Three-dimensional earthward fast flow in the near-Earth plasma sheet in a sheared field: comparisons between simulations and observations

Abstract

Abstract. Three-dimensional configuration of earthward fast flow in the near-Earth plasma sheet is studied using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations on the basis of the spontaneous fast reconnection model. In this study, the sheared magnetic field in the plasma sheet is newly considered in order to investigate the effects of it to the earthward fast flow, and the results are discussed in comparison with no-shear simulations. The virtual probes located at different positions in our simulation domain in shear/no-shear cases could explain different behavior of fast flows in the real observations.