Related papers: Axion magnetohydrodynamics and reconnection-driven…
Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important magnetic energy conversion processes observed in laboratory and space plasmas. It describes the breaking and joining of magnetic field lines, leading to the release of magnetic energy and…
In this thesis, we re-assess some aspects of axionic electrodynamics by coupling non-linear electromagnetic effects to axion physics. We present a number of motivations to justify the coupling of the axion to the photon in terms of a…
A magnetically dominated plasma driven by motions on boundaries at which magnetic field lines are anchored is forced to dissipate the work being done upon it, no matter how small the electrical resistivity. Numerical experiments have…
The structure of magnetic reconnection-driven outflows and their dissipation are explored with large-scale, 3-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Outflow jets resulting from 3-D reconnection with a finite length x-line form fronts as they…
Magnetic reconnection is a leading mechanism for dissipating magnetic energy and accelerating nonthermal particles in Poynting-flux dominated flows. In this letter, we investigate nonthermal particle acceleration during magnetic…
Recent theory has demonstrated a novel physics regime for magnetic reconnection in high-energy-density plasmas where the magnetic field is advected by heat flux via the Nernst effect. Here we elucidate the physics of the electron…
Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized astrophysical plasma environments is believed to be the primary process for fast energy release and particle energization. Currently there is strong interest in relativistic magnetic…
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…
We use 3D fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations to study the occurrence of magnetic reconnection in a simulation of decaying turbulence created by anisotropic counter-propagating low-frequency Alfv\'en waves consistent with…
Astrophysical fluids are generically turbulent and this must be taken into account for most transport processes. We discuss how the preexisting turbulence modifies magnetic reconnection and how magnetic reconnection affects the MHD…
We construct examples of smooth periodic solutions to the Magnetohydrodynamic equations in dimension 2 with positive resistivity for which the topology of the magnetic lines changes under the flow. By Alfv\'en's theorem this is known to be…
Axions can be copiously produced in localized regions of neutron star magnetospheres where the ambient plasma is unable to efficiently screen the induced electric field. As these axions stream away from the neutron star they can resonantly…
By coupling axions strongly to a hidden sector, the energy density in coherent axions may be converted to radiative degrees of freedom, alleviating the ``axion energy crisis''. The strong coupling is achieved by mixing the axion and some…
The formation of macroscopic reconnected magnetic structures (islands) have been observed in advanced experiments on weakly collisional, well confined plasmas while established theories of the drift-tearing modes, which depend strongly on…
We study the evolution of interacting large scale magnetic and axionic fields. Based on the new induction equation accounting for the contribution of spatially inhomogeneous axions, we consider the evolution of a magnetized spherical axion…
We present a constructive numerical example of fast magnetic reconnection in a three dimensional periodic box. Reconnection is initiated by a strong, localized perturbation to the field lines. The solution is intrinsically three…
This work presents a magnetic reconnection experiment in which the kinetic, magnetic and thermal properties of the plasma each play an important role in the overall energy balance and structure of the generated reconnection layer. Magnetic…
We report evidence of magnetic reconnection in the transition region of the terrestrial bow shock when the angle between the shock normal and the immediate upstream magnetic field is 65 degrees. An ion-skin-depth-scale current sheet…
Electron dynamics surrounding the X-line in magnetopause-type asymmetric reconnection is investigated using a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. We study electron properties of three characteristic regions in the vicinity of the…
We study the dynamics of a plasma of charged relativistic fermions at very high temperature $T\gg m$, where $m$ is the fermion mass, coupled to the electromagnetic field. In particular, we derive a magneto-hydrodynamical description of the…