On measuring the reconnection rate in magnetosphere simulations

J. Raeder, T. Forbes, D. Larson, and J. Dorelli

Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire

Based on recent work by Hesse, Forbes, and Birn (HRB, ApJ, 631, 1227, 2005) we investigate the reconnection rate and the distribution of parallel electric fields in the magnetosphere. We show that the HRB pseudo-potential is consistent with other estimates of the reconnection rate, and we discuss how these results may relate to reconnection processes on the sun.