MMS Observations of a Compressed Current Sheet: Importance of the Ambipolar Electric Field

Spacecraft data reveal a nonuniform ambipolar electric field transverse to the magnetic field in a thin current sheet in Earth's magnetotail that leads to intense E×B velocity shear and nongyrotropic particle distributions. The E×B drift far exceeds the diamagnetic drift and thus drives observed lower hybrid waves. The shear-driven waves are localized to the magnetic field reversal region and are therefore ideally suited for the anomalous dissipation necessary for reconnection. It also reveals substructures embedded in the current density, indicating a compressed current sheet.