# Enhanced Electron Mixing and Heating in 3D Asymmetric Reconnection at the Earth's Magnetopause

## TL;DR

This study uses 3D kinetic simulations to investigate electron heating and mixing during asymmetric magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause, revealing enhanced effects and turbulence-driven transport consistent with spacecraft observations.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that 3D effects and turbulence significantly enhance electron mixing and heating compared to 2D models, aligning with MMS data.

## Key findings

- Enhanced electron heating and mixing in 3D simulations
- Lower-hybrid drift turbulence drives particle transport
- Electron temperature parallel to magnetic field is higher in 3D, matching observations

## Abstract

Electron heating and mixing during asymmetric reconnection are studied with a 3D kinetic simulation that matches plasma parameters from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations of a magnetopause diffusion region. The mixing and heating are strongly enhanced across the magnetospheric separatrix compared to a 2D simulation. The transport of particles across the separatrix in 3D is attributed to lower-hybrid drift turbulence excited at the steep density gradient near the magnetopause. In the 3D simulation (and not the 2D simulation), the electron temperature parallel to the magnetic field within the mixing layer is significantly higher than its upstream value in agreement with the MMS observations.