Related papers: Three-dimensional simulations of the orientation a…
The orientation and stability of the reconnection x-line in asymmetric geometry is studied using three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. We initiate reconnection at the center of a large simulation domain to minimize the…
To investigate the impact of current sheet motion on the reconnection process, we perform resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of two closely located reconnection sites which move apart from each other as reconnection develops.…
Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important magnetic energy conversion processes observed in laboratory and space plasmas. It describes the breaking and joining of magnetic field lines, leading to the release of magnetic energy and…
We provide examples of periodic solutions (in both 2 and 3 dimension) of the Magnetohydrodynamics equations such that the topology of the magnetic lines changes during the evolution. This phenomenon, known as magnetic reconnection, is…
We propose a criterion for identifying the orientation of the X-line when two regions of plasma with arbitrary densities, temperatures, and magnetic fields undergo reconnection. The X-line points in the direction that maximizes 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…
Magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence are ubiquitous processes important for laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas. Reconnection has been suggested to play an important role in the energetics and dynamics of turbulence by…
Through a direct comparison between numerical simulations in two and three dimensions, we investigate topological effects in reconnection. A simple estimate on increase in reconnection rate in three dimensions by a factor of $\sqrt{2}$,…
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,…
The work extends the computational model EULAG-MHD to include Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD)---important to explore physical systems undergoing fast magnetic reconnection at the order of the ion inertial length scale. Examples include…
Using fully kinetic simulations, we study the x-line orientation of magnetic reconnection in an asymmetric configuration. A spatially localized perturbation is employed to induce a single x-line, that has sufficient freedom to choose its…
Magnetic reconnection in an antiparallel uniform Harris current sheet equilibrium, which is initially perturbed by a region of enhanced resistivity limited in all three dimensions, is investigated through compressible magnetohydrodynamic…
The properties of the turbulence which develops in the outflows of magnetic reconnection have been investigated using self-consistent plasma simulations, in three dimensions. As commonly observed in space plasmas, magnetic reconnection is…
Classical Sweet-Parker models of reconnection predict that reconnection rates depend inversely on the resistivity, usually parameterized using the dimensionless Lundquist number ($\Lund$). We describe magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations…
This study presents three-dimensional (3D) resistive Hall-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) dynamics at Earth's magnetospheric flanks during northward interplanetary magnetic field periods. By…
The efficiency of energy conversion during magnetic reconnection is related to the reconnection rate. While the stable reconnection rate has been studied extensively, its growth between the time of reconnection onset and the peak…
The role of a super-Alfv\'enic plasmoid instability in the onset of fast reconnection is studied by means of the largest Hall magnetohydrodynamics simulations to date, with system sizes up to $10^{4}$ ion skin depths ($d_{i}$). It is…
We present a two-fluid magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model of quasi-stationary, two-dimensional magnetic reconnection in an incompressible plasma composed of electrons and ions. We find two distinct regimes of slow and fast reconnection. The…
We present a constructive numerical example of fast magnetic reconnection in a three dimensional periodic box. Reconnection is initiated by a strong, localized perturbation to the field lines. The solution is intrinsically three…
We develop a first-principles model for the relativistic magnetic reconnection rate in strongly magnetized pair plasmas. By considering the energy budget and required current density near the x-line, we analytically show that in the…