Alfven Waves in a Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer Associated with Near-Tail Magnetic Reconnection

We report observations from Geotail satellite showing that large Poynting fluxes associated with Alfven waves in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) occur in the vicinity of the near-tail reconnection region on 10 December 1996. During the period of large Poynting fluxes, Geotail also observed strong tailward plasma flows. These observations demonstrate the importance of near-tail reconnection process as the energy source of Alfven waves in the PSBL. Strong tailward (Earthward) plasma flows ought to be an important candidate in generating Alfven waves. Furthermore, the strong perturbations not only of the magnetic field but also of the electric field observed in the PSBL indicate that the PSBL plays an important role in the generation and propagation of the energy flux associated with Alfven waves.