Influence of the lower-hybrid drift instability on magnetic reconnection in asymmetric configurations.

Using fully kinetic 3D simulations of magnetic reconnection in asymmetric antiparallel configurations, we demonstrate that an electromagnetic lower-hybrid drift instability (LHDI) localized near the X line can substantially modify the reconnection mechanism in the regimes with large asymmetry, a moderate ratio of electron to ion temperature, and low plasma β. However, the mode saturates at a small amplitude in the regimes typical of Earth's magnetopause. In these cases, LHDI-driven turbulence is predominantly localized along the separatrices on the low-β side of the current sheet, in agreement with spacecraft observations.