Related papers: Reconnection in a Weakly Stochastic Field
A new method for the determination of the Alfven wave energy generated during magnetic reconnection is introduced and used to analyze the results from two-dimensional MHD simulations. It is found that the regions with strong Alfven wave…
We develop a first-principles model for the relativistic magnetic reconnection rate in strongly magnetized pair plasmas. By considering the energy budget and required current density near the x-line, we analytically show that in the…
Magnetic reconnection requires, at least locally, a non-ideal plasma response. In collisionless space and astrophysical plasmas, turbulence could permit this instead of the too rare binary collisions. We investigated the influence of…
Fast reconnection of magnetic field in turbulent fluids allows magnetic field to change its topology and connections. As a result, the traditional concept of magnetic fields being frozen into the plasma is no longer applicable. The…
The scaling of the relativistic reconnection outflow speed is studied in the presence of both shear flows parallel to the reconnecting magnetic fields and guide fields pointing out of the reconnection plane. In nonrelativistic reconnection,…
Reconnection is an important process that rules dissipation and diffusion of magnetic energy in plasmas. It is already clear that its rate is enhanced by turbulence, and that reconnection itself may increase its stochasticity, but the main…
Magnetic reconnection is thought to be the driver for many explosive phenomena in the universe. The energy release and particle acceleration during reconnection have been proposed as a mechanism for producing high-energy emissions and…
(abridged) Magnetic reconnection is the topological reconfiguration of the magnetic field in a plasma, accompanied by the violent release of energy and particle acceleration. Reconnection is as ubiquitous as plasmas themselves, with solar…
Relativistic magnetic reconnection is a key process for accelerating charged particles and producing high-energy radiation. We study this process using relativistic resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulations. Starting with Harris sheet…
Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized (low-beta), weakly collisional plasmas is investigated using a novel fluid-kinetic model [Zocco & Schekochihin, Phys. Plasmas 18, 102309 (2011)] which retains non-isothermal electron kinetics. It…
Magnetic field embedded in a perfectly conducting fluid preserves its topology for all time. Although ionized astrophysical objects, like stars and galactic disks, are almost perfectly conducting, they show indications of changes in…
We present results from the first self-consistent multi-fluid simulations of chromospheric magnetic reconnection in a weakly ionized reacting plasma. We simulate two dimensional magnetic reconnection in a Harris current sheet with a…
Magnetic reconnection, topological change in magnetic fields, is a fundamental process in magnetized plasmas. It is associated with energy release in regions of magnetic field annihilation, but this is only one facet of this process.…
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…
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…
A general description for relativistic magnetic reconnection is given in terms of asymmetric inflow plasma conditions, such as plasma density, velocity magnetic field strength, and their respective thermal-inertial effects. In this work, we…
Magnetic reconnection, or the ability of the magnetic field lines that are frozen in plasma to change their topology, is a fundamental problem of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). We briefly examine the problem starting with the well-known…
We study the role of turbulence in magnetic reconnection, within the framework of magneto-hydrodynamics, using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations. For small turbulent intensity we find that the reconnection rate obeys…
Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts magnetic energy into plasma energy by changing the magnetic field line topology. The outstanding question is why the reconnection rate is $\mathcal{O}(0.01 - 0.1)$ in many astrophysical…
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…