Related papers: Magnetic reconnection with null and X-points
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…
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…
Magnetic reconnection with asymmetry in the outflow direction occurs in the Earth's magnetotail, coronal mass ejections, flux cancellation events, astrophysical disks, spheromak merging experiments, and elsewhere in nature and the…
We investigate the evolution of field line helicity for magnetic fields that connect two boundaries without null points, with emphasis on localized finite-B magnetic reconnection. Total (relative) magnetic helicity is already recognized as…
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…
While theoretical models and simulations of magnetic reconnection often assume symmetry such that the magnetic null point when present is co-located with a flow stagnation point, the introduction of asymmetry typically leads to non-ideal…
Several mechanisms have been proposed to generate primordial magnetic fields and it is often assumed that magnetic fields are not affected by a sharp drop in ionization rate due to the cosmic recombination. We investigate the validity of…
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…
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…
Particle in cell (PIC) simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection are presented that demonstrate that the electron dissipation region develops a distinct two-scale structure along the outflow direction. The length of the electron…
We consider the evolution of primordial magnetic fields generated during cosmological, electroweak or QCD, phase transitions. We assume that the magnetic field generation can be described as an injection of magnetic energy to cosmological…
Reconnection and turbulence are two of the most commonly observed dynamical processes in plasmas, but their relationship is still not fully understood. Using 2.5D kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of both strong turbulence and…
In a magnetized, collisionless plasma, the magnetic moment of the constituent particles is an adiabatic invariant. An increase in the magnetic-field strength in such a plasma thus leads to an increase in the thermal pressure perpendicular…
In this series of papers we examine magnetic reconnection in a domain where the magnetic field does not vanish and the non-ideal region is localised in space. In a previous paper we presented a technique for obtaining analytical solutions…
When a magnetic field is forced to evolve on a time scale $\tau_{ev}$, as by footpoint motions driving the solar corona or non-axisymmetric instabilities in tokamaks, the magnetic field lines undergo large-scale changes in topology on a…
Relativistic effects of compact objects onto electromagnetic fields in their vicinity are investigated using the test-field approximation. In particular, we study the possible emergence of magnetic null points which are astrophysically…
Magnetic reconnection -- a fundamental plasma physics process, where magnetic field lines of opposite polarity annihilate -- is invoked in astrophysical plasmas as a powerful mechanism of nonthermal particle acceleration, able to explain…
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…
A general method for describing magnetic reconnection in arbitrary three-dimensional magnetic configurations is proposed. The method is based on the field-line mapping technique previously used only for the analysis of magnetic structure 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…