Related papers: Effective resistivity in relativistic collisionles…
We present preliminary results of particle-in-cell simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection for conditions that apply to magnetically dominated pair plasma jets such as those in gamma-ray bursts. We find similar behaviour to…
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…
Numerical studies implementing different versions of the collisionless Ohm's law have shown a reconnection rate insensitive to the nature of the non-ideal mechanism occuring at the X line, as soon as the Hall effect is operating.…
Magnetic reconnection in partially ionized plasmas is a ubiquitous phenomenon spanning the range from laboratory to intergalactic scales, yet it remains poorly understood and relatively little studied. Here, we present results from a…
We present the results of 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations that explore relativistic magnetic reconnection in pair plasma with strong synchrotron cooling and a small mass fraction of non-radiating ions. Our results demonstrate that the…
A prediction of the steady-state reconnection electric field in asymmetric reconnection is obtained by maximizing the reconnection rate as a function of the opening angle made by the upstream magnetic field on the weak magnetic field…
Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous phenomenon in turbulent plasmas. It is an important part of the turbulent dynamics and heating of space and astrophysical plasmas. We examine the statistics of magnetic reconnection using a quantitative…
Magnetized turbulence and magnetic reconnection are often invoked to explain the nonthermal emission observed from a wide variety of astrophysical sources. By means of fully-kinetic 2D and 3D PIC simulations, we investigate the interplay…
Particle acceleration and pitch-angle anisotropy resulting from magnetic reconnection are investigated in highly magnetized ion-electron plasmas. By means of fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate that magnetic…
Previous studies of phase mixing of ion cyclotron (IC), Alfv\'enic, waves in the collisionless regime have established the generation of parallel electric field and hence acceleration of electrons in the regions of transverse density…
Magnetic reconnection in the partially ionized solar chromosphere is studied in 2.5-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations including radiative cooling and ambipolar diffusion. A Harris current sheet with and without a guide field is…
Non-thermal electron acceleration via magnetic reconnection is thought to play an important role in powering the variable X-ray emission from radiatively inefficient accretion flows around black holes. The trans-relativistic regime of…
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…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that converts magnetic energy into bulk flow energy, thermal energy, and nonthermal particle acceleration. Despite its importance, the statistical properties of the turbulent…
Context: The strong electric fields associated with magnetic reconnection in solar flares are a plausible mechanism to accelerate populations of high energy, non-thermal particles. One such reconnection scenario occurs at a 3D magnetic null…
Fast reconnection in magnetically dominated plasmas is widely invoked in models of dissipation in pulsar winds, gamma-ray flares in the Crab nebula, and to explain the radio nanoshots of pulsars. When current sheets evolve reaching a…
In strongly magnetized astrophysical plasma systems, magnetic reconnection is believed to be a primary process during which explosive energy release and particle acceleration occur, leading to significant high-energy emission. Past years…
A model of global magnetic reconnection rate in relativistic collisionless plasmas is developed and validated by the fully kinetic simulation. Through considering the force balance at the upstream and downstream of the diffusion region, we…
Magnetic reconnection in partially ionized plasmas plays a crucial role in a wide range of solar, astrophysical, and laboratory environments. While reconnection in such plasmas is commonly characterized by the ion-neutral coupling strength…
Mathematics demonstrates that an ideally evolving magnetic field has an exponentially increasing sensitivity to non-ideal effects for all but truly exceptional evolutions. On a time scale that depends only logarithmically on the magnitude…