Related papers: Reconnection in pulsar winds
A statistical relationship between magnetic reconnection, current sheets and intermittent turbulence in the solar wind is reported for the first time using in-situ measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. We identify intermittency as…
We present two-dimensional, cylindrically symmetric simulations of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wide-angle winds interacting with a collapsing environment. These simulations have direct relevance to young stellar objects…
In an X-ray binary system, the companion star feeds the compact neutron star with plasma materials via accretions. The spinning neutron star is likely covered with a thin "magnetized ocean" and may support {\it magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)…
We present 3D numerical simulations and an analytic model of reflection-driven MHD turbulence in the solar wind. Our simulations describe transverse, non-compressive MHD fluctuations within a narrow magnetic flux tube that extends from the…
In situ spacecraft data on the solar wind show events identified as magnetic reconnection with outflows and apparent "`$X$-lines" $10^{3-4}$ times ion scales. To understand the role of turbulence at these scales, we make a case study of an…
The structure and the evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) are studied by means of two-dimensional axisymmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations. After the first imaging of the Crab Nebula with Chandra, a growing…
Magnetic reconnection is a process that changes magnetic field topology in highly conducting fluids. Traditionally, magnetic reconnection was associated mostly with solar flares. In reality, the process must be ubiquitous as astrophysical…
The extended nebulae formed as pulsar winds expand into their surroundings provide information about the composition of the winds, the injection history from the host pulsar, and the material into which the nebulae are expanding.…
Pulsars show irregularities in their pulsed radio emission that originate from propagation effects and the intrinsic activity of the source. In this work, we investigate the role played by magnetic reconnection and the formation of…
The role of interchange reconnection as a drive mechanism for the solar wind is explored by solving the global magnetic-field-aligned equations describing wind acceleration. Boundary conditions in the low corona, including a…
The evolutions of a neutron star's rotation and magnetic field (B-field) have remained unsolved puzzles for over half a century. We ascribe the rotational braking torques of pulsar to both components, the standard magnetic dipole radiation…
Some of the most energetic pulsars exhibit rotation-modulated gamma-ray emission in the $0.1$ to $100$ GeV band. The luminosity of this emission is typically $0.1\text{-}10\%$ of the pulsar spin-down power (gamma-ray efficiency), implying…
Magnetic reconnection is a complex mechanism that converts magnetic energy into particle kinetic energy and plasma thermal energy in space and astrophysical plasmas. In addition, magnetic reconnection and turbulence appear to be intimately…
(abridged) Pulsar activity and its related radiation mechanism are usually explained by invoking some plasma processes occurring inside the magnetosphere. Despite many detailed local investigations, the global electrodynamics around those…
Magnetic reconnection plays a critical role in many astrophysical processes where high energy emission is observed, e.g. particle acceleration, relativistic accretion powered outflows, pulsar winds and probably in dissipation of Poynting…
We interpret the observed X-ray morphology of the central part of the Crab Nebula (torus + jets) in terms of the standard theory by Kennel and Coroniti (1984). The only new element is the inclusion of anisotropy in the energy flux from the…
Magnetic reconnection is best known from observations of the Sun where it causes solar flares. Observations estimate the reconnection rate a small, but non-negligible fraction of the Alfv\'en speed, so-called fast reconnection. Until…
The interaction of a rotating star's magnetic field with a surrounding plasma disk lies at the heart of many questions posed by neutron stars in X-ray binaries. We consider the opening of stellar magnetic flux due to differential rotation…
Magnetic reconnection plays a crucial role in powering solar flares, production of energetic particles, and plasma heating. However, where the magnetic reconnections occur, how and where the released magnetic energy is transported, and how…
We describe new measurements of the remarkable H$\alpha$/UV/X-ray bowshock and pulsar wind nebula of the isolated millisecond pulsar PSR J2124$-$3358. {\it CXO} imaging shows a one-sided jet structure with a softer equatorial outflow. KOALA…