The role and properties of lower hybrid waves in the ion diffusion region and magnetospheric inflow region of asymmetric reconnection are investigated using the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Two distinct groups of lower hybrid waves are observed in the ion diffusion region and magnetospheric inflow region, which have distinct properties and propagate in opposite directions along the magnetopause. One group develops near the ion edge in the magnetospheric inflow, where magnetosheath ions enter the magnetosphere through the finite gyroradius effect and are driven by the ion‐ion cross‐field instability due to the interaction between the magnetosheath ions and cold magnetospheric ions. This leads to heating of the cold magnetospheric ions. The second group develops at the sharpest density gradient, where the Hall electric field is observed and is driven by the lower hybrid drift instability. These drift waves produce cross‐field particle diffusion, enabling magnetosheath electrons to enter the magnetospheric inflow region thereby broadening the density gradient in the ion diffusion region.

Lower hybrid drift waves (LHDWs) are commonly observed at plasma boundaries in space and laboratory, often having the strongest measured electric fields within these regions. We use data from two of the Cluster satellites (C3 and C4) located in Earth's magnetotail and separated by a distance of the order of the electron gyroscale. These conditions allow us, for the first time, to make cross-spacecraft correlations of the LHDWs and to determine the phase velocity and wavelength of the LHDWs. Our results are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. We show that the electrostatic potential of LHDWs is linearly related to fluctuations in the magnetic field magnitude, which allows us to determine the velocity vector through the relation ∫δEdt·v = ϕ(δB)(∥). The electrostatic potential fluctuations correspond to ∼10% of the electron temperature, which suggests that the waves can strongly affect the electron dynamics.

Waves around the lower hybrid frequency are frequently observed at Earth's magnetopause and readily reach very large amplitudes. Determining the properties of lower hybrid waves is crucial because they are thought to contribute to electron and ion heating, cross-field particle diffusion, anomalous resistivity, and energy transfer between electrons and ions. All these processes could play an important role in magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause and the evolution of the boundary layer. In this paper, the properties of lower hybrid waves at Earth's magnetopause are investigated using the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. For the first time, the properties of the waves are investigated using fields and direct particle measurements. The highest-resolution electron moments resolve the velocity and density fluctuations of lower hybrid waves, confirming that electrons remain approximately frozen in at lower hybrid wave frequencies. Using fields and particle moments, the dispersion relation is constructed and the wave-normal angle is estimated to be close to 90 • to the background magnetic field. The waves are shown to have a finite parallel wave vector, suggesting that they can interact with parallel propagating electrons. The observed wave properties are shown to agree with theoretical predictions, the previously used single-spacecraft method, and four-spacecraft timing analyses. These results show that single-spacecraft methods can accurately determine lower hybrid wave properties. Key Points: • The velocity and density fluctuations of magnetopause lower hybrid waves are resolved, showing that electrons are approximately frozen in • Lower hybrid wave dispersion relation and wave-normal angle are computed from fields and particle measurements • Single-and multi-spacecraft methods yield consistent lower hybrid wave properties, confirming the accuracy of single-spacecraft methods