Related papers: Collisionless magnetic reconnection in a plasmoid …
Magnetic reconnection is invoked as one of the primary mechanisms to produce energetic particles. We employ large-scale three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection in magnetically-dominated ($\sigma=10$) pair plasmas…
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…
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…
Dynamics of the magnetospheric plasma configuration intrinsically features intermittent slow and fast phases. The fast transition is a nonlinear process, loss of equilibrium which ends up the slow quasi-static evolution. The process is…
In three-dimensional magnetic configurations for a plasma in which no closed field line or magnetic null exists, no magnetic reconnection can occur, by the strictest definition of reconnection. A finitely long pinch with line-tied boundary…
We investigate guide-field magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic pair plasmas with three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a kinetic-scale current sheet in a periodic geometry at low magnetizations.…
Magnetic reconnection, topological change in magnetic fields, is a fundamental process in magnetized plasmas. It is associated with energy release in regions of magnetic field annihilation, but this is only one facet of this process.…
The process of fast magnetic reconnection supported by the formation of plasmoid chains in the high Lundquist number ($S$) regime is investigated using a recently developed adaptive finite-element magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code. We employ a…
Magnetic reconnection plays a crucial role in violent energy conversion occurring in the environments of high electrical conductivity, such as the solar atmosphere, magnetosphere, and fusion devices. We focus on the morphological features…
Convection inside the magnetosphere can be regarded as the transfer of magnetic flux and plasma from the magnetotail into the nightside and then convection and drift from there to the dayside. As in many fluid flow situations, the…
Magnetic reconnection processes in the near-Earth magnetotail can be highly 3-dimensional (3D) in geometry and dynamics, even though the magnetotail configuration itself is nearly two dimensional due to the symmetry in the dusk-dawn…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mechanism of driving eruptive phenomena of different scales and may be coupled with turbulence as suggested by recent remote-sensing and in-situ observations. However, the specific physics behind the…
Magnetic reconnection is a leading mechanism for magnetic energy conversion and high-energy non-thermal particle production in a variety of high-energy astrophysical objects, including ones with relativistic ion-electron plasmas (e.g.,…
We present numerical results from plasma particle simulations of collisionless shocks and ultra-relativistic counter-streaming plasmas. We demonstrate how the field-particle interactions lead to particle acceleration behind the shock-front.…
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…
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…
Our understanding of magnetic reconnection in resistive magnetohydrodynamics has gone through a fundamental change in recent years. The conventional wisdom is that magnetic reconnection mediated by resistivity is slow in laminar high…
Sudden destabilisations of the magnetic field, such as those caused by spontaneous reconnection, will produce waves and/or flows. Here, we investigate the nature of the plasma motions resulting from spontaneous reconnection at a 3D…
The mass symmetry between the two species in electron-positron (pair) plasmas has interesting consequences for collisionless magnetic reconnection because the Hall term, which plays a crucial role in supporting fast reconnection in…
Energy conversion via reconnecting current sheets is common in space and astrophysical plasmas. Frequently, current sheets disrupt at multiple reconnection sites, leading to the formation of plasmoid structures between sites, which might…