The relationship between magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence is
investigated using multipoint in-situ measurements from the Cluster spacecraft
within a high-speed reconnection jet in the terrestrial magnetotail. We show
explicitly that work done by electromagnetic fields on the particles,
J⋅E, has a non-Gaussian distribution and is
concentrated in regions of high electric current density. Hence, magnetic
energy is converted to kinetic energy in an intermittent manner. Furthermore,
we find the higher-order statistics of magnetic field fluctuations generated by
reconnection are characterized by multifractal scaling on magnetofluid scales
and non-Gaussian global scale invariance on kinetic scales. These observations
suggest J⋅E within the reconnection jet has an analogue
in fluid-like turbulence theory in that it proceeds via coherent structures
generated by an intermittent cascade. This supports the hypothesis that
turbulent dissipation is highly nonuniform, and thus these results could have
far reaching implications for space and astrophysical plasmas.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter