# Orbital stability of ensembles of particles in regions of magnetic reconnection in Earth's magneto-tail

## TL;DR

This study maps the orbital stability and acceleration regions of particles near Earth's magneto-tail reconnection site, revealing regular and chaotic motions through statistical analysis of particle ensembles.

## Contribution

It introduces Lyapunov Ensemble Averages to analyze particle orbit stability in magnetic reconnection regions using particle-in-cell simulations.

## Key findings

- Identified regions of particle acceleration and temporary capture.
- Mapped the topology of high and low acceleration centers.
- Differentiated between quasi-regular and chaotic particle motions.

## Abstract

We investigate the collective behaviour of particle orbits in the vicinity of magnetic reconnection in Earth's magneto-tail. Various regions of different kinds of orbital stability of particle motions are found. We locate regimes of temporary capture of particle orbits in configuration space as well as locations, where strong particle accelerations take place. With this study we are able to provide a detailed map, i.e. the topology, of high and low acceleration centers close to the reconnection site. Quasi-regular and chaotic kinds of motions of elementary particles can be determined as well. The orbital stability of particle orbits is obtained by a statistical analysis of the outcome of the system of variational equations of particle orbits within the framework of particle-in-cell simulations. Using the concept of Lyapunov Characteristic Numbers to ensembles of particle orbits we introduce Lyapunov Ensemble Averages to describe the response of particle orbits to local perturbations induced by the electro-magnetic field.