Related papers: Electron dynamics surrounding the X-line in asymme…
Kinetic particle-in-cell simulations are used to identify signatures of the electron diffusion region (EDR) and its surroundings during asymmetric magnetic reconnection. A "shoulder" in the sunward pointing normal electric field (EN > 0) at…
A new look at the structure of the electron diffusion region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is presented. The research is based on a particle-in-cell simulation of asymmetric magnetic reconnection, which include a temperature…
Fully kinetic simulations are applied to the study of 2D anti-parallel reconnection, elucidating the dynamics by which the electron fluid maintains force balance within both the electron diffusion region (EDR) and the ion diffusion region…
To understand the essential physics needed to reproduce magnetic reconnection events in 2.5-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we revisit the Geospace Environmental Modeling (GEM) setup. We set up a 2-D Harris current sheet (that also…
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…
We present detailed analysis of the turbulence observed in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause. The parameters are representative of an electron diffusion region encounter of the…
We study the transition between anti-parallel and component collisionless magnetic reconnection with 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The primary finding is that a guide field \approx 0.1 times as strong as the asymptotic reconnecting field…
Electrons are accelerated to high, non-thermal energies during explosive energy-release events in space, such as magnetic reconnection. However, the properties and acceleration mechanisms of relativistic electrons directly associated with…
Particle dynamics in the electron current layer in collisionless magnetic reconnection is investigated by using a particle-in-cell simulation. Electron motion and velocity distribution functions are studied by tracking self-consistent…
The spreading of the X-line out of the reconnection plane under a strong guide field is investigated using large-scale three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations in asymmetric magnetic reconnection. A simulation with a thick,…
Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process important in many astrophysical contexts including the Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in-situ. Here we present the first encounter of a reconnection site by…
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…
We studied the role of electron physics in 3D two-fluid 10-moment simulation of the Ganymede's magnetosphere. The model captures non-ideal physics like the Hall effect, the electron inertia, and anisotropic, non-gyrotropic pressure effects.…
We present an analysis of the electron dynamics during rapid island merging in asymmetric magnetic reconnection. We consider a doubly periodic system with two asymmetric transitions. The upper layer is an asymmetric Harris sheet initially…
The transport properties of interacting electrons for which the spin degree of freedom is taken into account are numerically studied for small two dimensional diffusive clusters. On-site electron-electron interactions tend to delocalize the…
In this work we explore magnetic response of interacting electrons in a spatially non-uniform disordered system, where impurities are introduced in one sector of the geometry keeping the other one free. The interaction among the electrons…
Electron heating and mixing during asymmetric reconnection are studied with a 3D kinetic simulation that matches plasma parameters from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observations of a magnetopause diffusion region. The mixing…
Detailed comparisons are reported between laboratory observations of electron-scale dissipation layers near a reconnecting X-line and direct two-dimensional full-particle simulations. Many experimental features of the electron layers, such…
Supported by a kinetic simulation, we derive an exclusion energy parameter $\cal{E}_X$ providing a lower kinetic energy bound for an electron to cross from one inflow region to the other during magnetic reconnection. As by a Maxwell Demon,…
We perform a theoretical and numerical study of anti-parallel 2D magnetic reconnection with asymmetries in the density and reconnecting magnetic field strength in addition to a bulk flow shear across the reconnection site in the plane of…