Related papers: Electron Heating by Debye-Scale Turbulence in Guid…
Electron heating/acceleration in the foreshock, by which electrons may be energized beyond thermal energies prior to encountering the bow shock, is very important for the bow shock dynamics. And then these electrons would be more easily…
Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized (low-beta), weakly collisional plasmas is investigated using a novel fluid-kinetic model [Zocco & Schekochihin, Phys. Plasmas 18, 102309 (2011)] which retains non-isothermal electron kinetics. It…
In space and astrophysical plasmas, like in planetary magnetospheres, as that of Mercury,energetic electrons are often found near current sheets (CSs), which hints at electron acceleration by magnetic reconnection. Unfortunately, electron…
We report simulation results for turbulent magnetic reconnection obtained using a newly developed Reynolds-averaged magnetohydrodynamics model. We find that the initial Harris current sheet develops in three ways, depending on the strength…
Solid evidence of magnetic reconnection is rarely reported within sunspots, the darkest regions with the strongest magnetic fields and lowest temperatures in the solar atmosphere. Using the world's largest solar telescope, the 1.6-meter…
The interplay between plasma turbulence and magnetic reconnection remains an unsettled question in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Here we report the first observational evidence that magnetic reconnection drives subion scale…
We report on the experimental observation of electron heating in electron-only magnetic reconnection in laser-driven laboratory mini-magnetospheres on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles. In this…
Magnetic reconnection is an explosive energy-release process in laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas. While magnetic fields can `break' and `reconnect' in a very small region called the electron diffusion region (EDR), there have…
Simulations of antiparallel reconnection have shown collimated electron jets outflowing from the x-point, and associated highly elongated "outer electron diffusion regions." New PIC simulations with ion/electron mass ratios as large as 1836…
Using observations of Earth's bow shock by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we show for the first time that active magnetic reconnection is occurring at current sheets embedded within the quasi-parallel shock's transition layer. We…
We numerically studied magnetic reconnection in a high $\beta$ hydrogen-helium plasma at different altitudes from the photosphere to the upper chromosphere. The time dependent ionization degrees were included to get more realistic…
Gyrokinetic simulations of magnetic reconnection are presented to investigate plasma heating for strongly magnetized, weakly collisional plasmas. For a low plasma beta case, parallel and perpendicular phase mixing strongly enhance energy…
Kinetic Riemann simulations have been completed to explore particle heating during guide field reconnection in the low-$\beta$ environment of the inner heliosphere and the solar corona. The reconnection exhaust is bounded by two rotational…
The heating of electrons in collisionless magnetic reconnection is explored in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with non-zero guide fields so that electrons remain magnetized. In this regime electric fields parallel to B accelerate…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous plasma phenomenon that plays a critical role in particle heating and energization. During reconnection, the topology of magnetic field rearranges, depositing energy into the surrounding plasma through…
Electron bulk heating during magnetic reconnection with symmetric inflow conditions is examined using kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The degree of electron heating is well correlated with the inflowing Alfv\'en speed $c_{Ar}$…
Reconnection is the process by which magnetic fields in a conducting fluid change their topology. This process is essential for understanding a wide variety of astrophysical processes, including stellar and galactic dynamos and…
We present the first observations of large amplitude waves in a well-defined electron diffusion region at the sub-solar magnetopause using data from one THEMIS satellite. These waves identified as whistler mode waves, electrostatic solitary…
Turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysical fluids. Therefore it is necessary to study magnetic reconnection in turbulent environments. The model of fast turbulent reconnection proposed in Lazarian & Vishniac 1999 has been successfully tested…
Global magnetospheric MHD codes using ionospheric conductances based on laminar models systematically overestimate the cross-polar cap potential during storm time by up to a factor of two. At these times, strong DC electric fields penetrate…