis; the KHI is one such candidate. Using two‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, we examine and categorize the signatures observed by several virtual satellites as they pass through the Kelvin–Helmholtz waves along different trajectories. We have shown that the bipolar signatures were identified during the satellite's passage across the spine region and the leading/trailing edge of the KH vortex. The duration of bipolar signatures was also shown to vary depending not only on where the satellite trajectory intersects with the vortices, but also on the density asymmetry on both sides of boundary which in turn affects the relative motion between the vortices and satellite. Further, slight adjustments to the projection angle of the magnetic field are also applied in the simulations, as the signatures of the KHI are very sensitive to the in‐plane magnetic field component. These results can be used as diagnostics when analyzing spacecraft data to help distinguish KHI‐created signatures from FTE. 

Abstract The Kelvin‐Helmholtz (KH) instability can transport mass, momentum, magnetic flux, and energy between the magnetosheath and magnetosphere, which plays an important role in the solar‐wind‐magnetosphere coupling process for different planets. Meanwhile, strong density and magnetic field asymmetry are often present between the magnetosheath (MSH) and magnetosphere (MSP), which could affect the transport processes driven by the KH instability. Our magnetohydrodynamics simulation shows that the KH growth rate is insensitive to the density ratio between the MSP and the MSH in the compressible regime, which is different than the prediction from linear incompressible theory. When the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is parallel to the planet's magnetic field, the nonlinear KH instability can drive a double mid‐latitude reconnection (DMLR) process. The total double reconnected flux depends on the KH wavelength and the strength of the lower magnetic field. When the IMF is anti‐parallel to the planet's magnetic field, the nonlinear interaction between magnetic reconnection and the KH instability leads to fast reconnection (i.e., close to Petschek reconnection even without including kinetic physics). However, the peak value of the reconnection rate still follows the asymmetric reconnection scaling laws. We also demonstrate that the DMLR process driven by the KH instability mixes the plasma from different regions and consequently generates different types of velocity distribution functions. We show that the counter‐streaming beams can be simply generated via the change of the flux tube connection and do not require parallel electric fields. 

Abstract Understanding the formation of the seed population for the energetic electrons trapped within the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts has been under debate for decades. The magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail during the substorms is the main process of accelerating the electrons to the tens to hundreds of keV. These electrons are further injected toward the radiation belts, where they get further accelerated to relativistic energies. Recently, it has been suggested that another source could come from the dayside diamagnetic cavities where electrons and ions can be locally energized to hundreds of keV energies. It has been shown that the physical mechanism within the cavities can create a strong acceleration perpendicular to magnetic field, which can lead to temperature anisotropy and drift mirror instability. The electron fluxes localized within the troughs of the mirror mode waves exhibit the counter‐streaming “microinjection” signature. To investigate the origin of microinjections and their dependence on solar wind conditions, here we have performed an event search and a statistical study of their properties encompassing a total of ∼165 hr (47 microinjection events) of Magnetospheric Multiscale observations at the pre‐dusk sector high‐latitude boundary layer. The ultralow frequency range magnetic field fluctuations coincided with the counter‐streaming energetic electron fluxes. For most events, the interplanetary magnetic field was duskward and anti‐sunward; over 60% of these microinjections satisfy the criteria of the drift mirror instability, which indicates the temperature anisotropy could play an important role for the microinjection. 

We present the overview of a new experimental apparatus that has been developed to create a single flux rope for studying magnetized plasma jet dynamics, with a focus on the roles of Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in magnetic reconnection and ion heating. The plasma is generated using coplanar electrodes with a single gas nozzle to create a single flux rope, high-voltage capacitor banks, gas puff valves, and a background magnetic field coil. This setup enables controlled exploration of various plasma stability regimes by adjusting external parameters. A comprehensive suite of diagnostic tools—including a He–Ne interferometer, ion Doppler spectroscopy, and a magnetic field probe array—has been implemented to measure key plasma parameters such as density, temperature, and magnetic field. Initial findings indicate that the apparatus can create a single flux rope and sustain it as a stable jet, a kink-unstable jet, and pinched plasma. In particular, kink instability results in significant ion heating, suggesting that magnetic reconnection may be driven by kink instability. These findings provide valuable insights into plasma dynamics relevant to space physics and magnetized inertial fusion, where fluid instabilities and magnetic reconnection are frequently observed. 

The Magnetospheric Multi-scale Mission has frequently observed periodic bursts of counterstreaming electrons with energies ranging from ≈ 30 to 500 keV at the Earth's magnetospheric boundary layers, termed “microinjections.” Recently, a source region for microinjections was discovered at the high-latitude magnetosphere where microinjections showed up simultaneously at all energy channels and were organized by magnetic field variation associated with ultra low frequency mirror mode waves (MMWs) with ≈ 5 min periodicity. These MMWs were associated with strong higher frequency electromagnetic wave activity. Here, we have identified some of these waves as electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. EMIC waves and parallel electric fields often lead to the radiation belt electron losses due to pitch-angle scattering. We show that, for the present event, the EMIC waves are not responsible for scattering electrons into a loss cone, and thus, they are unlikely to be responsible for the observed microinjection signature. We also find that the parallel electric field potentials within the waves are not adequate to explain the observed electrons with >90 keV energies. While whistler waves may contribute to the electron scattering and may exist during this event, there was no burst mode data available to verify this.