Related papers: Direct measurement of non-thermal electron acceler…
The first self-consistent simulations of electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a macroscale system are presented. Consistent with solar flare observations the spectra of energetic electrons take the form of power-laws that…
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…
Plasma energization through magnetic reconnection in the magnetically-dominated regime featured by low plasma beta ($\beta = 8 \pi nkT_0/B^2 \ll 1$) and/or high magnetization ($\sigma = B^2/(4 \pi nmc^2) \gg 1$) is important in a series of…
Magnetic reconnection, especially in the relativistic regime, provides an efficient mechanism for accelerating relativistic particles and thus offers an attractive physical explanation for nonthermal high-energy emission from various…
Understanding plasma dynamics and nonthermal particle acceleration in 3D magnetic reconnection has been a long-standing challenge. In this paper, we explore these problems by performing large-scale fully kinetic simulations of multi-xline…
This work presents an analysis of the ion outflow from magnetic reconnection throughout fully kinetic simulations with typical laboratory plasmas values. A symmetric initial configuration for the density and magnetic field is considered…
Magnetic reconnection is an explosive process that accelerates particles to high energies in Earth's magnetosphere, offering a unique natural laboratory to study this phenomenon. This study investigates how well data-driven fully kinetic…
Magnetic reconnection is a primary driver of particle acceleration processes in space and astrophysical plasmas. Understanding how particles are accelerated and the resulting particle energy spectra is among the central topics in…
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.,…
Magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma process associated with a rapid dissipation of magnetic energy, is believed to power many disruptive phenomena in laboratory plasma devices, the Earth magnetosphere, and the solar corona.…
Magnetic reconnection in the relativistic regime has been proposed as an important process for the efficient production of nonthermal particles and high-energy emissions. Using fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate how…
Magnetic reconnection in the relativistic and trans-relativistic regimes is able to accelerate particles to hard power law energy spectra $f \propto \gamma^{-p}$ (approaching $p=1$). The underlying acceleration mechanism that determines the…
Processes driven by unsteady reconnection can efficiently accelerate particles in many astrophysical plasmas. An example are the reconnection jet fronts in an outflow region. We present evidence of suprathermal ion acceleration between two…
This work presents a more detailed analysis of the process of magnetic reconnection as promising ion beam accelerator mechanism with possible applications in laboratory plasmas and, more importantly, in the plasma propulsion field. In a…
Reconnection shocks in a magnetically dominated plasma must be compressive. Non-thermal ion acceleration can occur across built-in slow shocks, and across outflow fast shocks when the outflow is supermagnetosonic and the field is line-tied.…
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…
Context: Solar flares accelerate electrons, creating non-thermal energy distributions. However, the acceleration sites and dominant acceleration mechanisms remain largely unknown. Aims: We study the characteristics of electron acceleration…
By means of fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we study whether the proton-to-electron mass ratio $m_i/m_e$ influences the energy spectrum and underlying acceleration mechanism during magnetic reconnection. While kinetic…
Magnetic reconnection plays an important role in the release of magnetic energy and consequent energization of particles in collisionless plasmas. Energy transfer in collisionless magnetic reconnection is inherently a two-step process:…
Magnetic reconnection regions in space and astrophysics are known as active particle acceleration sites. There is ample evidence showing that energetic particles can take a substantial amount of converted energy during magnetic…