Related papers: Explosive magnetic reconnection caused by an X-sha…
Magnetic reconnection, a fundamentally important process in many aspects of astrophysics, is believed to be initiated by the tearing instability of an electric current sheet, a region where magnetic field abruptly changes direction and…
We consider a simple model for gamma-ray bursts induced by magnetic reconnection in turbulent media. The magnetic field in a jet is subject to kink instabilities, which distort the regular structure of the spiral magnetic field, drive…
This work presents a magnetic reconnection experiment in which the kinetic, magnetic and thermal properties of the plasma each play an important role in the overall energy balance and structure of the generated reconnection layer. Magnetic…
Fast magnetic reconnection powers explosive events throughout the universe, from gamma-ray bursts to solar flares. Despite its importance, the onset of astrophysical fast reconnection is the subject of intense debate and remains an open…
The destabilization mechanism of the collisional microtearing mode driven by an electron temperature gradient is studied using theoretical analyses and gyrokinetic simulations including a comprehensive collision model, in magnetized slab…
Collisionless space plasma turbulence can generate reconnecting thin current sheets as suggested by recent results of numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The MMS mission provides the first serious opportunity to check if small…
We investigate an efficient mechanism for generating magnetic fields in turbulent, collisionless plasmas. By using fully kinetic, particle-in-cell simulations of an initially non-magnetized plasma, we inspect the genesis of magnetization,…
Solar flares can release coronal magnetic energy explosively and may impact the safety of near-earth space environments. Their structures and properties on macroscale have been interpreted successfully by the generally-accepted…
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…
Microscopically, collisionless reconnection in thin current sheets is argued to involve `composite electrons' in the ion inertial (Hall current) domain, a tiny fraction of electrons only. These `composite electrons' are confined to lower…
In flare-relevant current sheets, tearing instability may trigger explosive reconnection and plasmoid formation. We explore how the thermal and tearing modes reinforce each other in the fragmentation of a current sheet in the solar corona…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous plasma process that transforms magnetic energy into particle energy during eruptive events throughout the universe. Reconnection not only converts energy during solar flares and geomagnetic substorms…
Within the resistive magnetohydrodynamic model, high-Lundquist number reconnection layers are unstable to the plasmoid instability, leading to a turbulent evolution where the reconnection rate can be independent of the underlying…
We investigate the distribution of particle acceleration sites, independently of the actual acceleration mechanism, during plasmoid-dominated, relativistic collisionless magnetic reconnection by analyzing the results of a particle-in-cell…
The outflows from gamma ray bursts, active galactic nuclei and relativistic jets in general interact with the surrounding media through collisionless shocks. With three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell simulations we investigate…
Microtearing modes have been widely reported as a tearing parity electron temperature gradient driven plasma instability, which leads to fine scale tearing of the magnetic flux surfaces thereby resulting in reconnection of magnetic field…
Magnetic reconnection is a process of magnetic field topology change, which is one of the most fundamental processes in magnetized plasmas. In most astrophysical environments the Reynolds numbers are large and therefore the transition to…
We use 2.5D Magnetohydrodynamic simulations to investigate the spectral signatures of the nonlinear disruption of a tearing unstable current sheet via the generation of multiple secondary current sheets and magnetic islands. During the…
During eruptive flares, vector magnetograms show increasing horizontal magnetic field and downward Lorentz force in the Sun's photosphere around the polarity-inversion line. Such behavior has often been associated with the implosion…
We present a detailed analysis of the properties of magnetic reconnection at large-scale current sheets in a high cadence version of the Lynch & Edmondson (2013) 2.5D MHD simulation of sympathetic magnetic breakout eruptions from a…