Related papers: A new fast reconnection model in a collisionless r…
We consider quasi-stationary two-dimensional magnetic reconnection in a partially ionized incompressible plasma. We find that when the plasma is weakly ionized and the collisions between the ions and the neutral particles are significant,…
It was recently proposed that the electron-frame dissipation measure, the energy transfer from the electromagnetic field to plasmas in the electron's rest frame, identifies the dissipation region of collisionless magnetic reconnection…
We present particle-in-cell simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection in a system (like the magnetopause) with a large density asymmetry across the current layer. In the presence of an ambient component of the magnetic field…
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…
Thin current sheets in systems of large size that exceed a critical value of the Lundquist number are unstable to a super-Alfvenic tearing instability. The scaling of the growth rate of the fastest growing instability with respect to the…
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…
Among the various attempts to understand collisionless absorption of intense ultrashort laser pulses a variety of models has been invented to describe the laser beam target interaction. In terms of basic physics collisionless absorption is…
Hybrid-Vlasov-Maxwell simulations of magnetized plasma turbulence including non-linear electron-inertia effects in a generalized Ohm's law are presented. When fluctuation energy is injected on scales sufficiently close to ion-kinetic…
Reconnection of the magnetic lines of force is considered in case the magnetic energy exceeds the rest energy of the matter. It is shown that the classical Sweet-Parker and Petschek models are generalized straightforwardly to this case and…
It has been established that the Sweet-Parker current layer in high Lundquist number reconnection is unstable to the super-Alfv\'enic plasmoid instability. Past two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations have demonstrated that the…
Magnetic reconnection is believed to be the driver of many explosive phenomena in Astrophysics, from solar to gamma-ray flares in magnetars and in the Crab nebula. However, reconnection rates from classic MHD models are far too slow to…
Recent experiments have observed magnetic reconnection in high-energy-density, laser-produced plasma bubbles, with reconnection rates observed to be much higher than can be explained by classical theory. Based on fully kinetic particle…
Fast reconnection operating in magnetically dominated plasmas is often invoked in models for magnetar giant flares, for magnetic dissipation in pulsar winds, or to explain the gamma-ray flares observed in the Crab nebula, hence its…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in a laboratory, magnetospheric, solar and astrophysical plasma, whereby magnetic energy is converted into heat, bulk kinetic energy and fast particle energy. Its nature in two dimensions is…
A catastrophe model for the onset of fast magnetic reconnection is presented that suggests why plasma systems with magnetic free energy remain apparently stable for long times and then suddenly release their energy. For a given set of…
As a key to undertanding the basic mechanism for fast reconnection in solar flares, plasmoid-induced-reconnection and fractal reconnection are proposed and examined. We first briefly summarize recent solar observations that give us hints on…
Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts magnetic energy into plasma energy by changing the magnetic field line topology. The outstanding question is why the reconnection rate is $\mathcal{O}(0.01 - 0.1)$ in many astrophysical…
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…
The underlying concepts of collisionless magnetic field reconnection in the vicinity of the diffusion regions are developed qualitatively from first principles. One conclusion of this analysis is that energetic ions and electrons observed…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous astrophysical process that rapidly converts magnetic energy into some combination of plasma flow energy, thermal energy, and non-thermal energetic particles, including energetic electrons. Various…