Related papers: Magnetic reconnection during collisionless, stress…
Using 2-dimensional (2D) magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, we show that Petschek-type magnetic reconnection can be induced using a simple resistivity gradient in the reconnection outflow direction, revealing the key ingredient of…
We present preliminary results of particle-in-cell simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection for conditions that apply to magnetically dominated pair plasma jets such as those in gamma-ray bursts. We find similar behaviour to…
Magnetic reconnection, the central engine that powers explosive phenomena throughout the Universe, is also perceived as one of the principal mechanisms for accelerating particles to high energies. Although various signatures of magnetic…
We perform two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection in magnetically-dominated pair plasmas subject to strong Compton cooling. Reconnection under such conditions operates in accretion disk coronae around black…
Null and X-points are not themselves directly important to magnetic reconnection because distinguishable field lines do not approach them closely. Even in a collision-free plasma, magnetic field lines that approach each other on a scale…
In solar flares and other astrophysical systems, a major challenge for solving particle acceleration problem associated with magnetic reconnection is the enormous scale separation between kinetic scales and observed reconnection scale.…
We analyze particle acceleration in explosive reconnection events in magnetically dominated proton-electron plasmas. Reconnection is driven by large-scale magnetic stresses in interacting current-carrying flux tubes. Our model relies on…
Detailed comparisons are reported between laboratory observations of electron-scale dissipation layers near a reconnecting X-line and direct two-dimensional full-particle simulations. Many experimental features of the electron layers, such…
Magnetic reconnection is best known from observations of the Sun where it causes solar flares. Observations estimate the reconnection rate a small, but non-negligible fraction of the Alfv\'en speed, so-called fast reconnection. Until…
Using fully kinetic simulations, we study the scaling of the inflow speed of collisionless magnetic reconnection from the non-relativistic to ultra-relativistic limit. In the anti-parallel configuration, the inflow speed increases with the…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous phenomenon in turbulent plasmas. It is an important part of the turbulent dynamics and heating of space and astrophysical plasmas. We examine the statistics of magnetic reconnection using a quantitative…
When magnetic flux emerges from beneath the photosphere it displaces the preexisting field in the corona, and a current sheet generally forms at the boundary between the old and new magnetic domains. Reconnection in the current sheet…
Magnetic reconnection in current sheets converts magnetic energy into particle energy. The process may play an important role in the acceleration and heating of the solar wind close to the Sun. Observations from Parker Solar Probe provide a…
Electron dynamics and energization are one of the key components of magnetic field dissipation in collisionless reconnection. In 2D numerical simulations of magnetic reconnection, the main mechanism that limits the current density and…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process associated with conversion of the embedded magnetic field energy into kinetic and thermal plasma energy, via bulk acceleration and Ohmic dissipation. In many high-energy astrophysical…
The spreading of the X-line out of the reconnection plane under a strong guide field is investigated using large-scale three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations in asymmetric magnetic reconnection. A simulation with a thick,…
The out-of-plane magnetic field, generated by fast magnetic reconnection, during collisionless, stressed $X$-point collapse, was studied with a kinetic, 2.5D, fully electromagnetic, relativistic particle-in-cell numerical code, using both…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous fundamental process in space and astrophysical plasmas that rapidly converts magnetic energy into some combination of flow energy, thermal energy, and non-thermal energetic particles. Over the past…
Partially-ionized plasmas consist of charged and neutral particles whose mutual collisions modify magnetic reconnection compared with the fully-ionized case. The collisions alter the rate and locations of the magnetic dissipation heating…
The evolution of non-potential perturbations to a current-free magnetic X-point configuration is studied, taking into account electron inertial effects as well as resistivity. Electron inertia is shown to have a negligible effect on the…