Intermittent magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail

We report an event of intermittent reconnection from the terrestrial magnetotail observed by the Magnetospheric MultiScale mission. First, magnetic reconnection is active, inferred from a field-aligned off-equatorial plasma jet. Over 40 seconds, this jet is replaced by a quiet time interval with dusk-ward diamagnetic ion flow carried by a hot population that persists for about two minutes. During this interval, we observe signs of current sheet thickening followed by thinning. The change in the dawn-dusk current associated with the inferred thickening is provided by changes in the electron flux, and we argue this is a result of momentum conservation. Thereafter, we observe an equatorial jet of hot plasma that gradually builds up before the spacecraft encounter a dipolarization front about 20 seconds later. This first dipolarization front is associated with a transition from a hot pre-existing plasma sheet, to colder plasma of lobe origin. This event showcases behavior during intermittent magnetic reconnection and may help us understand the spatiotemporal evolution of reconnecting regions.