Lower Hybrid Drift Waves during Magnetic Reconnection in Earth's Magnetotail

Understanding the dissipation mechanisms required for fast magnetic reconnection is critical to predict space weather phenomena such as solar flares to take preventative measures for protecting spacecraft and communication systems. Plasma waves in the lower hybrid frequency range have already been observed in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) and are a candidate dissipation source. In this research, we process and analyze spacecraft data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission to highlight the occurrence of various plasma waves during reconnection in Earth's magnetotail. First, we build a data processing platform based on Jupyter Lab to download data in CDF format from various MMS spacecraft and process it in Python. We then use our Python modules and frameworks to visualize the data. Next, we validate the efficacy of our data processing tools against previously documented data. Finally, we utilize our tools to analyze datasets from recent magnetic reconnection events and compare them with theoretical predictions. The results could characterize the propagation of lower hybrid drift waves and other electromagnetic fluctuations, as well as provide new insights on the timing and magnitude of energy dissipation during fast reconnection.