Three species collisionless reconnection: Effect of O+ on magnetotail reconnection
Plasma Physics
2009-11-10 v2 Astrophysics
Space Physics
Abstract
The nature of collisionless reconnection in a three-species plasma composed of a heavy species, protons, and electrons is examined. Besides the usual two length scales present in two-species reconnection, there are two additional larger length scales in the system: one associated with a "heavy whistler" which produces a large scale quadrupolar out-of-plane magnetic field, and one associated with the "heavy Alfven" wave which can slow the outflow speed and thus the reconnection rate. The consequences for reconnection in the magnetotail with an O+ population present are discussed.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/0406063,
title = {Three species collisionless reconnection: Effect of O+ on magnetotail reconnection},
author = {M. A. Shay and M. Swisdak},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0406063},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Physical Review Letters, in press, 5 pages with 4 figures