Related papers: Kinetic equilibrium of two-dimensional force-free …
A theoretical treatment is presented of kinetic equilibria in accretion discs around compact objects, for cases where the plasma can be considered as collisionless. The plasma is assumed to be axi-symmetric and to be acted on by…
Implosive formation of current sheets is a fundamental plasma process. Previous studies focused on the early time evolution, while here our primary aim is to explore the longer-term evolution, which may be critical for determining the…
This work presents a 2.5-dimensional simulation study of the instability of current-sheets located in a medium with a strong density variation along the current layer. The initial force-free configuration is observed to undergo a two-stage…
The dynamics of a plasmoid chain is studied with three dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. The evolution of the system with and without a uniform guide field, whose strength is 1/3 the asymptotic magnetic field, is investigated. The…
In this work, the development of two-dimensional current sheets with respect to tearing-modes, in collisionless plasmas with a strong guide field, is analysed. During their non-linear evolution, these thin current sheets can become unstable…
The problem posed by the possible existence/non-existence of spatially non-symmetric kinetic equilibria has remained unsolved in plasma theory. For collisionless magnetized plasmas this involves the construction of stationary solutions of…
Context. Magnetized plasmas characterized by shearing flows are present in many natural contexts, such as the Earth's magnetopause and the solar wind. The collisionless nature of involved plasmas requires a kinetic description. When the…
To systematically stress a rotationally symmetric 3D magnetic null point by advecting the opposite footpoints of the spine axis in opposite directions. This stress eventually concentrates in the vicinity of the null point forming a local…
The theory of Force-Free Electrodynamics (FFE) provides a robust framework for modeling the magnetospheres of compact objects, where the electromagnetic field's energy density dominates the surrounding plasma. Central to this theory is the…
One of the most important problems of magnetotail dynamics is the substorm onset and the related instability of the magneotail current sheet. Since the simplest 2D current sheet configuration with monotonic $B_z$ was proven to be stable to…
Strong gradients in plasma flows play a major role in space and astrophysical plasmas. A typical situation is that a static plasma equilibrium is surrounded by a plasma flow, which can lead to strong plasma flow gradients at the…
We discuss a family of Vlasov-Maxwell equilibrium distribution functions for current sheet equilibria that are intermediate cases between the Harris sheet and the force-free (or modified) Harris sheet. These equilibrium distribution…
We analyze the evolution of current driven kink instabilities of a highly magnetized relativistic plasma column, focusing in particular on its dissipation properties. The instability evolution leads to the formation of thin current sheets…
We have investigated the influence of a velocity shear surface on the linear and non-linear development of the CD kink instability of force-free helical magnetic equilibria in 3D. In this study we follow the temporal development within a…
The NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale mission has made in situ diffusion region and kinetic-scale resolution measurements of asymmetric magnetic reconnection for the first time, in the Earth's magnetopause. The principal theoretical tool…
In this paper, we develop a one-dimensional (1-D), quasineutral, hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell equilibrium model with kinetic ions and massless fluid electrons and derive associated solutions. The model allows for an electrostatic potential that is…
A uniform in space, oscillatory in time plasma equilibrium sustained by a time-dependent current density is analytically and numerically studied resorting to particle-in-cell simulations. The dispersion relation is derived from the Vlasov…
Current-free double layers of the type reported in plasmas in the presence of an expanding magnetic field [C. Charles and R. W. Boswell, Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 1356 (2003)] are modeled theoretically and with particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo…
Current sheets are spatially localized almost-1D structures with intense plasma currents. They play a key role in storing the magnetic field energy and they separate different plasma populations in planetary magnetospheres, the solar wind,…
[..] The change in the magnetic configuration due to the increase/decrease of electric current for different force-free models (potential, linear and nonlinear force-free fields) has never been studied in detail before. Here we focus…