Related papers: Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in a Five-Mome…
We present the results from a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation that models the interaction between a spatially localized electron-positron cloud and an electron-ion plasma. The latter is permeated by a magnetic field that is initially…
The problem of the linear microtearing mode in a slab magnetised plasma, and its connection to kinetic reconnecting modes, is addressed. Electrons are described using a novel hybrid fluid-kinetic model that captures electron heating, ions…
We present a detailed study of magnetic reconnection in a quasi-two-dimensional pulsed-power driven laboratory experiment. Oppositely directed magnetic fields $(B=3$ T), advected by supersonic, sub-Alfv\'enic carbon plasma flows…
Simulations of relativistic plasmas traditionally focus on the dynamics of two-species mixtures of charged particles under the influence of external magnetic fields and those generated by particle currents. However, the extreme conditions…
A minimal model for magnetic reconnection and, generally, low-frequency dynamics in low-beta plasmas is proposed. The model combines analytical and computational simplicity with physical realizability: it is a rigorous limit of gyrokinetics…
Mini-magnetospheres are small ion-scale structures that are well-suited to studying kinetic-scale physics of collisionless space plasmas. Such ion-scale magnetospheres can be found on local regions of the Moon, associated with the lunar…
We conduct a multiparametric study of driven magnetic reconnection relevant to recent experiments on colliding magnetized laser produced plasmas using particle-in-cell simulations. Varying the background plasma density, plasma resistivity,…
Fast magnetic reconnection was observed between magnetized laser-produced plasmas at the National Ignition Facility. Two highly-elongated plasma plumes were produced by tiling two rows of lasers, with magnetic fields generated in each plume…
Plasmoid instability is usually accounted for the onset of fast reconnection events observed in astrophysical plasmas. However, the measured reconnection rate from observations can be one order of magnitude higher than that derived from MHD…
Using particle-in-cell simulations that label ions and electrons according to their initial inflow region, we find that during 2D collisionless magnetic reconnection, the bulk flow of the plasma from each inflow side crosses paths with…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that is thought to play a key role in the production of nonthermal particles associated with explosive phenomena in space physics and astrophysics. Experiments at high-energy-density…
Using kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we simulate reconnection conditions appropriate for the magnetosheath and solar wind, i.e., plasma beta (ratio of gas pressure to magnetic pressure) greater than 1 and low magnetic shear…
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 plasma phenomenon where a topological rearrangement of magnetic field lines with opposite polarity results in dissipation of magnetic energy into heat, kinetic energy and particle acceleration. Such a phenomenon…
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 results from the first self-consistent multi-fluid simulations of chromospheric magnetic reconnection in a weakly ionized reacting plasma. We simulate two dimensional magnetic reconnection in a Harris current sheet with a…
During magnetic reconnection in collisionless space plasma, the electron fluid decouples from the magnetic field within narrow current layers, and theoretical models for this process can be distinguished in terms of their predicted current…
The motivating question for this dissertation was to identify the minimal requirements for fluid models of plasma to allow converged simulations that agree well with converged kinetic simulations of fast magnetic reconnection. We show that…
We investigate favourable circumstances for fast magnetic reconnection in astrophysical plasmas based on recent results by Rogers et al. (2001). Given that a critical magnetic field structure with antiparallel field lines exists, our…
We perform 3D3V hybrid-Vlasov simulations of turbulence with quasi-isotropic, compressible injection near ion scales to mimic the Earth's magnetosheath plasma, and investigate the novel electron-only reconnection, recently observed by the…