Measurements of plasma profiles using a fast swept Langmuir probe in the VINETA-II magnetic reconnection experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Shesterikov, I.; Von Stechow, A.; Grulke, O.; Stenzel, R.; Klinger, T.

2017-07-01

A fast-swept Langmuir probe capable to be biased at a high voltages has been constructed and successfully operated at the VINETA-II magnetic reconnection experiment. The presented circuit has two main features beneficial for fast transient parameter changes in laboratory experiments as, e.g., plasma guns or magnetic reconnection: the implementation simplicity and the high voltage sweep range. This work presents its design and performance for time-dependent measurements of VINETA-II plasmas. The probe is biased with a sinusoidal voltage at a fixed frequency. Current - voltage characteristics are measured along the falling and rising slopes of the probe bias. The sweep frequency is fsweep= 150 kHz. The spatiotemporal evolution of radial plasma profiles is obtained by evaluation of the probe characteristics. The plasma density measurements agree with those derived from a microwave interferometer, demonstrating the reliability of the measurements. As a model plasma system, a plasma gun discharge with typical pulse times of 60 μ s is chosen.

Magnetic Reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masaaki Yamada, Russell Kulsrud and Hantao Ji

2009-09-17

We review the fundamental physics of magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas, by discussing results from theory, numerical simulations, observations from space satellites, and the recent results from laboratory plasma experiments. After a brief review of the well-known early work, we discuss representative recent experimental and theoretical work and attempt to interpret the essence of significant modern findings. In the area of local reconnection physics, many significant findings have been made with regard to two- uid physics and are related to the cause of fast reconnection. Profiles of the neutral sheet, Hall currents, and the effects of guide field, collisions, and micro-turbulence are discussed to understand the fundamental processes in a local reconnection layer both in space and laboratory plasmas. While the understanding of the global reconnection dynamics is less developed, notable findings have been made on this issue through detailed documentation of magnetic self-organization phenomena in fusion plasmas. Application of magnetic reconnection physics to astrophysical plasmas is also brie y discussed.

Magnetic Reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Masaaki; Kulsrud, Russell; Ji, Hantao

2009-01-01

We review the fundamental physics of magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas, by discussing results from theory, numerical simulations, observations from space satellites, and the recent results from laboratory plasma experiments. After a brief review of the well-known early work, we discuss representative recent experimental and theoretical work and attempt to interpret the essence of significant modern findings. In the area of local reconnection physics, many significant findings have been made with regard to two-fluid physics and are related to the cause of fast reconnection. Profiles of the neutral sheet, Hall currents, and the effects of guide field, collisions, and micro-turbulence are discussed to understand the fundamental processes in a local reconnection layer both in space and laboratory plasmas. While the understanding of the global reconnection dynamics is less developed, notable findings have been made on this issue through detailed documentation of magnetic self-organization phenomena in fusion plasmas. Application of magnetic reconnection physics to astrophysical plasmas is also briefly discussed.

Turbulence, Magnetic Reconnection in Turbulent Fluids and Energetic Particle Acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarian, A.; Vlahos, L.; Kowal, G.; Yan, H.; Beresnyak, A.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.

2012-11-01

Turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysics. It radically changes many astrophysical phenomena, in particular, the propagation and acceleration of cosmic rays. We present the modern understanding of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, in particular its decomposition into Alfvén, slow and fast modes, discuss the density structure of turbulent subsonic and supersonic media, as well as other relevant regimes of astrophysical turbulence. All this information is essential for understanding the energetic particle acceleration that we discuss further in the review. For instance, we show how fast and slow modes accelerate energetic particles through the second order Fermi acceleration, while density fluctuations generate magnetic fields in pre-shock regions enabling the first order Fermi acceleration of high energy cosmic rays. Very importantly, however, the first order Fermi cosmic ray acceleration is also possible in sites of magnetic reconnection. In the presence of turbulence this reconnection gets fast and we present numerical evidence supporting the predictions of the Lazarian and Vishniac (Astrophys. J. 517:700-718, 1999) model of fast reconnection. The efficiency of this process suggests that magnetic reconnection can release substantial amounts of energy in short periods of time. As the particle tracing numerical simulations show that the particles can be efficiently accelerated during the reconnection, we argue that the process of magnetic reconnection may be much more important for particle acceleration than it is currently accepted. In particular, we discuss the acceleration arising from reconnection as a possible origin of the anomalous cosmic rays measured by Voyagers as well as the origin cosmic ray excess in the direction of Heliotail.

External and Internal Reconnection in Two Filament-Carrying Magnetic-Cavity Solar Eruptions

Science.gov (United States)

Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.

2004-01-01

We observe two near-limb solar filament eruptions, one of 2000 February 26 and the other of 2002 January 4. For both we use 195 A Fe XII images from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) and magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI), both of which are on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). For the earlier event we also use soft X-ray telescope (SXT), hard X-ray telescope (HXT), and Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) data from the Yohkoh satellite, and hard X-ray data from the BATSE experiment on the Compton Gamma Ra.v Observatory (CGRO). Both events occur in quadrupolar magnetic regions, and both have coronal features that we infer belong to the same magnetic cavity structures as the filaments. In both cases, the cavity and filament first rise slowly at approx.10 km/s prior to eruption and then accelerate to approx.100 km/s during the eruption, although the slow-rise movement for the higher altitude cavity elements is clearer in the later event. We estimate that both filaments and both cavities contain masses of approx.10(exp 14)-10(exp 15) and approx.10(exp 15)-10(exp 16) g, respectively. We consider whether two specific magnetic reconnection-based models for eruption onset, the "tether cutting" and the "breakout" models, are consistent with our observations. In the earlier event, soft X-rays from SXT show an intensity increase during the 12 minute interval over which fast eruption begins, which is consistent with tether- cutting-model predictions. Substantial hard X-rays, however, do not occur until after fast eruption is underway, and so this is a constraint the tether-cutting model must satisfy. During the same 12 minute interval over which fast eruption begins, there are brightenings and topological changes in the corona indicative of high-altitude reconnection early in the eruption, and this is consistent with breakout predictions. In both eruptions, the state of the overlying loops at the time of onset of the fast-rise phase of

External and Internal Reconnection in Two Filament-Carrying Magnetic Cavity Solar Eruptions

Science.gov (United States)

Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.

2004-01-01

We observe two near-limb solar filament eruptions. one of 2000 February 26 and the other of 2002 January 4. For both we use 195 A Fe XII images from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) and magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI). both of which are on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. (SOHO). For the earlier event we also use soft X-ray telescope (SXT). hard X-ray telescope (HXT). and Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) data from the Yohkoh satellite. and hard X-ray data from the BATSE experiment on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. (CGRO). Both events occur in quadrupolar magnetic regions. and both have coronal features that we infer belong to the same magnetic cavity structures as the filaments. In both cases. the cavity and filament first rise slowly at approx. 10 km/s prior to eruption and then accelerate to approx. 100 km/s during the eruption. although the slow-rise movement for the higher altitude cavity elements is clearer in the later event. We estimate that both filaments and both cavities contain masses of approx. 10(exp14) - 1 0(exp 15) and approx. l0(exp 15) - l0(exp 16) g. respectively. We consider whether two specific magnetic reconnection-based models for eruption onset. the "tether cutting" and the "breakout" models. are consistent with our observations. In the earlier event, soft X-rays from SXT show an intensity increase during the 12 minute interval over which fast eruption begins. which is consistent with tether- cutting-model predictions. Substantial hard X-ray. however. do not occur until after fast eruption is underway. and so this is a constraint the tether-cutting model must satisfy. During the same 12 minute interval over which fast eruption begins, there are brightenings and topological changes in the corona indicative of high-altitude reconnection early in the eruption. and this is consistent with breakout predictions. In both eruptions. the state of the overlying loops at the time of onset of the fast

FAST MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SOLAR CHROMOSPHERE MEDIATED BY THE PLASMOID INSTABILITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Lei; Kliem, Bernhard; Lin, Jun; Wu, Ning

2015-01-01

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 considered. Characteristic values of the parameters in the middle chromosphere imply a high magnetic Reynolds number of ∼10 6 -10 7 in the present simulations. Fast magnetic reconnection then develops as a consequence of the plasmoid instability without the need to invoke anomalous resistivity enhancements. Multiple levels of the instability are followed as it cascades to smaller scales, which approach the ion inertial length. The reconnection rate, normalized to the asymptotic values of magnetic field and Alfvén velocity in the inflow region, reaches values in the range ∼0.01-0.03 throughout the cascading plasmoid formation and for zero as well as for strong guide field. The outflow velocity reaches ≈40 km s –1 . Slow-mode shocks extend from the X-points, heating the plasmoids up to ∼8 × 10 4 K. In the case of zero guide field, the inclusion of both ambipolar diffusion and radiative cooling causes a rapid thinning of the current sheet (down to ∼30 m) and early formation of secondary islands. Both of these processes have very little effect on the plasmoid instability for a strong guide field. The reconnection rates, temperature enhancements, and upward outflow velocities from the vertical current sheet correspond well to their characteristic values in chromospheric jets

FAST MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SOLAR CHROMOSPHERE MEDIATED BY THE PLASMOID INSTABILITY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ni, Lei; Kliem, Bernhard; Lin, Jun [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011 (China); Wu, Ning, E-mail: leini@ynao.ac.cn [School of Tourism and Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650031 (China)

2015-01-20

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 considered. Characteristic values of the parameters in the middle chromosphere imply a high magnetic Reynolds number of ∼10{sup 6}-10{sup 7} in the present simulations. Fast magnetic reconnection then develops as a consequence of the plasmoid instability without the need to invoke anomalous resistivity enhancements. Multiple levels of the instability are followed as it cascades to smaller scales, which approach the ion inertial length. The reconnection rate, normalized to the asymptotic values of magnetic field and Alfvén velocity in the inflow region, reaches values in the range ∼0.01-0.03 throughout the cascading plasmoid formation and for zero as well as for strong guide field. The outflow velocity reaches ≈40 km s{sup –1}. Slow-mode shocks extend from the X-points, heating the plasmoids up to ∼8 × 10{sup 4} K. In the case of zero guide field, the inclusion of both ambipolar diffusion and radiative cooling causes a rapid thinning of the current sheet (down to ∼30 m) and early formation of secondary islands. Both of these processes have very little effect on the plasmoid instability for a strong guide field. The reconnection rates, temperature enhancements, and upward outflow velocities from the vertical current sheet correspond well to their characteristic values in chromospheric jets.

Energy flux due to electromagnetic fluctuations during guide field magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwahata, Akihiro; Inomoto, Michiaki; Ono, Yasushi; Yanai, Ryoma

2016-01-01

Large electromagnetic fluctuations inside the current sheet and large reconnection electric fields are observed during fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of a guide field. The fluctuations transport 2.5% of the dissipated magnetic energy from the reconnection region. Although the energy gains of the ions and electrons are approximately 60% and 12%, respectively, of the dissipated magnetic energy after the fast reconnection, the energy of fluctuations is not comparable to their energy gains. The fluctuations do not directly contribute to the energy conversion but might cause the fast reconnection leading to the rapid release of magnetic energy. (author)

Relation of astrophysical turbulence and magnetic reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazarian, A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Eyink, Gregory L. [Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Vishniac, E. T. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1 (Canada)

2012-01-15

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 turbulent cascade. We show the intrinsic interdependence and interrelation of magnetic turbulence and magnetic reconnection, in particular, that strong magnetic turbulence in 3D requires reconnection and 3D magnetic turbulence entails fast reconnection. We follow the approach in Eyink et al.[Astrophys. J. 743, 51 (2011)] to show that the expressions of fast magnetic reconnection in A. Lazarian and E. T. Vishniac [Astrophys. J. 517, 700 (1999)] can be recovered if Richardson diffusion of turbulent flows is used instead of ordinary Ohmic diffusion. This does not revive, however, the concept of magnetic turbulent diffusion which assumes that magnetic fields can be mixed up in a passive way down to a very small dissipation scales. On the contrary, we are dealing the reconnection of dynamically important magnetic field bundles which strongly resist bending and have well defined mean direction weakly perturbed by turbulence. We argue that in the presence of turbulence the very concept of flux-freezing requires modification. The diffusion that arises from magnetic turbulence can be called reconnection diffusion as it based on reconnection of magnetic field lines. The reconnection diffusion has important implications for the continuous transport processes in magnetized plasmas and for star formation. In addition, fast magnetic reconnection in turbulent media induces the First order Fermi acceleration of energetic particles, can explain solar flares and gamma ray bursts. However, the most dramatic consequence of these developments is the fact that the standard flux freezing concept must be radically modified in the presence of turbulence.

Global Hybrid Simulation of Alfvenic Waves Associated with Magnetotail Reconnection and Fast Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, L.; Lin, Y.; Wang, X.; Perez, J. D.

2017-12-01

Alfvenic fluctuations have been observed near the magnetotail plasma sheet boundary layer associated with fast flows. In this presentation, we use the Auburn 3-D Global Hybrid code (ANGIE3D) to investigate the generation and propagation of Alfvenic waves in the magnetotail. Shear Alfven waves and kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) are found to be generated in magnetic reconnection in the plasma sheet as well as in the dipole-like field region of the magnetosphere, carrying Poynting flux along magnetic field lines toward the ionosphere, and the wave structure is strongly altered by the flow braking in the tail. The 3-D structure of the wave electromagnetic field and the associated parallel currents in reconnection and the dipole-like field region is presented. The Alfvenic waves exhibit a turbulence spectrum. The roles of these Alfvenic waves in ion heating is discussed.

Intermittent magnetic reconnection in TS-3 merging experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, Y.; Hayashi, Y.; Ii, T.; Tanabe, H.; Ito, S.; Kuwahata, A.; Ito, T.; Kamino, Y.; Yamada, T.; Inomoto, M.

2011-01-01

Ejection of current sheet with plasma mass causes impulsive and intermittent magnetic reconnection in the TS-3 spherical tokamak (ST) merging experiment. Under high guide toroidal field, the sheet resistivity is almost classical due to the sheet thickness much longer than the ion gyroradius. Large inflow flux and low current-sheet resistivity result in flux and plasma pileup followed by rapid growth of the current sheet. When the pileup exceeds a critical limit, the sheet is ejected mechanically from the squeezed X-point area. The reconnection (outflow) speed is slow during the flux/plasma pileup and is fast during the ejection, suggesting that intermittent reconnection similar to the solar flare increases the averaged reconnection speed. These transient effects enable the merging tokamaks to have the fast reconnection as well as the high-power reconnection heating, even when their current-sheet resistivity is low under high guide field.

Role of compressibility on driven magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T.; Hayashi, T.; Watanabe, K.; Horiuchi, R.; Tanaka, M.; Sawairi, N.; Kusano, K.

1991-08-01

Whether it is induced by an ideal (current driven) instability or by an external force, plasma flow causes a change in the magnetic field configuration and often gives rise to a current intensification locally, thereby a fast driven reconnection being driven there. Many dramatic phenomena in magnetically confined plasmas such as magnetospheric substorms, solar flares, MHD self-organization and tokamak sawtooth crash, may be attributed to this fast driven reconnection. Using a fourth order MHD simulation code it is confirmed that compressibility of the plasma plays a crucial role in leading to a fast (MHD time scale) driven reconnection. This indicates that the incompressible representation is not always applicable to the study of a global dynamical behavior of a magnetically confined plasma. (author)

Frequently Occurring Reconnection Jets from Sunspot Light Bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Hui; Yurchyshyn, Vasyl; Peter, Hardi; Solanki, Sami K.; Young, Peter R.; Ni, Lei; Cao, Wenda; Ji, Kaifan; Zhu, Yingjie; Zhang, Jingwen; Samanta, Tanmoy; Song, Yongliang; He, Jiansen; Wang, Linghua; Chen, Yajie

2018-02-01

Solid evidence of magnetic reconnection is rarely reported within sunspots, the darkest regions with the strongest magnetic fields and lowest temperatures in the solar atmosphere. Using the world’s largest solar telescope, the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope, we detect prevalent reconnection through frequently occurring fine-scale jets in the Hα line wings at light bridges, the bright lanes that may divide the dark sunspot core into multiple parts. Many jets have an inverted Y-shape, shown by models to be typical of reconnection in a unipolar field environment. Simultaneous spectral imaging data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph show that the reconnection drives bidirectional flows up to 200 km s‑1, and that the weakly ionized plasma is heated by at least an order of magnitude up to ∼80,000 K. Such highly dynamic reconnection jets and efficient heating should be properly accounted for in future modeling efforts of sunspots. Our observations also reveal that the surge-like activity previously reported above light bridges in some chromospheric passbands such as the Hα core has two components: the ever-present short surges likely to be related to the upward leakage of magnetoacoustic waves from the photosphere, and the occasionally occurring long and fast surges that are obviously caused by the intermittent reconnection jets.

3-D magnetic reconnection in colliding laser-produced plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Matteucci, Jackson; Fox, Will; Moissard, Clement; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2017-10-01

Recent experiments have demonstrated magnetic reconnection between colliding plasma plumes, where the reconnecting magnetic fields were self-generated in the expanding laser-produced plasmas by the Biermann battery effect. Using fully kinetic 3-D particle in cell simulations, we conduct the first end-to-end simulations of these experiments, including self-consistent magnetic field generation via the Biermann effect through driven magnetic field reconnection. The simulations show rich, temporally and spatially dependent magnetic field reconnection. First, we find fast, vertically-localized ``Biermann-mediated reconnection,'' an inherently 3-D reconnection mechanism where the sign of the Biermann term reverses in the reconnection layer, destroying incoming flux and reconnecting flux downstream. Reconnection then transitions to fast, collisionless reconnection sustained by the non-gyrotropic pressure tensor. To separate out the role 3-D mechanisms, 2-D simulations are initialized based on reconnection-plane cuts of the 3-D simulations. These simulations demonstrate: (1) suppression of Biermann-mediated reconnection in 2-D; (2) similar efficacy of pressure tensor mechanisms in 2-D and 3-D; and (3) plasmoids develop in the reconnection layer in 2-D, where-as they are suppressed in 3-D. Supported by NDSEG Fellowship. This research used resources of the OLCF at ORNL, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.

Observations of Reconnection Flows in a Flare on the Solar Disk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Juntao; Simões, P. J. A.; Jeffrey, N. L. S.; Fletcher, L.; Wright, P. J.; Hannah, I. G., E-mail: j.wang.4@research.gla.ac.uk [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom)

2017-09-20

Magnetic reconnection is a well-accepted part of the theory of solar eruptive events, though the evidence is still circumstantial. Intrinsic to the reconnection picture of a solar eruptive event, particularly in the standard model for two-ribbon flares (CSHKP model), are an advective flow of magnetized plasma into the reconnection region, expansion of field above the reconnection region as a flux rope erupts, retraction of heated post-reconnection loops, and downflows of cooling plasma along those loops. We report on a unique set of Solar Dynamics Observatory /Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imaging and Hinode /EUV Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopic observations of the disk flare SOL2016-03-23T03:54 in which all four flows are present simultaneously. This includes spectroscopic evidence for a plasma upflow in association with large-scale expanding closed inflow field. The reconnection inflows are symmetric, and consistent with fast reconnection, and the post-reconnection loops show a clear cooling and deceleration as they retract. Observations of coronal reconnection flows are still rare, and most events are observed at the solar limb, obscured by complex foregrounds, making their relationship to the flare ribbons, cusp field, and arcades formed in the lower atmosphere difficult to interpret. The disk location and favorable perspective of this event have removed these ambiguities giving a clear picture of the reconnection dynamics.

Observations of Reconnection Flows in a Flare on the Solar Disk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Juntao; Simões, P. J. A.; Jeffrey, N. L. S.; Fletcher, L.; Wright, P. J.; Hannah, I. G.

2017-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a well-accepted part of the theory of solar eruptive events, though the evidence is still circumstantial. Intrinsic to the reconnection picture of a solar eruptive event, particularly in the standard model for two-ribbon flares (CSHKP model), are an advective flow of magnetized plasma into the reconnection region, expansion of field above the reconnection region as a flux rope erupts, retraction of heated post-reconnection loops, and downflows of cooling plasma along those loops. We report on a unique set of Solar Dynamics Observatory /Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imaging and Hinode /EUV Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopic observations of the disk flare SOL2016-03-23T03:54 in which all four flows are present simultaneously. This includes spectroscopic evidence for a plasma upflow in association with large-scale expanding closed inflow field. The reconnection inflows are symmetric, and consistent with fast reconnection, and the post-reconnection loops show a clear cooling and deceleration as they retract. Observations of coronal reconnection flows are still rare, and most events are observed at the solar limb, obscured by complex foregrounds, making their relationship to the flare ribbons, cusp field, and arcades formed in the lower atmosphere difficult to interpret. The disk location and favorable perspective of this event have removed these ambiguities giving a clear picture of the reconnection dynamics.

The role of current sheet formation in driven plasmoid reconnection in laser-produced plasma bubbles

Science.gov (United States)

Lezhnin, Kirill; Fox, William; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2017-10-01

We conduct a multiparametric study of driven magnetic reconnection relevant to recent experiments on colliding magnetized laser produced plasmas using the PIC code PSC. Varying the background plasma density, plasma resistivity, and plasma bubble geometry, the results demonstrate a variety of reconnection behavior and show the coupling between magnetic reconnection and global fluid evolution of the system. We consider both collision of two radially expanding bubbles where reconnection is driven through an X-point, and collision of two parallel fields where reconnection must be initiated by the tearing instability. Under various conditions, we observe transitions between fast, collisionless reconnection to a Sweet-Parker-like slow reconnection to complete stalling of the reconnection. By varying plasma resistivity, we observe the transition between fast and slow reconnection at Lundquist number S 103 . The transition from plasmoid reconnection to a single X-point reconnection also happens around S 103 . We find that the criterion δ /di < 1 is necessary for fast reconnection onset. Finally, at sufficiently high background density, magnetic reconnection can be suppressed, leading to bouncing motion of the magnetized plasma bubbles.

Tracing Fast Electron Beams Emanating from the Magnetic Reconnection Site in a Solar Jet

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, B.; Yu, S.; Battaglia, M.; Krucker, S.

2017-12-01

Fast electron beams propagating in the solar corona can emit radio waves commonly known as type III radio bursts. At decimetric wavelengths, these bursts are emitted from the low corona where flare energy release is thought to take place. As such, decimetric type III radio bursts can serve as an excellent tool to directly trace fast electron beams in the vicinity of the flare energy release site. Here we report observations of decimetric type III bursts during a jet event using the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in 1-2 GHz. Taking advantage of VLA's highly sensitive spectral imaging capability with an ultra-high cadence of 50 ms, we derive detailed trajectories of fast electron beams (with a bulk speed of at least 0.3-0.5c, or several tens of keV) and place them in the context of extreme ultraviolet and X-ray images obtained by SDO/AIA and RHESSI. Our results show that the electron beams originated in a region just below the jet and above the lower-lying small-scale flare loops, presumably where the magnetic energy release took place. We show that the electron beams appear in groups, each with a duration of only a few seconds. Each group, consisting of beams propagating along magnetic field lines at different angles, is seen to emanate from a single site trailing the jet, interpreted as the magnetic reconnection null point. Our results suggest, at least for the present case, that the fast electron beams were energized directly at the magnetic reconnection site which was highly inhomogeneous and fragmentary possibly down to kilometer scales.

Experimental observation of 3-D, impulsive reconnection events in a laboratory plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dorfman, S.; Ji, H.; Yamada, M.; Yoo, J.; Lawrence, E.; Myers, C.; Tharp, T. D. [Center for Magnetic Self-Organization, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2014-01-15

Fast, impulsive reconnection is commonly observed in laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas. In this work, impulsive, local, 3-D reconnection is identified for the first time in a laboratory current sheet. The two-fluid, impulsive reconnection events observed on the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) [Yamada et al., Phys Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997)] cannot be explained by 2-D models and are therefore fundamentally three-dimensional. Several signatures of flux ropes are identified with these events; 3-D high current density regions with O-point structure form during a slow buildup period that precedes a fast disruption of the reconnecting current layer. The observed drop in the reconnection current and spike in the reconnection rate during the disruption are due to ejection of these flux ropes from the layer. Underscoring the 3-D nature of the events, strong out-of-plane gradients in both the density and reconnecting magnetic field are found to play a key role in this process. Electromagnetic fluctuations in the lower hybrid frequency range are observed to peak at the disruption time; however, they are not the key physics responsible for the impulsive phenomena observed. Important features of the disruption dynamics cannot be explained by an anomalous resistivity model. An important discrepancy in the layer width and force balance between the collisionless regime of MRX and kinetic simulations is also revisited. The wider layers observed in MRX may be due to the formation of flux ropes with a wide range of sizes; consistent with this hypothesis, flux rope signatures are observed down to the smallest scales resolved by the diagnostics. Finally, a 3-D two-fluid model is proposed to explain how the observed out-of-plane variation may lead to a localized region of enhanced reconnection that spreads in the direction of the out-of-plane electron flow, ejecting flux ropes from the layer in a 3-D manner.

Whistler dominated quasi-collisionless magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biskamp, D.; Drake, J.F.

1995-05-01

A theory of fast quasi-collisionless reconnection is presented. For spatial scales smaller than the ion inertia length the electrons decouple from the ions and the dynamics is described by electron magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD). A qualitative analysis of the reconnection region is obtained, which is corroborated by numerical simulations. The main results are that in contrast to resistive reconnection no macroscopic current sheet is generated, and the reconnection rate is independent of the smallness parameters of the system, i.e. the electron inertia length and the dissipation coefficients. At larger scales the coupling to the ions is important, which, however, does not change the small-scale dynamics. The reconnection rate is only limited by ion inertia being independent of the electron inertia scale and the dissipation coefficients. Reconnection is much faster than in the absence of the whistler mode. (orig.)

Shock formation and structure in magnetic reconnection with a streaming flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Liangneng; Ma, Zhiwei; Zhang, Haowei

2017-08-18

The features of magnetic reconnection with a streaming flow have been investigated on the basis of compressible resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. The super-Alfvenic streaming flow largely enhances magnetic reconnection. The maximum reconnection rate is almost four times larger with super-Alfvenic streaming flow than sub-Alfvénic streaming flow. In the nonlinear stage, it is found that there is a pair of shocks observed in the inflow region, which are manifested to be slow shocks for sub-Alfvénic streaming flow, and fast shocks for super-Alfvénic streaming flow. The quasi-period oscillation of reconnection rates in the decaying phase for super-Alfvénic streaming flow is resulted from the different drifting velocities of the shock and the X point.

Fast reconnection of magnetic fields in a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, P.N.

1983-01-01

Reconnection process of magnetic fields in a plasma is analytically studied by perturbing the boundary conditions on a slab of incompressible plasma with a resonant surface inside. It is found, for small resistivity, that the reconnection takes place on Alfven time scale and continues into a slow time scale t 1 = eta/sup 1/3/t. Both time scales are faster than the usual tearing time scale. Furthermore, the plasma evolves globally from its initial equilibrium on the slow time scale and settles down to a different final equilibrium

A RECONNECTION-DRIVEN MODEL OF THE HARD X-RAY LOOP-TOP SOURCE FROM FLARE 2004 FEBRUARY 26

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longcope, Dana; Qiu, Jiong; Brewer, Jasmine [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)

2016-12-20

A compact X-class flare on 2004 February 26 showed a concentrated source of hard X-rays at the tops of the flare’s loops. This was analyzed in previous work and interpreted as plasma heated and compressed by slow magnetosonic shocks (SMSs) generated during post-reconnection retraction of the flux. That work used analytic expressions from a thin flux tube (TFT) model, which neglected many potentially important factors such as thermal conduction and chromospheric evaporation. Here we use a numerical solution of the TFT equations to produce a more comprehensive and accurate model of the same flare, including those effects previously omitted. These simulations corroborate the prior hypothesis that slow-mode shocks persist well after the retraction has ended, thus producing a compact, loop-top source instead of an elongated jet, as steady reconnection models predict. Thermal conduction leads to densities higher than analytic estimates had predicted, and evaporation enhances the density still higher, but at lower temperatures. X-ray light curves and spectra are synthesized by convolving the results from a single TFT simulation with the rate at which flux is reconnected, as measured through motion of flare ribbons, for example. These agree well with light curves observed by RHESSI and GOES and spectra from RHESSI . An image created from a superposition of TFT model runs resembles one produced from RHESSI observations. This suggests that the HXR loop-top source, at least the one observed in this flare, could be the result of SMSs produced in fast reconnection models like Petschek’s.

Corotating Magnetic Reconnection Site in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, Z. H.; Coates, A. J.; Ray, L. C.; Rae, I. J.; Jones, G. H.; Owen, C. J.; Dunn, W. R.; Lewis, G. R. [UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Dorking RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); Grodent, D.; Radioti, A.; Gérard, J.-C. [Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Planétaire, STAR institute, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège (Belgium); Dougherty, M. K. [Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Department of Physics, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom); Guo, R. L. [Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Pu, Z. Y. [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing (China); Waite, J. H., E-mail: z.yao@ucl.ac.uk [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

2017-09-10

Using measurements from the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn’s magnetosphere, we propose a 3D physical picture of a corotating reconnection site, which can only be driven by an internally generated source. Our results demonstrate that the corotating magnetic reconnection can drive an expansion of the current sheet in Saturn’s magnetosphere and, consequently, can produce Fermi acceleration of electrons. This reconnection site lasted for longer than one of Saturn’s rotation period. The long-lasting and corotating natures of the magnetic reconnection site at Saturn suggest fundamentally different roles of magnetic reconnection in driving magnetospheric dynamics (e.g., the auroral precipitation) from the Earth. Our corotating reconnection picture could also potentially shed light on the fast rotating magnetized plasma environments in the solar system and beyond.

Electromagnetic Fluctuations during Fast Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hantao Ji; Stephen Terry; Masaaki Yamada; Russell Kulsrud; Aleksey Kuritsyn; Yang Ren

2003-01-01

Clear evidence for a positive correlation is established between the magnitude of magnetic fluctuations in the lower-hybrid frequency range and enhancement of reconnection rates in a well-controlled laboratory plasma. The fluctuations belong to the right-hand polarized whistler wave branch, propagating obliquely to the reconnecting magnetic field, with a phase velocity comparable to the relative drift velocity between electrons and ions. The short coherence length and large variation along the propagation direction indicate their strongly nonlinear nature in three dimensions

Model of magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boozer, Allen H. [Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

2013-03-15

Maxwell's equations imply that exponentially smaller non-ideal effects than commonly assumed can give rapid magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas. In an ideal evolution, magnetic field lines act as stretchable strings, which can become ever more entangled but cannot be cut. High entanglement makes the lines exponentially sensitive to small non-ideal changes in the magnetic field. The cause is well known in popular culture as the butterfly effect and in the theory of deterministic dynamical systems as a sensitive dependence on initial conditions, but the importance to magnetic reconnection is not generally recognized. Two-coordinate models are too constrained geometrically for the required entanglement, but otherwise the effect is general and can be studied in simple models. A simple model is introduced, which is periodic in the x and y Cartesian coordinates and bounded by perfectly conducting planes in z. Starting from a constant magnetic field in the z direction, reconnection is driven by a spatially smooth, bounded force. The model is complete and could be used to study the impulsive transfer of energy between the magnetic field and the ions and electrons using a kinetic plasma model.

Model of magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boozer, Allen H.

2013-01-01

Maxwell's equations imply that exponentially smaller non-ideal effects than commonly assumed can give rapid magnetic reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas. In an ideal evolution, magnetic field lines act as stretchable strings, which can become ever more entangled but cannot be cut. High entanglement makes the lines exponentially sensitive to small non-ideal changes in the magnetic field. The cause is well known in popular culture as the butterfly effect and in the theory of deterministic dynamical systems as a sensitive dependence on initial conditions, but the importance to magnetic reconnection is not generally recognized. Two-coordinate models are too constrained geometrically for the required entanglement, but otherwise the effect is general and can be studied in simple models. A simple model is introduced, which is periodic in the x and y Cartesian coordinates and bounded by perfectly conducting planes in z. Starting from a constant magnetic field in the z direction, reconnection is driven by a spatially smooth, bounded force. The model is complete and could be used to study the impulsive transfer of energy between the magnetic field and the ions and electrons using a kinetic plasma model.

Transient and intermittent magnetic reconnections in TS-3/UTST merging startup experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, Y.; Imazawa, R.; Imanaka, H.; Hayamizu, T.; Inomoto, M.; Sato, M.; Kawamori, E.; Ejiri, A.; Takase, Y.; Asai, T.; Takahashi, T.

2007-01-01

The high-power reconnection heating has been developed in the TS-3 merging experiments, leading us to a new pulsed high-beta spherical tokamak (ST) formation. Two ST plasmas were produced inductively by two or four PF coils without using any central solenoid (CS) coil and were merged together for MW-GW reconnection heating. The magnetic reconnection transformed the magnetic energy of reconnecting magnetic field through the outflow kinetic energy finally to the ion thermal energy, increasing the plasma beta of ST up to 0.5. A new finding is that ejection of current sheet (or plasmoid) causes high-speed merging/ reconnection as well as high-power heating. In the high-q ST merging, the sheet resistivity was almost classical due to the sheet thickness much longer than ion gyroradius. Large inflow flux and low current-sheet dissipation resulted in flux pileup followed by rapid growth of the current sheet. When the flux pileup exceeded a critical limit, the sheet was ejected mechanically from the squeezed X-point area. The reconnection (outflow) speed was slow during the flux pileup and was fast during the ejection, indicating that intermittent reconnection similar to the solar flare increased the averaged reconnection speed. These transient effects enable us to have the fast reconnection as well as the high-power reconnection heating, even if the merging high-q tokamaks have low current-sheet resistivity. (author)

A Reconnection Switch to Trigger gamma-Ray Burst Jet Dissipation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinney, Jonathan

2012-01-01

Prompt gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission requires some mechanism to dissipate an ultrarelativistic jet. Internal shocks or some form of electromagnetic dissipation are candidate mechanisms. Any mechanism needs to answer basic questions, such as what is the origin of variability, what radius does dissipation occur at, and how does efficient prompt emission occur. These mechanisms also need to be consistent with how ultrarelativistic jets form and stay baryon pure despite turbulence and electromagnetic reconnection near the compact object and despite stellar entrainment within the collapsar model. We use the latest magnetohydrodynamical models of ultrarelativistic jets to explore some of these questions in the context of electromagnetic dissipation due to the slow collisional and fast collisionless reconnection mechanisms, as often associated with Sweet-Parker and Petschek reconnection, respectively. For a highly magnetized ultrarelativistic jet and typical collapsar parameters, we find that significant electromagnetic dissipation may be avoided until it proceeds catastrophically near the jet photosphere at large radii (r ∼ 10 13 -10 14 cm), by which the jet obtains a high Lorentz factor (γ ∼ 100-1000), has a luminosity of L j ∼ 10 50 -10 51 erg s -1 , has observer variability timescales of order 1s (ranging from 0.001-10s), achieves γθ j ∼ 10-20 (for opening half-angle θ j ) and so is able to produce jet breaks, and has comparable energy available for both prompt and afterglow emission. A range of model parameters are investigated and simplified scaling laws are derived. This reconnection switch mechanism allows for highly efficient conversion of electromagnetic energy into prompt emission and associates the observed prompt GRB pulse temporal structure with dissipation timescales of some number of reconnecting current sheets embedded in the jet. We hope this work helps motivate the development of self-consistent radiative compressible relativistic

Diagnostics of solar flare reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Karlický

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We present new diagnostics of the solar flare reconnection, mainly based on the plasma radio emission. We propose that the high-frequency (600-2000 MHz slowly drifting pulsating structures map the flare magnetic field reconnection. These structures correspond to the radio emission from plasmoids which are formed in the extended current sheet due to tearing and coalescence processes. An increase of the frequency drift of the drifting structures is interpreted as an increase of the reconnection rate. Using this model, time scales of slowly drifting pulsating structure observed during the 12 April 2001 flare by the Trieste radiopolarimeter with high time resolution (1 ms are interpreted as a radio manifestation of electron beams accelerated in the multi-scale reconnection process. For short periods Fourier spectra of the observed structure have a power-law form with power-law indices in the 1.3-1.6 range. For comparison the 2-D MHD numerical modeling of the multi-scale reconnection is made and it is shown that Fourier spectrum of the reconnection dissipation power has also a power-law form, but with power-law index 2. Furthermore, we compute a time evolution of plasma parameters (density, magnetic field etc in the 2-D MHD model of the reconnection. Then assuming a plasma radio emission from locations, where the 'double-resonance' instability generates the upper-hybrid waves due to unstable distribution function of suprathermal electrons, we model radio spectra. Effects of the MHD turbulence are included. The resulting spectra are compared with those observed. It is found, that depending on model parameters the lace bursts and the decimetric spikes can be reproduced. Thus, it is shown that the model can be used for diagnostics of the flare reconnection process. We also point out possible radio signatures of reconnection outflow termination shocks. They are detected as type II-like herringbone structures in the 200-700 MHz frequency range. Finally

The Magnetic Reconnection Code: Center for Magnetic Reconnection Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amitava Bhattacharjee

2007-04-20

Understanding magnetic reconnection is one of the principal challenges in plasma physics. Reconnection is a process by which magnetic fields reconfigure themselves, releasing energy that can be converted to particle energies and bulk flows. Thanks to the availability of sophisticated diagnostics in fusion and laboratory experiments, in situ probing of magnetospheric and solar wind plasmas, and X-ray emission measurements from solar and stellar plasmas, theoretical models of magnetic reconnection can now be constrained by stringent observational tests. The members of the CMRS comprise an interdisciplinary group drawn from applied mathematics, astrophysics, computer science, fluid dynamics, plasma physics, and space science communities.

Explosive magnetic reconnection caused by an X-shaped current-vortex layer in a collisionless plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirota, M.; Hattori, Y. [Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8677 (Japan); Morrison, P. J. [Department of Physics and Institute for Fusion Studies, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)

2015-05-15

A mechanism for explosive magnetic reconnection is investigated by analyzing the nonlinear evolution of a collisionless tearing mode in a two-fluid model that includes the effects of electron inertia and temperature. These effects cooperatively enable a fast reconnection by forming an X-shaped current-vortex layer centered at the reconnection point. A high-resolution simulation of this model for an unprecedentedly small electron skin depth d{sub e} and ion-sound gyroradius ρ{sub s}, satisfying d{sub e}=ρ{sub s}, shows an explosive tendency for nonlinear growth of the tearing mode, where it is newly found that the explosive widening of the X-shaped layer occurs locally around the reconnection point with the length of the X shape being shorter than the domain length and the wavelength of the linear tearing mode. The reason for the onset of this locally enhanced reconnection is explained theoretically by developing a novel nonlinear and nonequilibrium inner solution that models the local X-shaped layer, and then matching it to an outer solution that is approximated by a linear tearing eigenmode with a shorter wavelength than the domain length. This theoretical model proves that the local reconnection can release the magnetic energy more efficiently than the global one and the estimated scaling of the explosive growth rate agrees well with the simulation results.

Magnetic reconnection in the presence of externally driven and self-generated turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karimabadi, H.; Lazarian, A.

2013-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is an important process that violates flux freezing and induces change of magnetic field topology in conducting fluids and, as a consequence, converts magnetic field energy into particle energy. It is thought to be operative in laboratory, heliophysical, and astrophysical plasmas. These environments exhibit wide variations in collisionality, ranging from collisionless in the Earth's magnetosphere to highly collisional in molecular clouds. A common feature among these plasmas is, however, the presence of turbulence. We review the present understanding of the effects of turbulence on the reconnection rate, discussing both how strong pre-existing turbulence modifies Sweet-Parker reconnection and how turbulence may develop as a result of reconnection itself. In steady state, reconnection rate is proportional to the aspect ratio of the diffusion region. Thus, two general MHD classes of models for fast reconnection have been proposed, differing on whether they keep the aspect ratio finite by increasing the width due to turbulent broadening or shortening the length of the diffusion layer due to plasmoid instability. One of the consequences of the plasmoid instability model is the possibility that the current sheet thins down to collisionless scales where kinetic effects become dominant. As a result, kinetic effects may be of importance for many astrophysical applications which were considered to be in the realm of MHD. Whether pre-existing turbulence can significantly modify the transition to the kinetic regime is not currently known. Although most studies of turbulent reconnection have been based on MHD, recent advances in kinetic simulations are enabling 3D studies of turbulence and reconnection in the collisionless regime. A summary of these recent works, highlighting similarities and differences with the MHD models of turbulent reconnection, as well as comparison with in situ observations in the magnetosphere and in the solar wind, are presented

Effect of Radiation on Chromospheric Magnetic Reconnection: Reactive and Collisional Multi-fluid Simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez Laguna, A.; Poedts, S. [Centre for Mathematical Plasma-Astrophysics, KU Leuven, Leuven (Belgium); Lani, A.; Deconinck, H. [Aeronautics and Aerospace Department, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Sint-Genesius-Rode (Belgium); Mansour, N. N. [NASA Ames Research Center, MS 230-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)

2017-06-20

We study magnetic reconnection under chromospheric conditions in five different ionization levels from 0.5% to 50% using a self-consistent two-fluid (ions + neutrals) model that accounts for compressibility, collisional effects, chemical inequilibrium, and anisotropic heat conduction. Results with and without radiation are compared, using two models for the radiative losses: an optically thin radiation loss function, and an approximation of the radiative losses of a plasma with photospheric abundances. The results without radiation show that reconnection occurs faster for the weakly ionized cases as a result of the effect of ambipolar diffusion and fast recombination. The tearing mode instability appears earlier in the low ionized cases and grows rapidly. We find that radiative losses have a stronger effect than was found in previous results as the cooling changes the plasma pressure and the concentration of ions inside the current sheet. This affects the ambipolar diffusion and the chemical equilibrium, resulting in thin current sheets and enhanced reconnection. The results quantify this complex nonlinear interaction by showing that a strong cooling produces faster reconnections than have been found in models without radiation. The results accounting for radiation show timescales and outflows comparable to spicules and chromospheric jets.

Forced magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Vekstein, G.

2017-10-01

This is a tutorial-style selective review explaining basic concepts of forced magnetic reconnection. It is based on a celebrated model of forced reconnection suggested by J. B. Taylor. The standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory of this process has been pioneered by Hahm & Kulsrud (Phys. Fluids, vol. 28, 1985, p. 2412). Here we also discuss several more recent developments related to this problem. These include energetics of forced reconnection, its Hall-mediated regime, and nonlinear effects with the associated onset of the secondary tearing (plasmoid) instability.

Effects of electron inertia in collisionless magnetic reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrés, Nahuel, E-mail: nandres@iafe.uba.ar; Gómez, Daniel [Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio, CC. 67, suc. 28, 1428, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Univrsidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón I, 1428, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Martin, Luis; Dmitruk, Pablo [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Univrsidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón I, 1428, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2014-07-15

We present a study of collisionless magnetic reconnection within the framework of full two-fluid MHD for a completely ionized hydrogen plasma, retaining the effects of the Hall current, electron pressure and electron inertia. We performed 2.5D simulations using a pseudo-spectral code with no dissipative effects. We check that the ideal invariants of the problem are conserved down to round-off errors. Our numerical results confirm that the change in the topology of the magnetic field lines is exclusively due to the presence of electron inertia. The computed reconnection rates remain a fair fraction of the Alfvén velocity, which therefore qualifies as fast reconnection.

Investigation of magnetic reconnection during a sawtooth crash in a high temperature tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, M.; Pomphrey, N.; Budney, R.; Macickam, J.; Nagayama, Y.

1994-09-01

This paper reports on a recent laboratory investigation on magnetic reconnection in high temperature tokamak plasmas. The motional stark effect(MSE) diagnostic is employed to measure the pitch angle of magnetic field lines, and hence the q profile. An analytical expression that relates pitch angle to q profile has been developed for a toroidal plasma with circular cross section. During the crash phase of sawtooth oscillations in the plasma discharges, the ECE (electron cyclotron emission) diagnostic measures a fast flattening of the 2-D electron temperature profile in a poloidal plane, an observation consistent with the Kadomtsev reconnection theory. On the other hand motional the MSE measurements indicate that central q values do not relax to unity after the crash, but increase only by 5-10%, typically from 0.7 to 0.75. The latter result is in contradiction with the models of Kadomtsev and/or Wesson. The present study addresses this puzzle by a simultaneous analysis of electron temperature and q profile evolutions. Based on a heuristic model for the magnetic reconnection during the sawtooth crash, the small change of q, i.e. partial reconnection, is attributed to the precipitous drop of pressure gradients which drive the instability and the reconnection process as well as flux conserving plasma dynamics

Collisionless magnetic reconnection in large-scale electron-positron plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daughton, William; Karimabadi, Homa

2007-01-01

One of the most fundamental questions in reconnection physics is how the dynamical evolution will scale to macroscopic systems of physical relevance. This issue is examined for electron-positron plasmas using two-dimensional fully kinetic simulations with both open and periodic boundary conditions. The resulting evolution is complex and highly dynamic throughout the entire duration. The initial phase is distinguished by the coalescence of tearing islands to larger scale while the later phase is marked by the expansion of diffusion regions into elongated current layers that are intrinsically unstable to plasmoid generation. It appears that the repeated formation and ejection of plasmoids plays a key role in controlling the average structure of a diffusion region and preventing the further elongation of the layer. The reconnection rate is modulated in time as the current layers expand and new plasmoids are formed. Although the specific details of this evolution are affected by the boundary and initial conditions, the time averaged reconnection rate remains fast and is remarkably insensitive to the system size for sufficiently large systems. This dynamic scenario offers an alternative explanation for fast reconnection in large-scale systems

A Reconnection Switch to Trigger gamma-Ray Burst Jet Dissipation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKinney, Jonathan C.; Uzdensky, Dmitri A.

2012-03-14

Prompt gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission requires some mechanism to dissipate an ultrarelativistic jet. Internal shocks or some form of electromagnetic dissipation are candidate mechanisms. Any mechanism needs to answer basic questions, such as what is the origin of variability, what radius does dissipation occur at, and how does efficient prompt emission occur. These mechanisms also need to be consistent with how ultrarelativistic jets form and stay baryon pure despite turbulence and electromagnetic reconnection near the compact object and despite stellar entrainment within the collapsar model. We use the latest magnetohydrodynamical models of ultrarelativistic jets to explore some of these questions in the context of electromagnetic dissipation due to the slow collisional and fast collisionless reconnection mechanisms, as often associated with Sweet-Parker and Petschek reconnection, respectively. For a highly magnetized ultrarelativistic jet and typical collapsar parameters, we find that significant electromagnetic dissipation may be avoided until it proceeds catastrophically near the jet photosphere at large radii (r {approx} 10{sup 13}-10{sup 14}cm), by which the jet obtains a high Lorentz factor ({gamma} {approx} 100-1000), has a luminosity of L{sub j} {approx} 10{sup 50}-10{sup 51} erg s{sup -1}, has observer variability timescales of order 1s (ranging from 0.001-10s), achieves {gamma}{theta}{sub j} {approx} 10-20 (for opening half-angle {theta}{sub j}) and so is able to produce jet breaks, and has comparable energy available for both prompt and afterglow emission. A range of model parameters are investigated and simplified scaling laws are derived. This reconnection switch mechanism allows for highly efficient conversion of electromagnetic energy into prompt emission and associates the observed prompt GRB pulse temporal structure with dissipation timescales of some number of reconnecting current sheets embedded in the jet. We hope this work helps motivate the

Magnetic reconnection in the low solar chromosphere with a more realistic radiative cooling model

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Lei; Lukin, Vyacheslav S.; Murphy, Nicholas A.; Lin, Jun

2018-04-01

Magnetic reconnection is the most likely mechanism responsible for the high temperature events that are observed in strongly magnetized locations around the temperature minimum in the low solar chromosphere. This work improves upon our previous work [Ni et al., Astrophys. J. 852, 95 (2018)] by using a more realistic radiative cooling model computed from the OPACITY project and the CHIANTI database. We find that the rate of ionization of the neutral component of the plasma is still faster than recombination within the current sheet region. For low β plasmas, the ionized and neutral fluid flows are well-coupled throughout the reconnection region resembling the single-fluid Sweet-Parker model dynamics. Decoupling of the ion and neutral inflows appears in the higher β case with β0=1.46 , which leads to a reconnection rate about three times faster than the rate predicted by the Sweet-Parker model. In all cases, the plasma temperature increases with time inside the current sheet, and the maximum value is above 2 ×104 K when the reconnection magnetic field strength is greater than 500 G. While the more realistic radiative cooling model does not result in qualitative changes of the characteristics of magnetic reconnection, it is necessary for studying the variations of the plasma temperature and ionization fraction inside current sheets in strongly magnetized regions of the low solar atmosphere. It is also important for studying energy conversion during the magnetic reconnection process when the hydrogen-dominated plasma approaches full ionization.

Electron Heating and Acceleration in a Reconnecting Magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

El-Alaoui, M.; Zhou, M.; Lapenta, G.; Berchem, J.; Richard, R. L.; Schriver, D.; Walker, R. J.

2017-12-01

Electron heating and acceleration in the magnetotail have been investigated intensively. A major site for this process is the reconnection region. However, where and how the electrons are accelerated in a realistic three-dimensional X-line geometry is not fully understood. In this study, we employed a three-dimensional implicit particle-in-cell (iPIC3D) simulation and large-scale kinetic (LSK) simulation to address these problems. We modeled a magnetotail reconnection event observed by THEMIS in an iPIC3D simulation with initial and boundary conditions given by a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of Earth's magnetosphere. The iPIC3D simulation system includes the region of fast outflow emanating from the reconnection site that drives dipolarization fronts. We found that current sheet electrons exhibit elongated (cigar-shaped) velocity distributions with a higher parallel temperature. Using LSK we then followed millions of test electrons using the electromagnetic fields from iPIC3D. We found that magnetotail reconnection can generate power law spectra around the near-Earth X-line. A significant number of electrons with energies higher than 50 keV are produced. We identified several acceleration mechanisms at different locations that were responsible for energizing these electrons: non-adiabatic cross-tail drift, betatron and Fermi acceleration. Relative contributions to the energy gain of these high energy electrons from the different mechanisms will be discussed.

Extreme ultra-violet movie camera for imaging microsecond time scale magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chai, Kil-Byoung; Bellan, Paul M.

2013-01-01

An ultra-fast extreme ultra-violet (EUV) movie camera has been developed for imaging magnetic reconnection in the Caltech spheromak/astrophysical jet experiment. The camera consists of a broadband Mo:Si multilayer mirror, a fast decaying YAG:Ce scintillator, a visible light block, and a high-speed visible light CCD camera. The camera can capture EUV images as fast as 3.3 × 10 6 frames per second with 0.5 cm spatial resolution. The spectral range is from 20 eV to 60 eV. EUV images reveal strong, transient, highly localized bursts of EUV radiation when magnetic reconnection occurs

Extreme ultra-violet movie camera for imaging microsecond time scale magnetic reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chai, Kil-Byoung; Bellan, Paul M. [Applied Physics, Caltech, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125 (United States)

2013-12-15

An ultra-fast extreme ultra-violet (EUV) movie camera has been developed for imaging magnetic reconnection in the Caltech spheromak/astrophysical jet experiment. The camera consists of a broadband Mo:Si multilayer mirror, a fast decaying YAG:Ce scintillator, a visible light block, and a high-speed visible light CCD camera. The camera can capture EUV images as fast as 3.3 × 10{sup 6} frames per second with 0.5 cm spatial resolution. The spectral range is from 20 eV to 60 eV. EUV images reveal strong, transient, highly localized bursts of EUV radiation when magnetic reconnection occurs.

Three-dimensional modeling of electron quasiviscous dissipation in guide-field magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesse, Michael; Kuznetsova, Masha; Schindler, Karl; Birn, Joachim

2005-01-01

A numerical study of guide-field magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional model is presented. Starting from an initial, perturbed, force-free current sheet, it is shown that reconnection develops to an almost translationally invariant state, where magnetic perturbations are aligned primarily along the main current flow direction. An analysis of guide-field and electron flow signatures indicates behavior that is very similar to earlier, albeit not three-dimensional, simulations. Furthermore, a detailed investigation of electron pressure nongyrotropies in the central diffusion region confirms the major role the associated dissipation process plays in establishing the reconnection electric field

High fidelity kinetic modeling of magnetic reconnection in laboratory plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Stanier, A.; Daughton, W. S.

2017-12-01

Over the past decade, a great deal of progress has been made towards understanding the physics of magnetic reconnection in weakly collisional regimes of relevance to both fusion devices, and to space and astrophysical plasmas. However, there remain some outstanding unsolved problems in reconnection physics, such as the generation and influence of plasmoids (flux ropes) within reconnection layers, the development of magnetic turbulence, the role of current driven and streaming instabilities, and the influence of electron pressure anisotropy on the layer structure. Due to the importance of these questions, new laboratory reconnection experiments are being built to allow controlled and reproducible study of such questions with the simultaneous acquisition of high time resolution measurements at a large number of spatial points. These experiments include the FLARE facility at Princeton University and the T-REX experiment at the University of Wisconsin. To guide and interpret these new experiments, and to extrapolate the results to space applications, new investments in kinetic modeling tools are required. We have recently developed a cylindrical version of the VPIC Particle-In-Cell code with the capability to perform first-principles kinetic simulations that approach experimental device size with more realistic geometry and drive coils. This cylindrical version inherits much of the optimization work that has been done recently for the next generation many-cores architectures with wider vector registers, and achieves comparable conservation properties as the Cartesian code. Namely it features exact discrete charge conservation, and a so-called "energy-conserving" scheme where the energy is conserved in the limit of continuous time, i.e. without contribution from spatial discretization (Lewis, 1970). We will present initial results of modeling magnetic reconnection in the experiments mentioned above. Since the VPIC code is open source (https

Spatial characteristics of magnetotail reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Genestreti, Kevin J.

We examine the properties of magnetic reconnection as it occurs in the Earth's magnetosphere, first focusing on the spatial characteristics of the near-Earth magnetotail reconnection site, then analyzing the properties of cold plasma that may affect reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. Two models are developed that empirically map the position and occurrence rate of the nightside ion diffusion region, which are based upon Geotail data (first model) and a combination of Geotail and Cluster data (second model). We use these empirical models to estimate that NASA's MMS mission will encounter the ion-scale reconnection site 11+/-4 times during its upcoming magnetotail survey phase. We also find that the occurrence of magnetotail reconnection is localized and asymmetric, with reconnection occurring most frequently at the duskside magnetotail neutral sheet near YGSM* = 5 RE. To determine the physics that governs this asymmetry and localization, we analyze the time history of the solar wind, the instantaneous properties of the magnetotail lobes and current sheet, as well as the geomagnetic activity levels, all for a larger set of Geotail and Cluster reconnection site observations. We find evidence in our own results and in the preexisting literature that localized (small DeltaY) reconnection sites initially form near YGSM* = 5 RE due to an asymmetry in the current sheet thickness. If the solar wind driving remains strong, then localized reconnection sites may expand in the +/-Y direction. The DeltaY extent of the reconnection site ap- pears to be positively correlated with the geomagnetic activity level, which is to be expected for a simplified "energy in equals energy out"-type picture of 3D reconnection. We develop two new methods for determining the temperatures of plasmas that are largely below the energy detection range of electrostatic analyzer instruments. The first method involves the direct application of a theoretical fit to the visible, high-energy portion

Effects of a moving X-line in a time-dependent reconnection model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Kiehas

2007-02-01

Full Text Available In the frame of magnetized plasmas, reconnection appears as an essential process for the description of plasma acceleration and changing magnetic field topology. Under the variety of reconnection regions in our solar system, we focus our research onto the Earth's magnetotail. Under certain conditions a Near Earth Neutral Line (NENL is free to evolve in the current sheet of the magnetotail. Reconnection in this region leads to the formation of Earth- and tailward propagating plasma bulges, which can be detected by the Cluster or Geotail spacecraft. Observations give rise to the assumption that the evolved reconnection line does not provide a steady state behavior, but is propagating towards the tail (e.g., Baker et al., 2002. Based on a time-dependent variant of the Petschek model of magnetic reconnection, we present a method that includes an X-line motion and discuss the effects of such a motion. We focus our main interest on the shock structure and the magnetic field behavior, both for the switch-on and the switch-off phase.

A simple, analytical model of collisionless magnetic reconnection in a pair plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesse, Michael; Zenitani, Seiji; Kuznetsova, Masha; Klimas, Alex

2009-01-01

A set of conservation equations is utilized to derive balance equations in the reconnection diffusion region of a symmetric pair plasma. The reconnection electric field is assumed to have the function to maintain the current density in the diffusion region and to impart thermal energy to the plasma by means of quasiviscous dissipation. Using these assumptions it is possible to derive a simple set of equations for diffusion region parameters in dependence on inflow conditions and on plasma compressibility. These equations are solved by means of a simple, iterative procedure. The solutions show expected features such as dominance of enthalpy flux in the reconnection outflow, as well as combination of adiabatic and quasiviscous heating. Furthermore, the model predicts a maximum reconnection electric field of E * =0.4, normalized to the parameters at the inflow edge of the diffusion region.

A Simple, Analytical Model of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in a Pair Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Zenitani, Seiji; Kuznetova, Masha; Klimas, Alex

2011-01-01

A set of conservation equations is utilized to derive balance equations in the reconnection diffusion region of a symmetric pair plasma. The reconnection electric field is assumed to have the function to maintain the current density in the diffusion region, and to impart thermal energy to the plasma by means of quasi-viscous dissipation. Using these assumptions it is possible to derive a simple set of equations for diffusion region parameters in dependence on inflow conditions and on plasma compressibility. These equations are solved by means of a simple, iterative, procedure. The solutions show expected features such as dominance of enthalpy flux in the reconnection outflow, as well as combination of adiabatic and quasi-viscous heating. Furthermore, the model predicts a maximum reconnection electric field of E(sup *)=0.4, normalized to the parameters at the inflow edge of the diffusion region.

A domain-decomposed multi-model plasma simulation of collisionless magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Datta, I. A. M.; Shumlak, U.; Ho, A.; Miller, S. T.

2017-10-01

Collisionless magnetic reconnection is a process relevant to many areas of plasma physics in which energy stored in magnetic fields within highly conductive plasmas is rapidly converted into kinetic and thermal energy. Both in natural phenomena such as solar flares and terrestrial aurora as well as in magnetic confinement fusion experiments, the reconnection process is observed on timescales much shorter than those predicted by a resistive MHD model. As a result, this topic is an active area of research in which plasma models with varying fidelity have been tested in order to understand the proper physics explaining the reconnection process. In this research, a hybrid multi-model simulation employing the Hall-MHD and two-fluid plasma models on a decomposed domain is used to study this problem. The simulation is set up using the WARPXM code developed at the University of Washington, which uses a discontinuous Galerkin Runge-Kutta finite element algorithm and implements boundary conditions between models in the domain to couple their variable sets. The goal of the current work is to determine the parameter regimes most appropriate for each model to maintain sufficient physical fidelity over the whole domain while minimizing computational expense. This work is supported by a Grant from US AFOSR.

Final Technical Report: Magnetic Reconnection in High-Energy Laser-Produced Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germaschewski, Kai [Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States); Fox, William [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Bhattacharjee, Amitava [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

2017-04-06

This report describes the final results from the DOE Grant DE-SC0007168, “Fast Magnetic Reconnection in HED Laser-Produced Plasmas.” The recent generation of laboratory high-energy-density physics facilities has opened significant physics opportunities for experimentally modeling astrophysical plasmas. The goal of this proposal is to use these new tools to study fundamental problems in plasma physics and plasma astrophysics. Fundamental topics in this area involve study of the generation, amplification, and fate of magnetic fields, which are observed to pervade the plasma universe and govern its evolution. This project combined experiments at DOE laser facilities with kinetic plasma simulation to study these processes. The primary original goal of the project was to study magnetic reconnection using a new experimental platform, colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas. However through a series of fortuitous discoveries, the work broadened out to allow significant advancement on multiple topics in laboratory astrophysics, including magnetic reconnection, Weibel instability, and collisionless shocks.

Colour annealing - a toy model of colour reconnections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandhoff, Marisa; /Wuppertal U.; Skands, Peter; /Fermilab

2005-12-01

We present a simple toy model for colour reconnections at the nonperturbative level. The model resembles an annealing-type algorithm and is applicable to any collider and process type, though we argue for a possible enhancement of the effect in hadron-hadron collisions. We present a simple application and study of the consequences for semileptonic t{bar t} events at the Tevatron.

Colour annealing - a toy model of colour reconnections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandhoff, Marisa; Wuppertal U.; Skands, Peter; Fermilab

2005-01-01

We present a simple toy model for colour reconnections at the nonperturbative level. The model resembles an annealing-type algorithm and is applicable to any collider and process type, though we argue for a possible enhancement of the effect in hadron-hadron collisions. We present a simple application and study of the consequences for semileptonic t(bar t) events at the Tevatron

FAN-SHAPED JETS IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONNECTION SIMULATION AS A MODEL OF UBIQUITOUS SOLAR JETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Ronglin; Fang Cheng; Shibata, Kazunari; Isobe, Hiroaki

2011-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in space and astrophysical plasmas in which the oppositely directed magnetic field changes its connectivity and eventually converts its energy into kinetic and thermal energy of the plasma. Recently, ubiquitous jets (for example, chromospheric anemone jets, penumbral microjets, umbral light bridge jets) have been observed by the Solar Optical Telescope on board the satellite Hinode. These tiny and frequently occurring jets are considered to be a possible evidence of small-scale ubiquitous reconnection in the solar atmosphere. However, the details of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configuration are still not very clear. Here, we propose a new model based on 3D simulations of magnetic reconnection using a typical current sheet magnetic configuration with a strong guide field. The most interesting feature is that the jets produced by the reconnection eventually move along the guide field lines. This model provides a fresh understanding of newly discovered ubiquitous jets and moreover a new observational basis for the theory of astrophysical magnetic reconnection.

The relation between reconnected flux, the parallel electric field, and the reconnection rate in a three-dimensional kinetic simulation of magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wendel, D. E.; Olson, D. K.; Hesse, M.; Kuznetsova, M.; Adrian, M. L.; Aunai, N.; Karimabadi, H.; Daughton, W.

2013-01-01

We investigate the distribution of parallel electric fields and their relationship to the location and rate of magnetic reconnection in a large particle-in-cell simulation of 3D turbulent magnetic reconnection with open boundary conditions. The simulation's guide field geometry inhibits the formation of simple topological features such as null points. Therefore, we derive the location of potential changes in magnetic connectivity by finding the field lines that experience a large relative change between their endpoints, i.e., the quasi-separatrix layer. We find a good correspondence between the locus of changes in magnetic connectivity or the quasi-separatrix layer and the map of large gradients in the integrated parallel electric field (or quasi-potential). Furthermore, we investigate the distribution of the parallel electric field along the reconnecting field lines. We find the reconnection rate is controlled by only the low-amplitude, zeroth and first–order trends in the parallel electric field while the contribution from fluctuations of the parallel electric field, such as electron holes, is negligible. The results impact the determination of reconnection sites and reconnection rates in models and in situ spacecraft observations of 3D turbulent reconnection. It is difficult through direct observation to isolate the loci of the reconnection parallel electric field amidst the large amplitude fluctuations. However, we demonstrate that a positive slope of the running sum of the parallel electric field along the field line as a function of field line length indicates where reconnection is occurring along the field line

A new magnetic reconnection paradigm: Stochastic plasmoid chains

Science.gov (United States)

Loureiro, Nuno

2015-11-01

Recent analytical and numerical research in magnetic reconnection has converged on the notion that reconnection sites (current sheets) are unstable to the formation of multiple magnetic islands (plasmoids), provided that the system is sufficiently large (or, in other words, that the Lundquist number of the plasma is high). Nonlinearly, plasmoids come to define the reconnection geometry. Their nonlinear dynamics is rather complex and best thought of as new form of turbulence whose properties are determined by continuous plasmoid formation and their subsequent ejection from the sheet, as well as the interaction (coalescence) between plasmoids of different sizes. The existence of these stochastic plasmoid chains has powerful implications for several aspects of the reconnection process, from determining the reconnection rate to the details and efficiency of the energy conversion and dissipation. In addition, the plasmoid instability may also directly bear on the little understood problem of the reconnection trigger, or onset, i.e., the abrupt transition from a slow stage of energy accumulation to a fast (explosive) stage of energy release. This talk will first provide a brief overview of these recent developments in the reconnection field. I will then discuss recent work addressing the onset problem in the context of a forming current sheet which becomes progressively more unstable to the plasmoid instability. Work partially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia via Grants UID/FIS/50010/2013 and IF/00530/2013.

Reconnection on the Sun

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-05-01

Because the Sun is so close, it makes an excellent laboratory to study processes we cant examinein distant stars. One openquestion is that of how solar magnetic fields rearrange themselves, producing the tremendous releases of energy we observe as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).What is Magnetic Reconnection?Magnetic reconnection occurs when a magnetic field rearranges itself to move to a lower-energy state. As field lines of opposite polarity reconnect, magnetic energy is suddenly converted into thermal and kinetic energy.This processis believed to be behind the sudden releases of energy from the solar surface in the form of solar flares and CMEs. But there are many different models for how magnetic reconnection could occur in the magnetic field at the Suns surface, and we arent sure which one of these reconnection types is responsible for the events we see.Recently, however, several studies have been published presenting some of the first observational support of specific reconnection models. Taken together, these observations suggest that there are likely several different types of reconnection happening on the solar surface. Heres a closer look at two of these recent publications:A pre-eruption SDO image of a flaring region (b) looks remarkably similar to a 3D cartoon for typical breakout configuration (a). Click for a closer look! [Adapted from Chen et al. 2016]Study 1:Magnetic BreakoutLed by Yao Chen (Shandong University in China), a team of scientists has presented observations made by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) of a flare and CME event that appears to have been caused by magnetic breakout.In the magnetic breakout model, a series of loops in the Suns lower corona are confined by a surrounding larger loop structure called an arcade higher in the corona. As the lower loops push upward, reconnection occurs in the upper corona, removing the overlying, confining arcade. Without that extra confinement, the lower coronal loops expand upward

Experimental study of ion heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, S.C.

2000-01-28

This dissertation reports an experimental study of ion heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection, which is the annihilation and topological rearrangement of magnetic flux in a conductive plasma. Reconnection is invoked often to explain particle heating and acceleration in both laboratory and naturally occurring plasmas. However, a simultaneous account of reconnection and its associated energy conversion has been elusive due to the extreme inaccessibility of reconnection events, e.g. in the solar corona, the Earth's magnetosphere, or in fusion research plasmas. Experiments for this work were conducted on MRX (Magnetic Reconnection Experiment), which creates a plasma environment allowing the reconnection process to be isolated, reproduced, and diagnosed in detail. Key findings of this work are the identification of local ion heating during magnetic reconnection and the determination that non-classical effects must provide the heating mechanism. Measured ion flows are sub-Alfvenic and can provide only slight viscous heating, and classical ion-electron interactions can be neglected due to the very long energy equipartition time. The plasma resistivity in the reconnection layer is seen to be enhanced over the classical value, and the ion heating is observed to scale with the enhancement factor, suggesting a relationship between the magnetic energy dissipation mechanism and the ion heating mechanism. The observation of non-classical ion heating during reconnection has significant implications for understanding the role played by non-classical dissipation mechanisms in generating fast reconnection. The findings are relevant for many areas of space and laboratory plasma research, a prime example being the currently unsolved problem of solar coronal heating. In the process of performing this work, local measurements of ion temperature and flows in a well-characterized reconnection layer were obtained for the first time in either laboratory or observational

Experimental study of ion heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, S.C.

2000-01-01

This dissertation reports an experimental study of ion heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection, which is the annihilation and topological rearrangement of magnetic flux in a conductive plasma. Reconnection is invoked often to explain particle heating and acceleration in both laboratory and naturally occurring plasmas. However, a simultaneous account of reconnection and its associated energy conversion has been elusive due to the extreme inaccessibility of reconnection events, e.g. in the solar corona, the Earth's magnetosphere, or in fusion research plasmas. Experiments for this work were conducted on MRX (Magnetic Reconnection Experiment), which creates a plasma environment allowing the reconnection process to be isolated, reproduced, and diagnosed in detail. Key findings of this work are the identification of local ion heating during magnetic reconnection and the determination that non-classical effects must provide the heating mechanism. Measured ion flows are sub-Alfvenic and can provide only slight viscous heating, and classical ion-electron interactions can be neglected due to the very long energy equipartition time. The plasma resistivity in the reconnection layer is seen to be enhanced over the classical value, and the ion heating is observed to scale with the enhancement factor, suggesting a relationship between the magnetic energy dissipation mechanism and the ion heating mechanism. The observation of non-classical ion heating during reconnection has significant implications for understanding the role played by non-classical dissipation mechanisms in generating fast reconnection. The findings are relevant for many areas of space and laboratory plasma research, a prime example being the currently unsolved problem of solar coronal heating. In the process of performing this work, local measurements of ion temperature and flows in a well-characterized reconnection layer were obtained for the first time in either laboratory or observational

Magnetic reconnection under anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirabayashi, K.; Hoshino, M.

2013-01-01

We study the formation of slow-mode shocks in collisionless magnetic reconnection by using one- and two-dimensional collisionless MHD codes based on the double adiabatic approximation and the Landau closure model. We bridge the gap between the Petschek-type MHD reconnection model accompanied by a pair of slow shocks and the observational evidence of the rare occasion of in-situ slow shock observations. Our results showed that once magnetic reconnection takes place, a firehose-sense (p ∥ >p ⊥ ) pressure anisotropy arises in the downstream region, and the generated slow shocks are quite weak comparing with those in an isotropic MHD. In spite of the weakness of the shocks, however, the resultant reconnection rate is 10%–30% higher than that in an isotropic case. This result implies that the slow shock does not necessarily play an important role in the energy conversion in the reconnection system and is consistent with the satellite observation in the Earth's magnetosphere

Superdiffusion revisited in view of collisionless reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. A. Treumann

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The concept of diffusion in collisionless space plasmas like those near the magnetopause and in the geomagnetic tail during reconnection is reexamined making use of the division of particle orbits into waiting orbits and break-outs into ballistic motion lying at the bottom, for instance, of Lévy flights. The rms average displacement in this case increases with time, describing superdiffusion, though faster than classical, is still a weak process, being however strong enough to support fast reconnection. Referring to two kinds of numerical particle-in-cell simulations we determine the anomalous diffusion coefficient, the anomalous collision frequency on which the diffusion process is based, and construct a relation between the diffusion coefficients and the resistive scale. The anomalous collision frequency from electron pseudo-viscosity in reconnection turns out to be of the order of the lower-hybrid frequency with the latter providing a lower limit, thus making similar assumptions physically meaningful. Tentative though not completely justified use of the κ distribution yields κ ≈ 6 in the reconnection diffusion region and, for the anomalous diffusion coefficient, the order of several times Bohm diffusivity.

Bursting reconnection of the two co-rotating current loops

Science.gov (United States)

Bulanov, Sergei; Sokolov, Igor; Sakai, Jun-Ichi

2000-10-01

Two parallel plasma filaments carrying electric current (current loops) are considered. The Ampere force induces the filaments' coalescence, which is accompanied by the reconnection of the poloidal magnetic field. Initially the loops rotate along the axii of symmetry. Each of the two loops would be in equilibrium in the absence of the other one. The dynamics of the reconnection is numerically simulated using high-resolution numerical scheme for low-resistive magneto-hydrodynamics. The results of numerical simulation are presented in the form of computer movies. The results show that the rotation strongly modifies the reconnection process, resulting in quasi-periodic (bursting) appearance and disappearance of a current sheet. Fast sliding motion of the plasma along the current sheet is a significant element of the complicated structure of reconnection (current-vortex sheet). The magnetic surfaces in the overal flow are strongly rippled by slow magnetosonic perturbations, so that the specific spiral structures form. This should result in the particle transport enhancement.

Multi-megajoule magnetic reconnection experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degnan, J.H.; Baker, W.L.; Holmes, J.L.; Price, D.W.; Cowan, M.; Graham, J.D.; Lopez, E.A.; Ralph, D.; Roderick, N.F.

1990-01-01

An experiment to combine many medium energy, current co-axial gun discharges into two high energy, current discharges is discussed. Multiple sub-megampere DPF-like guns are directed radially inward. Their discharges combine via magnetic reconnection to form two several megampere co-axial discharges. Experimental results and relevant 2D simulations are discussed. Diagnostics include current, voltage, fast photography, neutron and x-ray detectors

Influence of a guide field on collisionless driven reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Ritoku; Usami, Shunsuke; Ohtani, Hiroaki

2014-01-01

The influence of a guide field on collisionless driven reconnection is investigated by means of two-dimensional electromagnetic particle simulation in an open system. In a quasi-steady state when reconnection electric field evolves fully, a current layer evolves locally in a narrow kinetic region and its scale decreases in proportion to an electron meandering scale as the guide field is intensified. Here, the meandering scale stands for an average spatial scale of nongyrotropic motions in the vicinity of the reconnection point. Force terms associated with off-diagonal components of electron and ion pressure tensors, which are originating from nongyrotropic motions of charged particles, becomes dominant at the reconnection point and sustain the reconnection electric field even when the guide field is strong. It is also found that thermalization of both ions and electrons is suppressed by the guide field. For the weak guide field, an electron nonthermal component is significantly created through a fast outburst from the kinetic region, while for the strong guide field, an ion nonthermal component is generated through the acceleration by an in-plane electric field near the magnetic separatrix. (author)

Magnetic Reconnection in the Solar Chromosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Lukin, Vyacheslav S.; Ni, Lei; Murphy, Nicholas Arnold

2017-08-01

We report on the most recent efforts to accurately and self-consistently model magnetic reconnection processes in the context of the solar chromosphere. The solar chromosphere is a notoriously complex and highly dynamic boundary layer of the solar atmosphere where local variations in the plasma parameters can be of the order of the mean values. At the same time, the interdependence of the physical processes such as magnetic field evolution, local and global energy transfer between internal and electromagnetic plasma energy, radiation transport, plasma reactivity, and dissipation mechanisms make it a particularly difficult system to self-consistently model and understand. Several recent studies have focused on the micro-physics of multi-fluid magnetic reconnection at magnetic nulls in the weakly ionized plasma environment of the lower chromosphere[1-3]. Here, we extend the previous work by considering a range of spatial scales and magnetic field strengths in a configuration with component magnetic reconnection, i.e., for magnetic reconnection with a guide field. We show that in all cases the non-equilibrium reactivity of the plasma and the dynamic interaction among the plasma processes play important roles in determining the structure of the reconnection region. We also speculate as to the possible observables of chromospheric magnetic reconnection and the likely plasma conditions required for generation of Ellerman and IRIS bombs.[1] Leake, Lukin, Linton, and Meier, “Multi-fluid simulations of chromospheric magnetic reconnection in a weakly ionized reacting plasma,” ApJ 760 (2012).[2] Leake, Lukin, and Linton, “Magnetic reconnection in a weakly ionized plasma,” PoP 20 (2013).[3] Murphy and Lukin, “Asymmetric magnetic reconnection in weakly ionized chromospheric plasmas,” ApJ 805 (2015).[*Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National

In silico modeling of axonal reconnection within a discrete fiber tract after spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolfe, Franco; Waxman, Stephen G; Hains, Bryan C

2007-02-01

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), descending axons that carry motor commands from the brain to the spinal cord are injured or transected, producing chronic motor dysfunction and paralysis. Reconnection of these axons is a major prerequisite for restoration of function after SCI. Thus far, only modest gains in motor function have been achieved experimentally or in the clinic after SCI, identifying the practical limitations of current treatment approaches. In this paper, we use an ordinary differential equation (ODE) to simulate the relative and synergistic contributions of several experimentally-established biological factors related to inhibition or promotion of axonal repair and restoration of function after SCI. The factors were mathematically modeled by the ODE. The results of our simulation show that in a model system, many factors influenced the achievability of axonal reconnection. Certain factors more strongly affected axonal reconnection in isolation, and some factors interacted in a synergistic fashion to produce further improvements in axonal reconnection. Our data suggest that mathematical modeling may be useful in evaluating the complex interactions of discrete therapeutic factors not possible in experimental preparations, and highlight the benefit of a combinatorial therapeutic approach focused on promoting axonal sprouting, attraction of cut ends, and removal of growth inhibition for achieving axonal reconnection. Predictions of this simulation may be of utility in guiding future experiments aimed at restoring function after SCI.

3D Reconnection and SEP Considerations in the CME-Flare Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Moschou, S. P.; Cohen, O.; Drake, J. J.; Sokolov, I.; Borovikov, D.; Alvarado Gomez, J. D.; Garraffo, C.

2017-12-01

Reconnection is known to play a major role in particle acceleration in both solar and astrophysical regimes, yet little is known about its connection with the global scales and its comparative contribution in the generation of SEPs with respect to other acceleration mechanisms, such as the shock at a fast CME front, in the presence of a global structure such as a CME. Coupling efforts, combining both particle and global scales, are necessary to answer questions about the fundamentals of the energetic processes evolved. We present such a coupling modeling effort that looks into particle acceleration through reconnection in a self-consistent CME-flare model in both particle and fluid regimes. Of special interest is the supra-thermal component of the acceleration due to the reconnection that will at a later time interact colliding with the solar atmospheric material of the more dense chromospheric layer and radiate in hard X- and γ-rays for super-thermal electrons and protons respectively. Two cutting edge computational codes are used to capture the global CME and flare dynamics, specifically a two fluid MHD code and a 3D PIC code for the flare scales. Finally, we are connecting the simulations with current observations in different wavelengths in an effort to shed light to the unified CME-flare picture.

Electron acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, X.; Büchner, J.; Widmer, F.; Muñoz, P. A.

2018-04-01

In space and astrophysical plasmas, like in planetary magnetospheres, as that of Mercury, energetic electrons are often found near current sheets, which hint at electron acceleration by magnetic reconnection. Unfortunately, electron acceleration by reconnection is not well understood yet, in particular, acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection. We have investigated electron acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection, described by MHD simulations, via test particle calculations. In order to avoid resolving all relevant turbulence scales down to the dissipation scales, a mean-field turbulence model is used to describe the turbulence of sub-grid scales and their effects via a turbulent electromotive force (EMF). The mean-field model describes the turbulent EMF as a function of the mean values of current density, vorticity, magnetic field as well as of the energy, cross-helicity, and residual helicity of the turbulence. We found that, mainly around X-points of turbulent reconnection, strongly enhanced localized EMFs most efficiently accelerated electrons and caused the formation of power-law spectra. Magnetic-field-aligned EMFs, caused by the turbulence, dominate the electron acceleration process. Scaling the acceleration processes to parameters of the Hermean magnetotail, electron energies up to 60 keV can be reached by turbulent plasmoid reconnection through the thermal plasma.

Reconnection of magnetic field lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heyn, M.F.; Gratton, F.T.; Gnavi, G.; Heindler, M.

1990-01-01

Magnetic field line diffusion in a plasma is studied on the basis of the non-linear boundary layer equations of dissipative, incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Non-linear steady state solutions for a class of plasma parameters have been obtained which are consistent with the boundary conditions appropriate for reconnection. The solutions are self-consistent in connecting a stagnation point flow of a plasma with reconnecting magnetic field lines. The range of the validity of the solutions, their relation to other fluid models of reconnection, and their possible applications to space plasma configurations are pointed out. (Author)

Colour reconnection in WW events

CERN Document Server

D'Hondt, J

2003-01-01

Preliminary results are presented for a measurement of the kappa parameter used in the JETSET SK-I model of colour reconnection in W /sup +/W/sup -/ to qq'qq' events at LEP2. An update on the investigation of colour reconnection effects in hadronic decays of W pairs, using the particle flow in DELPHI is presented. A second method is based on the observation that two different m/sub W/ estimators have different sensitivity to the parametrised colour reconnection effect. Hence the difference between them is an observable with information content about kappa. (6 refs).

Electron-inertia effects on driven magnetic field reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Salti, N.; Shivamoggi, B.K.

2003-01-01

Electron-inertia effects on the magnetic field reconnection induced by perturbing the boundaries of a slab of plasma with a magnetic neutral surface inside are considered. Energetics of the tearing mode dynamics with electron inertia which controls the linearized collisionless magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are considered with a view to clarify the role of the plasma pressure in this process. Cases with the boundaries perturbed at rates slow or fast compared with the hydromagnetic evolution rate are considered separately. When the boundaries are perturbed at a rate slow compared with the hydromagnetic evolution rate and fast compared with the resistive diffusion rate, the plasma response for early times is according to ideal MHD. A current sheet formation takes place at the magnetic neutral surface for large times in the ideal MHD stage and plasma becomes motionless. The subsequent evolution of the current sheet is found to be divided into two distinct stages: (i) the electron-inertia stage for small times (when the current sheet is very narrow); (ii) the resistive-diffusion stage for large times. The current sheet mainly undergoes exponential damping in the electron-inertia regime while the bulk of the diffusion happens in the resistivity regime. For large times of the resistive-diffusion stage when plasma flow is present, the current sheet completely disappears and the magnetic field reconnection takes place. When the boundaries are perturbed at a rate fast compared even with the hydromagnetic evolution rate, there is no time for the development of a current sheet and the magnetic field reconnection has been found not to take place

Magnetic Reconnection in Different Environments: Similarities and Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Aunai, Nicolas; Kuznetsova, Masha; Zenitani, Seiji; Birn, Joachim

2014-01-01

Depending on the specific situation, magnetic reconnection may involve symmetric or asymmetric inflow regions. Asymmetric reconnection applies, for example, to reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause, whereas reconnection in the nightside magnetotail tends to involve more symmetric geometries. A combination of review and new results pertaining to magnetic reconnection is being presented. The focus is on three aspects: A basic, MHD-based, analysis of the role magnetic reconnection plays in the transport of energy, followed by an analysis of a kinetic model of time dependent reconnection in a symmetric current sheet, similar to what is typically being encountered in the magnetotail of the Earth. The third element is a review of recent results pertaining to the orientation of the reconnection line in asymmetric geometries, which are typical for the magnetopause of the Earth, as well as likely to occur at other planets.

FILAMENT INTERACTION MODELED BY FLUX ROPE RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toeroek, T.; Chandra, R.; Pariat, E.; Demoulin, P.; Schmieder, B.; Aulanier, G.; Linton, M. G.; Mandrini, C. H.

2011-01-01

Hα observations of solar active region NOAA 10501 on 2003 November 20 revealed a very uncommon dynamic process: during the development of a nearby flare, two adjacent elongated filaments approached each other, merged at their middle sections, and separated again, thereby forming stable configurations with new footpoint connections. The observed dynamic pattern is indicative of 'slingshot' reconnection between two magnetic flux ropes. We test this scenario by means of a three-dimensional zero β magnetohydrodynamic simulation, using a modified version of the coronal flux rope model by Titov and Demoulin as the initial condition for the magnetic field. To this end, a configuration is constructed that contains two flux ropes which are oriented side-by-side and are embedded in an ambient potential field. The choice of the magnetic orientation of the flux ropes and of the topology of the potential field is guided by the observations. Quasi-static boundary flows are then imposed to bring the middle sections of the flux ropes into contact. After sufficient driving, the ropes reconnect and two new flux ropes are formed, which now connect the former adjacent flux rope footpoints of opposite polarity. The corresponding evolution of filament material is modeled by calculating the positions of field line dips at all times. The dips follow the morphological evolution of the flux ropes, in qualitative agreement with the observed filaments.

Toward laboratory torsional spine magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Chesny, David L.; Orange, N. Brice; Oluseyi, Hakeem M.; Valletta, David R.

2017-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental energy conversion mechanism in nature. Major attempts to study this process in controlled settings on Earth have largely been limited to reproducing approximately two-dimensional (2-D) reconnection dynamics. Other experiments describing reconnection near three-dimensional null points are non-driven, and do not induce any of the 3-D modes of spine fan, torsional fan or torsional spine reconnection. In order to study these important 3-D modes observed in astrophysical plasmas (e.g. the solar atmosphere), laboratory set-ups must be designed to induce driven reconnection about an isolated magnetic null point. As such, we consider the limited range of fundamental resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and kinetic parameters of dynamic laboratory plasmas that are necessary to induce the torsional spine reconnection (TSR) mode characterized by a driven rotational slippage of field lines - a feature that has yet to be achieved in operational laboratory magnetic reconnection experiments. Leveraging existing reconnection models, we show that within a 3$ apparatus, TSR can be achieved in dense plasma regimes ( 24~\\text{m}-3$ ) in magnetic fields of -1~\\text{T}$ . We find that MHD and kinetic parameters predict reconnection in thin current sheets on time scales of . While these plasma regimes may not explicitly replicate the plasma parameters of observed astrophysical phenomena, studying the dynamics of the TSR mode within achievable set-ups signifies an important step in understanding the fundamentals of driven 3-D magnetic reconnection and the self-organization of current sheets. Explicit control of this reconnection mode may have implications for understanding particle acceleration in astrophysical environments, and may even have practical applications to fields such as spacecraft propulsion.

About 'reconnection' in a collisionless plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellat, R.

1979-01-01

Two kinds of mechanisms have been advertised for magnetic field line reconnection in plasmas: a slow diffusive process, proposed by Parker and Sweet (1958), related to the Tearing mode and field line stochasticity; an Alfenic flow, with a fast merging rate, the so-called Petschek theory. The present author considers both mechanisms successively and emphasizes the yet unsolved theoretical difficulties. (Auth.)

Heating properties of merging/reconnection startup of high-beta ST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, Yasushi

2005-01-01

The high-power reconnection heating of spherical tokamak (ST) has been studied in the TS-3 experiment by use of axial merging of two STs. In this method, the merging/magnetic reconnection transformed a part of magnetic energy of merging STs into their thermal energy within short reconnection time. Our present low-field merging (0.3-0.5kG, R∼0.2m) attained the maximum heating power of 4-10MW and increased the beta-values of STs by factor 2-3 transiently. The ion heating energy was found to increase inversely with the q-value (B t component) of two STs. The most probable cause for this dependence is fast reconnection speed/ outflow speed due to large anomalous resistivity of current sheet in low-q state. After merging startup, decrease in beta was observed especially in low-q STs, indicating that the final beta value of ST increased with the q-value. (author)

THE EFFECTS OF WAVE ESCAPE ON FAST MAGNETOSONIC WAVE TURBULENCE IN SOLAR FLARES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pongkitiwanichakul, Peera; Chandran, Benjamin D. G.; Karpen, Judith T.; DeVore, C. Richard

2012-01-01

One of the leading models for electron acceleration in solar flares is stochastic acceleration by weakly turbulent fast magnetosonic waves ( f ast waves ) . In this model, large-scale flows triggered by magnetic reconnection excite large-wavelength fast waves, and fast-wave energy then cascades from large wavelengths to small wavelengths. Electron acceleration by large-wavelength fast waves is weak, and so the model relies on the small-wavelength waves produced by the turbulent cascade. In order for the model to work, the energy cascade time for large-wavelength fast waves must be shorter than the time required for the waves to propagate out of the solar-flare acceleration region. To investigate the effects of wave escape, we solve the wave kinetic equation for fast waves in weak turbulence theory, supplemented with a homogeneous wave-loss term. We find that the amplitude of large-wavelength fast waves must exceed a minimum threshold in order for a significant fraction of the wave energy to cascade to small wavelengths before the waves leave the acceleration region. We evaluate this threshold as a function of the dominant wavelength of the fast waves that are initially excited by reconnection outflows.

Simulations of Hall reconnection in partially ionized plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Innocenti, Maria Elena; Jiang, Wei; Lapenta, Giovanni

2017-04-01

Magnetic reconnection occurs in the Hall, partially ionized regime in environments as diverse as molecular clouds, protostellar disks and regions of the solar chromosphere. While much is known about Hall reconnection in fully ionized plasmas, Hall reconnection in partially ionized plasmas is, in comparison, still relatively unexplored. This notwithstanding the fact that partial ionization is expected to affect fundamental processes in reconnection such as the transition from the slow, fluid to the fast, kinetic regime, the value of the reconnection rate and the dimensions of the diffusion regions [Malyshkin and Zweibel 2011 , Zweibel et al. 2011]. We present here the first, to our knowledge, fully kinetic simulations of Hall reconnection in partially ionized plasmas. The interaction of electrons and ions with the neutral background is realistically modelled via a Monte Carlo plug-in coded into the semi-implicit, fully kinetic code iPic3D [Markidis 2010]. We simulate a plasma with parameters compatible with the MRX experiments illustrated in Zweibel et al. 2011 and Lawrence et al. 2013, to be able to compare our simulation results with actual experiments. The gas and ion temperature is T=3 eV, the ion to electron temperature ratio is Tr=0.44, ion and electron thermal velocities are calculated accordingly resorting to a reduced mass ratio and a reduced value of the speed of light to reduce the computational costs of the simulations. The initial density of the plasma is set at n= 1.1 1014 cm-3 and is then left free to change during the simulation as a result of gas-plasma interaction. A set of simulations with initial ionisation percentage IP= 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.6 is presented and compared with a reference simulation where no background gas is present (full ionization). In this first set of simulations, we assume to be able to externally control the initial relative densities of gas and plasma. Within this parameter range, the ion but not the electron population is

Forced magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahm, T.S.; Kulsrud, R.M.

1984-11-01

By studying a simple model problem, we examine the time evolution of magnetic field islands which are induced by perturbing the boundary surrounding an incompressible plasma with a resonant surface inside. We find that for sufficiently small boundary perturbations, the reconnection and island formation process occurs on the tearing mode time scale defined by Furth, Killeen, and Rosenbluth. For larger perturbations the time scale is that defined by Rutherford. The resulting asymptotic equilibrium is such that surface currents in the resonant region vanish. A detailed analytical picture of this reconnection process is presented

Particle acceleration at a reconnecting magnetic separator

Science.gov (United States)

Threlfall, J.; Neukirch, T.; Parnell, C. E.; Eradat Oskoui, S.

2015-02-01

Context. While the exact acceleration mechanism of energetic particles during solar flares is (as yet) unknown, magnetic reconnection plays a key role both in the release of stored magnetic energy of the solar corona and the magnetic restructuring during a flare. Recent work has shown that special field lines, called separators, are common sites of reconnection in 3D numerical experiments. To date, 3D separator reconnection sites have received little attention as particle accelerators. Aims: We investigate the effectiveness of separator reconnection as a particle acceleration mechanism for electrons and protons. Methods: We study the particle acceleration using a relativistic guiding-centre particle code in a time-dependent kinematic model of magnetic reconnection at a separator. Results: The effect upon particle behaviour of initial position, pitch angle, and initial kinetic energy are examined in detail, both for specific (single) particle examples and for large distributions of initial conditions. The separator reconnection model contains several free parameters, and we study the effect of changing these parameters upon particle acceleration, in particular in view of the final particle energy ranges that agree with observed energy spectra.

Magnetic reconnection physics in the solar wind with Voyager 2

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Michael L.

2009-08-01

Magnetic reconnection is the process by which the magnetic topology evolves in collisionless plasmas. This phenomenon is fundamental to a broad range of astrophysical processes such as stellar flares, magnetospheric substorms, and plasma accretion, yet it is poorly understood and difficult to observe in situ . In this thesis, the solar wind plasma permeating interplanetary space is treated as a laboratory for reconnection physics. I present an exhaustive statistical approach to the identification of reconnection outflow jets in turbulent plasma and magnetic field time series data. This approach has been automated and characterized so that the resulting reconnection survey can be put in context with other related studies. The algorithm is shown to perform similarly to ad hoc studies in the inner heliosphere. Based on this technique, I present a survey of 138 outflow jets for the Voyager 2 spacecraft mission, including the most distant in situ evidence of reconnection discovered to date. Reconnection in the solar wind is shown to be strongly correlated with stream interactions and with solar activity. The solar wind magnetic field is found to be reconnecting via large, quasi-steady slow- mode magnetohydrodynamic structures as far out as the orbit of Neptune. The role of slow-mode shocks is explored and, in one instance, a well-developed reconnection structure is shown to be in good agreement with the Petschek theory for fast reconnection. This is the first reported example of a reconnection exhaust that satisfies the full jump conditions for a stationary slow-mode shock pair. A complete investigation into corotating stream interactions over the Voyager 2 mission has revealed that detectable reconnection structure occurs in about 23% of forced, global-scale current sheets. Contrary to previous studies, I find that signatures of this kind are most likely to be observed for current sheets where the magnetic field shear and the plasma-b are high. Evidence has been found

The role of fluid compression in energy conversion and particle energization during magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Guo, F.; Li, G.; Li, H.

2016-12-01

Theories of particle transport and acceleration have shown that fluid compression is the leading mechanism for particle acceleration and plasma energization. However, the role of compression in particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection is unclear. We use two approaches to study this issue. First, using fully kinetic simulations, we quantitatively calculate the effect of compression in energy conversion and particle energization during magnetic reconnection for a range of plasma beta and guide field. We show that compression has an important contribution for the energy conversion between the bulk kinetic energy and the internal energy when the guide field is smaller than the reconnecting component. Based on this result, we then study the large-scale reconnection acceleration by solving the Parker's transport equation in a background reconnecting flow provided by MHD simulations. Due to the compression effect, the simulations suggest fast particle acceleration to high energies in the reconnection layer. This study clarifies the nature of particle acceleration in reconnection layer, and may be important to understand particle acceleration and plasma energization during solar flares.

Endogenous Magnetic Reconnection in Solar Coronal Loops

Science.gov (United States)

Asgari-Targhi, M.; Coppi, B.; Basu, B.; Fletcher, A.; Golub, L.

2017-12-01

We propose that a magneto-thermal reconnection process occurring in coronal loops be the source of the heating of the Solar Corona [1]. In the adopted model, magnetic reconnection is associated with electron temperature gradients, anisotropic electron temperature fluctuations and plasma current density gradients [2]. The input parameters for our theoretical model are derived from the most recent observations of the Solar Corona. In addition, the relevant (endogenous) collective modes can produce high energy particle populations. An endogenous reconnection process is defined as being driven by factors internal to the region where reconnection takes place. *Sponsored in part by the U.S. D.O.E. and the Kavli Foundation* [1] Beafume, P., Coppi, B. and Golub, L., (1992) Ap. J. 393, 396. [2] Coppi, B. and Basu, B. (2017) MIT-LNS Report HEP 17/01.

Aspects of collisionless magnetic reconnection in asymmetric systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hesse, Michael; Aunai, Nicolas; Kuznetsova, Masha [Heliophysics Science Division, Code 670, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (United States); Zenitani, Seiji [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo (Japan); Birn, Joachim [Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado 80301 (United States)

2013-06-15

Asymmetric reconnection is being investigated by means of particle-in-cell simulations. The research has two foci: the direction of the reconnection line in configurations with nonvanishing magnetic fields; and the question why reconnection can be faster if a guide field is added to an otherwise unchanged asymmetric configuration. We find that reconnection prefers a direction, which maximizes the available magnetic energy, and show that this direction coincides with the bisection of the angle between the asymptotic magnetic fields. Regarding the difference in reconnection rates between planar and guide field models, we demonstrate that a guide field can provide essential confinement for particles in the reconnection region, which the weaker magnetic field in one of the inflow directions cannot necessarily provide.

Aspects of collisionless magnetic reconnection in asymmetric systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesse, Michael; Aunai, Nicolas; Kuznetsova, Masha; Zenitani, Seiji; Birn, Joachim

2013-01-01

Asymmetric reconnection is being investigated by means of particle-in-cell simulations. The research has two foci: the direction of the reconnection line in configurations with nonvanishing magnetic fields; and the question why reconnection can be faster if a guide field is added to an otherwise unchanged asymmetric configuration. We find that reconnection prefers a direction, which maximizes the available magnetic energy, and show that this direction coincides with the bisection of the angle between the asymptotic magnetic fields. Regarding the difference in reconnection rates between planar and guide field models, we demonstrate that a guide field can provide essential confinement for particles in the reconnection region, which the weaker magnetic field in one of the inflow directions cannot necessarily provide

Aspects of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in Asymmetric Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Aunai, Nicolas; Zeitani, Seiji; Kuznetsova, Masha; Birn, Joachim

2013-01-01

Asymmetric reconnection is being investigated by means of particle-in-cell simulations. The research has two foci: the direction of the reconnection line in configurations with non-vanishing magnetic fields; and the question why reconnection can be faster if a guide field is added to an otherwise unchanged asymmetric configuration. We find that reconnection prefers a direction, which maximizes the available magnetic energy, and show that this direction coincides with the bisection of the angle between the asymptotic magnetic fields. Regarding the difference in reconnection rates between planar and guide field models, we demonstrate that a guide field can provide essential confinement for particles in the reconnection region, which the weaker magnetic field in one of the inflow directions cannot necessarily provide.

Stochastic sawtooth reconnection in ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igochine, V.; Dumbrajs, O.; Zohm, H.; Flaws, A.

2007-01-01

In this paper we investigate non-complete sawtooth reconnection in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. Such reconnection phenomena are associated with internal m/n = 1/1 kink mode which does not vanish after the crash phase (as would be the case for complete reconnection). It is shown that this sawtooth cannot be fully described by pure m/n = 1/1 mode and that higher harmonics play an important role during the sawtooth crash phase. We employ the Hamiltonian formalism and reconstructed perturbations to model incomplete sawtooth reconnection. It is demonstrated that stochastization appears due to the excitation of low-order resonances which are present in the corresponding q-profiles inside the q = 1 surface which reflects the key role of the q 0 value. Depending on this value two completely different situations are possible for one and the same mode perturbations: (i) the resonant surfaces are present in the q-profile leading to stochasticity and sawtooth crash (q 0 ∼ 0.7 ± 0.1); (ii) the resonant surfaces are not present, which means no stochasticity in the system and no crash event (q 0 ∼ 0.9 ± 0.05). Accordingly the central safety factor value is always less than unity in the case of a non-complete sawtooth reconnection. Our investigations show that the stochastic model agrees well with the experimental observations and can be proposed as a promising candidate for an explanation of the sawtooth reconnection

Reconnection and merging of positive streamers in air

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nijdam, S; Geurts, C G C; Van Veldhuizen, E M; Ebert, U, E-mail: s.nijdam@tue.n [Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2009-02-21

Pictures show that streamer or sprite discharge channels emerging from the same electrode sometimes seem to reconnect or merge though their heads carry electric charge of the same polarity; one might therefore suspect that reconnections are an artefact of the two-dimensional projection in the pictures. Here we use stereo photography to investigate the full three-dimensional structure of such events. We analyse reconnection, possibly an electrostatic effect in which a late thin streamer reconnects to an earlier thick streamer channel, and merging, a suggested photoionization effect in which two simultaneously propagating streamer heads merge into one new streamer. We use four different anode geometries (one tip, two tips, two asymmetric protrusions in a plate and a wire), placed 40 mm above a flat cathode plate in ambient air. A positive high voltage pulse is applied to the anode, creating a positive corona discharge. This discharge is studied with a fast ICCD camera, in many cases combined with optics to enable stereoscopic imaging. We find that reconnections as defined above occur frequently. Merging on the other hand was only observed at a pressure of 25 mbar and a tip separation of 2 mm, i.e. for a reduced tip distance of p{center_dot}d = 50 {mu}m bar. In this case the full width at half maximum of the streamer channel is more than 10 times as large as the tip separation. At higher pressures or with a wire anode, merging was not observed.

Reconnection and merging of positive streamers in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nijdam, S; Geurts, C G C; Van Veldhuizen, E M; Ebert, U

2009-01-01

Pictures show that streamer or sprite discharge channels emerging from the same electrode sometimes seem to reconnect or merge though their heads carry electric charge of the same polarity; one might therefore suspect that reconnections are an artefact of the two-dimensional projection in the pictures. Here we use stereo photography to investigate the full three-dimensional structure of such events. We analyse reconnection, possibly an electrostatic effect in which a late thin streamer reconnects to an earlier thick streamer channel, and merging, a suggested photoionization effect in which two simultaneously propagating streamer heads merge into one new streamer. We use four different anode geometries (one tip, two tips, two asymmetric protrusions in a plate and a wire), placed 40 mm above a flat cathode plate in ambient air. A positive high voltage pulse is applied to the anode, creating a positive corona discharge. This discharge is studied with a fast ICCD camera, in many cases combined with optics to enable stereoscopic imaging. We find that reconnections as defined above occur frequently. Merging on the other hand was only observed at a pressure of 25 mbar and a tip separation of 2 mm, i.e. for a reduced tip distance of p·d = 50 μm bar. In this case the full width at half maximum of the streamer channel is more than 10 times as large as the tip separation. At higher pressures or with a wire anode, merging was not observed.

Magnetic reconnection and precursor effect in coaxial discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masoud, M.M.; Soliman, H.M.; El-Khalafawy, T.A.

1988-01-01

A precursor pulse was observed ahead of the plasma sheath produced by a coaxial electrode discharge system. The velocity of the precursor pulse was 4x10 7 cmS -1 and the velocity of the plasma sheath was 6x10 6 cmS -1 . The precursor pulse was unaffected when an axial magnetic field of 6 K.G. was applied to the propagation chamber, while the plasma sheath velocity increased and downstream structure were changed. The precursor pulse was split, sometimes, into two or more peaks, had the same shape and structure of the original one. The rest gas was heated up to 20 e.V. when the precursor pulse was destructed. The precursor pulse propagation mechanism and parameters showed that it had a solitary wave structure and behaviour. A reversed magnetic field was detected, when the plasma sheath had diamagnetic properties, where magnetic reconnection took place. Magnetic reconnection was responsible for energy transfiguration and wave generation. This was due to acceleration mechanism of charged particles occurred by the induced electric field at the moment of magnetic reconnection. The detected induced electric field had a high field intensity and fast rise time pulse. Several instabilities were referred to magnetic reconnection and the precursor pulse observed was a result of such instabilities

Magnetic Reconnection Results on the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Kornack, T. W.; Sollins, P. K.; Brown, M. R.

1997-11-01

Linear and 2D arrays of magnetic probes are used to study magnetic reconnection in the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX). Opposing coaxial plasma guns form two identical spheromaks into adjacent 0.5 m diameter copper flux conservers. The flux conservers have symmetrical openings that allow the spheromaks to merge in a controlled manner. The stable equilibrium of the spheromaks provides a reservoir of magnetic flux for reconnection experiments. Currently, the magnetic configuration of the spheromaks allows the study of counter-helicity reconnection. Preliminary analysis will be presented and may include 2D B field movies of the reconnection region, measurement of the reconnection rate and comparison to the Sweet-Parker and standard Petschek models.

Theory and Simulations of Incomplete Reconnection During Sawteeth Due to Diamagnetic Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Beidler, Matthew Thomas

Tokamaks use magnetic fields to confine plasmas to achieve fusion; they are the leading approach proposed for the widespread production of fusion energy. The sawtooth crash in tokamaks limits the core temperature, adversely impacts confinement, and seeds disruptions. Adequate knowledge of the physics governing the sawtooth crash and a predictive capability of its ramifications has been elusive, including an understanding of incomplete reconnection, i.e., why sawteeth often cease prematurely before processing all available magnetic flux. In this dissertation, we introduce a model for incomplete reconnection in sawtooth crashes resulting from increasing diamagnetic effects in the nonlinear phase of magnetic reconnection. Physically, the reconnection inflow self-consistently convects the high pressure core of a tokamak toward the q=1 rational surface, thereby increasing the pressure gradient at the reconnection site. If the pressure gradient at the rational surface becomes large enough due to the self-consistent evolution, incomplete reconnection will occur due to diamagnetic effects becoming large enough to suppress reconnection. Predictions of this model are borne out in large-scale proof-of-principle two-fluid simulations of reconnection in a 2D slab geometry and are also consistent with data from the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST). Additionally, we present simulations from the 3D extended-MHD code M3D-C1 used to study the sawtooth crash in a 3D toroidal geometry for resistive-MHD and two-fluid models. This is the first study in a 3D tokamak geometry to show that the inclusion of two-fluid physics in the model equations is essential for recovering timescales more closely in line with experimental results compared to resistive-MHD and contrast the dynamics in the two models. We use a novel approach to sample the data in the plane of reconnection perpendicular to the (m,n)=(1,1) mode to carefully assess the reconnection physics. Using local measures of

Excitation and propagation of electromagnetic fluctuations with ion-cyclotron range of frequency in magnetic reconnection laboratory experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inomoto, Michiaki; Tanabe, Hiroshi; Ono, Yasushi; Kuwahata, Akihiro

2013-01-01

Large-amplitude electromagnetic fluctuations of ion-cyclotron-frequency range are detected in a laboratory experiment inside the diffusion region of a magnetic reconnection with a guide field. The fluctuations have properties similar to kinetic Alfvén waves propagating obliquely to the guide field. Temporary enhancement of the reconnection rate is observed during the occurrence of the fluctuations, suggesting a relationship between the modification in the local magnetic structure given by these fluctuations and the intermittent fast magnetic reconnection

Macroscale particle simulation of externally driven magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, Sadayoshi; Sato, Tetsuya.

1991-09-01

Externally driven reconnection, assuming an anomalous particle collision model, is numerically studied by means of a 2.5D macroscale particle simulation code in which the field and particle motions are solved self-consistently. Explosive magnetic reconnection and energy conversion are observed as a result of slow shock formation. Electron and ion distribution functions exhibit large bulk acceleration and heating of the plasma. Simulation runs with different collision parameters suggest that the development of reconnection, particle acceleration and heating do not significantly depend on the parameters of the collision model. (author)

Hall MHD Modeling of Two-dimensional Reconnection: Application to MRX Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukin, V.S.; Jardin, S.C.

2003-01-01

Two-dimensional resistive Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code is used to investigate the dynamical evolution of driven reconnection in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). The initial conditions and dimensionless parameters of the simulation are set to be similar to the experimental values. We successfully reproduce many features of the time evolution of magnetic configurations for both co- and counter-helicity reconnection in MRX. The Hall effect is shown to be important during the early dynamic X-phase of MRX reconnection, while effectively negligible during the late ''steady-state'' Y-phase, when plasma heating takes place. Based on simple symmetry considerations, an experiment to directly measure the Hall effect in MRX configuration is proposed and numerical evidence for the expected outcome is given

Plasmoids everywhere: ideal tearing, the transition to fast reconnection, and solar activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Velli, M. C. M.; Pucci, F.; Tenerani, A.; Shi, C.; Del Sarto, D.; Rappazzo, A. F.

2017-12-01

We discuss the role of generalized ``ideal" tearing (IT) as a possible trigger mechanism for magnetic reconnection to understand energetic phenomena in the solar atmosphere. We begin with a pedagogical introduction to the IT concept, how it stems from the classical analysis of the tearing instability, what is meant by plasmoids, and the connections of IT to the plasmoid instability and Sweet Parker current sheets. We then proceed to analyze how the IT concept extends to equilibria with flows, small scale kinetic effects, different current structures and different magnetic field topology configurations. Finally we discuss the relationship of reconnection triggering to nonlinear cascades and turbulent evolution, and how different situations may arise depending on scale, boundary conditions, and time-history, from coronal heating via nanoflares, to solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Issues of local topology, dimensionality, anisotropy will also be discussed.

Magnetic reconnection in the terrestrial magnetosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, W.C.

1984-01-01

An overview is given of quantitative comparisons between measured phenomena in the terrestrial magnetosphere thought to be associated with magnetic reconnection, and related theoretical predictions based on Petschek's simple model. Although such a comparison cannot be comprehensive because of the extended nature of the process and the relatively few in situ multipoint measurements made to date, the agreement is impressive where comparisons have been possible. This result leaves little doubt that magnetic reconnection does indeed occur in the terrestrial magnetosphere. The maximum reconnection rate, expressed in terms of the inflow Mach number, M/sub A/, is measured to be M/sub A/ = 0.2 +- 0.1

NONTHERMALLY DOMINATED ELECTRON ACCELERATION DURING MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN A LOW-β PLASMA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiaocan; Li, Gang; Guo, Fan; Li, Hui

2015-01-01

By means of fully kinetic simulations, we investigate electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a nonrelativistic proton–electron plasma with conditions similar to solar corona and flares. We demonstrate that reconnection leads to a nonthermally dominated electron acceleration with a power-law energy distribution in the nonrelativistic low-β regime but not in the high-β regime, where β is the ratio of the plasma thermal pressure and the magnetic pressure. The accelerated electrons contain most of the dissipated magnetic energy in the low-β regime. A guiding-center current description is used to reveal the role of electron drift motions during the bulk nonthermal energization. We find that the main acceleration mechanism is a Fermi-type acceleration accomplished by the particle curvature drift motion along the electric field induced by the reconnection outflows. Although the acceleration mechanism is similar for different plasma β, low-β reconnection drives fast acceleration on Alfvénic timescales and develops power laws out of thermal distribution. The nonthermally dominated acceleration resulting from magnetic reconnection in low-β plasma may have strong implications for the  highly efficient electron acceleration in solar flares and other astrophysical systems

Self-reinforcing process of the reconnection electric field in the electron diffusion region and onset of collisionless magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Quanming; Lu San; Huang Can; Wu Mingyu; Wang Shui

2013-01-01

The onset of collisionless magnetic reconnection is considered to be controlled by electron dynamics in the electron diffusion region, where the reconnection electric field is balanced mainly by the off-diagonal electron pressure tensor term. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are employed in this paper to investigate the self-reinforcing process of the reconnection electric field in the electron diffusion region, which is found to grow exponentially. A theoretical model is proposed to demonstrate such a process in the electron diffusion region. In addition the reconnection electric field in the pileup region, which is balanced mainly by the electromotive force term, is also found to grow exponentially and its growth rate is twice that in the electron diffusion region. (paper)

Three-dimensional Oscillatory Magnetic Reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thurgood, Jonathan O.; McLaughlin, James A. [Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1ST (United Kingdom); Pontin, David I., E-mail: jonathan.thurgood@northumbria.ac.uk [Division of Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN (United Kingdom)

2017-07-20

Here we detail the dynamic evolution of localized reconnection regions about 3D magnetic null points using numerical simulation. We demonstrate for the first time that reconnection triggered by the localized collapse of a 3D null point that is due to an external magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave involves a self-generated oscillation, whereby the current sheet and outflow jets undergo a reconnection reversal process during which back-pressure formation at the jet heads acts to prise open the collapsed field before overshooting the equilibrium into an opposite-polarity configuration. The discovery that reconnection at fully 3D nulls can proceed naturally in a time-dependent and periodic fashion suggests that oscillatory reconnection mechanisms may play a role in explaining periodicity in astrophysical phenomena associated with magnetic reconnection, such as the observed quasi-periodicity of solar and stellar flare emission. Furthermore, we find that a consequence of oscillatory reconnection is the generation of a plethora of freely propagating MHD waves that escape the vicinity of the reconnection region.

Three-dimensional Oscillatory Magnetic Reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thurgood, Jonathan O.; McLaughlin, James A.; Pontin, David I.

2017-01-01

Here we detail the dynamic evolution of localized reconnection regions about 3D magnetic null points using numerical simulation. We demonstrate for the first time that reconnection triggered by the localized collapse of a 3D null point that is due to an external magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave involves a self-generated oscillation, whereby the current sheet and outflow jets undergo a reconnection reversal process during which back-pressure formation at the jet heads acts to prise open the collapsed field before overshooting the equilibrium into an opposite-polarity configuration. The discovery that reconnection at fully 3D nulls can proceed naturally in a time-dependent and periodic fashion suggests that oscillatory reconnection mechanisms may play a role in explaining periodicity in astrophysical phenomena associated with magnetic reconnection, such as the observed quasi-periodicity of solar and stellar flare emission. Furthermore, we find that a consequence of oscillatory reconnection is the generation of a plethora of freely propagating MHD waves that escape the vicinity of the reconnection region.

Toward multi-scale simulation of reconnection phenomena in space plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Den, M.; Horiuchi, R.; Usami, S.; Tanaka, T.; Ogawa, T.; Ohtani, H.

2013-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is considered to play an important role in space phenomena such as substorm in the Earth's magnetosphere. It is well known that magnetic reconnection is controlled by microscopic kinetic mechanism. Frozen-in condition is broken due to particle kinetic effects and collisionless reconnection is triggered when current sheet is compressed as thin as ion kinetic scales under the influence of external driving flow. On the other hand configuration of the magnetic field leading to formation of diffusion region is determined in macroscopic scale and topological change after reconnection is also expressed in macroscopic scale. Thus magnetic reconnection is typical multi-scale phenomenon and microscopic and macroscopic physics are strongly coupled. Recently Horiuchi et al. developed an effective resistivity model based on particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results obtained in study of collisionless driven reconnection and applied to a global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation of substorm in the Earth's magnetosphere. They showed reproduction of global behavior in substrom such as dipolarization and flux rope formation by global three dimensional MHD simulation. Usami et al. developed multi-hierarchy simulation model, in which macroscopic and microscopic physics are solved self-consistently and simultaneously. Based on the domain decomposition method, this model consists of three parts: a MHD algorithm for macroscopic global dynamics, a PIC algorithm for microscopic kinetic physics, and an interface algorithm to interlock macro and micro hierarchies. They verified the interface algorithm by simulation of plasma injection flow. In their latest work, this model was applied to collisionless reconnection in an open system and magnetic reconnection was successfully found. In this paper, we describe our approach to clarify multi-scale phenomena and report the current status. Our recent study about extension of the MHD domain to global system is presented. We

Splitter target for controlling magnetic reconnection in relativistic laser plasma interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Y. J.; Bulanov, S. S.; Korn, G.; Bulanov, S. V.

2018-04-01

The utilization of a conical target irradiated by a high power laser is proposed to study fast magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasma interactions. Such target, placed in front of the near critical density gas jet, splits the laser pulse, forming two parallel laser pulses in the 2D case and a donut shaped pulse in the 3D case. The magnetic annihilation and reconnection occur in the density downramp region of the subsequent gas jet. The magnetic field energy is converted into the particle kinetic energy. As a result, a backward accelerated electron beam is obtained as a signature of reconnection. The above mechanisms are demonstrated using particle-in-cell simulations in both 2D and 3D cases. Facilitating the synchronization of two laser beams, the proposed approach can be used in designing the corresponding experiments on studying fundamental problems of relativistic plasma physics.

Ellerman bombs and UV bursts: reconnection at different atmospheric layers?

Science.gov (United States)

Hansteen, V. H.; Ortiz-Carbonell, A. N.; Rouppe van der Voort, L.

2017-12-01

The emergence of magnetic flux through the photosphere and into the outer solar atmosphere produces, amongst many other phenomena, the appearance of Ellerman bombs (EBs) in the photosphere. EBs are observed in the wings of H(alpha) and are highly likely to be due to reconnection in the photosphere, below the chromospheric canopy. However, signs of the reconnection process are also observed in several other spectral lines, typical of the chromosphere or transition region. An example are the UV bursts observed in the transition region lines of Si IV. In this work we analyze high cadence coordinated observations between the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope and the IRIS spacecraft in order to study the possible relationship between reconnection events at different layers in the atmosphere, and in particular, the timing history between them. High cadence, high resolution H-alpha images from the SST provide us with the positions, timings and trajectories of Ellerman bombs in an emerging flux region. Simultaneous co-aligned IRIS slit-jaw images at 1400 and 1330 A and detailed Si IV spectra from the fast spectrograph raster allow us to study the transition region counterparts of those photospheric Ellerman bombs. Our main goal is to study whether there is a temporal relationship between the appearance of an EB and the appearance of a UV burst. Eventually we would like to investigate whether reconnection happens at discrete heights, or as a reconnection sheet spanning several layers at the same time.

Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, T. D.; Eastwood, J. P.; Shay, M. A.; Drake, J. F.; Sonnerup, B. U. Ö.; Fujimoto, M.; Cassak, P. A.; Øieroset, M.; Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Rager, A. C.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Pollock, C.; Pyakurel, P. S.; Haggerty, C. C.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Lavraud, B.; Saito, Y.; Oka, M.; Ergun, R. E.; Retino, A.; Le Contel, O.; Argall, M. R.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Wilder, F. D.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Magnes, W.

2018-05-01

Magnetic reconnection in current sheets is a magnetic-to-particle energy conversion process that is fundamental to many space and laboratory plasma systems. In the standard model of reconnection, this process occurs in a minuscule electron-scale diffusion region1,2. On larger scales, ions couple to the newly reconnected magnetic-field lines and are ejected away from the diffusion region in the form of bi-directional ion jets at the ion Alfvén speed3-5. Much of the energy conversion occurs in spatially extended ion exhausts downstream of the diffusion region6. In turbulent plasmas, which contain a large number of small-scale current sheets, reconnection has long been suggested to have a major role in the dissipation of turbulent energy at kinetic scales7-11. However, evidence for reconnection plasma jetting in small-scale turbulent plasmas has so far been lacking. Here we report observations made in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath region (downstream of the bow shock) of an electron-scale current sheet in which diverging bi-directional super-ion-Alfvénic electron jets, parallel electric fields and enhanced magnetic-to-particle energy conversion were detected. Contrary to the standard model of reconnection, the thin reconnecting current sheet was not embedded in a wider ion-scale current layer and no ion jets were detected. Observations of this and other similar, but unidirectional, electron jet events without signatures of ion reconnection reveal a form of reconnection that can drive turbulent energy transfer and dissipation in electron-scale current sheets without ion coupling.

Reconnection-driven Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in a Simulated Coronal-hole Jet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uritsky, Vadim M.; Roberts, Merrill A. [Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20064 (United States); DeVore, C. Richard; Karpen, Judith T., E-mail: vadim.uritsky@nasa.gov [Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2017-03-10

Extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray jets occur frequently in magnetically open coronal holes on the Sun, especially at high solar latitudes. Some of these jets are observed by white-light coronagraphs as they propagate through the outer corona toward the inner heliosphere, and it has been proposed that they give rise to microstreams and torsional Alfvén waves detected in situ in the solar wind. To predict and understand the signatures of coronal-hole jets, we have performed a detailed statistical analysis of such a jet simulated by an adaptively refined magnetohydrodynamics model. The results confirm the generation and persistence of three-dimensional, reconnection-driven magnetic turbulence in the simulation. We calculate the spatial correlations of magnetic fluctuations within the jet and find that they agree best with the Müller–Biskamp scaling model including intermittent current sheets of various sizes coupled via hydrodynamic turbulent cascade. The anisotropy of the magnetic fluctuations and the spatial orientation of the current sheets are consistent with an ensemble of nonlinear Alfvén waves. These properties also reflect the overall collimated jet structure imposed by the geometry of the reconnecting magnetic field. A comparison with Ulysses observations shows that turbulence in the jet wake is in quantitative agreement with that in the fast solar wind.

Rapid change of field line connectivity and reconnection in stochastic magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Yi-Min; Bhattacharjee, A.; Boozer, Allen H.

2014-01-01

Magnetic fields without a direction of continuous symmetry have the generic feature that neighboring field lines exponentiate away from each other and become stochastic, and hence the ideal constraint of preserving magnetic field line connectivity becomes exponentially sensitive to small deviations from ideal Ohm's law. The idea of breaking field line connectivity by stochasticity as a mechanism for fast reconnection is tested with numerical simulations based on reduced magnetohydrodynamics equations with a strong guide field line-tied to two perfectly conducting end plates. Starting from an ideally stable force-free equilibrium, the system is allowed to undergo resistive relaxation. Two distinct phases are found in the process of resistive relaxation. During the quasi-static phase, rapid change of field line connectivity and strong induced flow are found in regions of high field line exponentiation. However, although the field line connectivity of individual field lines can change rapidly, the overall pattern of field line mapping appears to deform gradually. From this perspective, field line exponentiation appears to cause enhanced diffusion rather than reconnection. In some cases, resistive quasi-static evolution can cause the ideally stable initial equilibrium to cross a stability threshold, leading to formation of intense current filaments and rapid change of field line mapping into a qualitatively different pattern. It is in this onset phase that the change of field line connectivity is more appropriately designated as magnetic reconnection. Our results show that rapid change of field line connectivity appears to be a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for fast reconnection.

MAVEN Observations of Magnetic Reconnection on the Dayside Martian Magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

DiBraccio, Gina A.; Espley, Jared R.; Connerney, John E. P.; Brain, David A.; Halekas, Jasper S.; Mitchell, David L.; Harada, Yuki; Hara, Takuya

2015-04-01

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission offers a unique opportunity to investigate the complex solar wind-planetary interaction at Mars. The Martian magnetosphere is formed as the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) drapes around the planet's ionosphere and localized crustal magnetic fields. As the solar wind interacts with this induced magnetosphere, magnetic reconnection can occur at any location where a magnetic shear is present. Reconnection between the IMF and the induced and crustal fields facilitates a direct plasma exchange between the solar wind and the Martian ionosphere. Here we address the occurrence of magnetic reconnection on the dayside magnetosphere of Mars using MAVEN magnetic field and plasma data. When reconnection occurs on the dayside, a non-zero magnetic field component normal to the obstacle, B_N, will result. Using minimum variance analysis, we measure BN by transforming Magnetometer data into boundary-normal coordinates. Selected events are then further examined to identify plasma heating and energization, in the form of Alfvénic outflow jets, using Solar Wind Ion Analyzer measurements. Additionally, the topology of the crustal fields is validated from electron pitch angle distributions provided by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer. To understand which parameters are responsible for the onset of reconnection, we test the dependency of the dimensionless reconnection rate, calculated from BN measurements, on magnetic field shear angle and plasma beta (the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure). We assess the global impact of reconnection on Mars' induced magnetosphere by combining analytical models with MAVEN observations to predict the regions where reconnection may occur. Using this approach we examine how IMF orientation and magnetosheath parameters affect reconnection on a global scale. With the aid of analytical models we are able to assess the role of reconnection on a global scale to better understand which

Multiscale Processes in Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Surjalal Sharma, A.; Jain, Neeraj

The characteristic scales of the plasma processes in magnetic reconnection range from the elec-tron skin-depth to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scale, and cross-scale coupling among them play a key role. Modeling these processes requires different physical models, viz. kinetic, electron-magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD), Hall-MHD, and MHD. The shortest scale processes are at the electron scale and these are modeled using an EMHD code, which provides many features of the multiscale behavior. In simulations using initial conditions consisting of pertur-bations with many scale sizes the reconnection takes place at many sites and the plasma flows from these interact with each other. This leads to thin current sheets with length less than 10 electron skin depths. The plasma flows also generate current sheets with multiple peaks, as observed by Cluster. The quadrupole structure of the magnetic field during reconnection starts on the electron scale and the interaction of inflow to the secondary sites and outflow from the dominant site generates a nested structure. In the outflow regions, the interaction of the electron outflows generated at the neighboring sites lead to the development of electron vortices. A signature of the nested structure of the Hall field is seen in Cluster observations, and more details of these features are expected from MMS.

Evidence for transient, local ion foreshocks caused by dayside magnetopause reconnection

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Y. Pfau-Kempf

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We present a scenario resulting in time-dependent behaviour of the bow shock and transient, local ion reflection under unchanging solar wind conditions. Dayside magnetopause reconnection produces flux transfer events driving fast-mode wave fronts in the magnetosheath. These fronts push out the bow shock surface due to their increased downstream pressure. The resulting bow shock deformations lead to a configuration favourable to localized ion reflection and thus the formation of transient, travelling foreshock-like field-aligned ion beams. This is identified in two-dimensional global magnetospheric hybrid-Vlasov simulations of the Earth's magnetosphere performed using the Vlasiator model (http://vlasiator.fmi.fi. We also present observational data showing the occurrence of dayside reconnection and flux transfer events at the same time as Geotail observations of transient foreshock-like field-aligned ion beams. The spacecraft is located well upstream of the foreshock edge and the bow shock, during a steady southward interplanetary magnetic field and in the absence of any solar wind or interplanetary magnetic field perturbations. This indicates the formation of such localized ion foreshocks.

The Diffusion Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Neukirch, Thomas; Schindler, Karl; Kuznetsova, Masha; Zenitani, Seiji

2011-01-01

A review of present understanding of the dissipation region in magnetic reconnection is presented. The review focuses on results of the thermal inertia-based dissipation mechanism but alternative mechanisms are mentioned as well. For the former process, a combination of analytical theory and numerical modeling is presented. Furthermore, a new relation between the electric field expressions for anti-parallel and guide field reconnection is developed.

Erratum: A Simple, Analytical Model of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in a Pair Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Zenitani, Seiji; Kuznetsova, Masha; Klimas, Alex

2011-01-01

The following describes a list of errata in our paper, "A simple, analytical model of collisionless magnetic reconnection in a pair plasma." It supersedes an earlier erratum. We recently discovered an error in the derivation of the outflow-to-inflow density ratio.

Interchange Slip-Running Reconnection and Sweeping SEP-Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Masson, S.; Aulanier, G.; Pariat, E.; Klein, K.-L.

2011-01-01

We present a new model to explain how particles, accelerated at a reconnection site that is not magnetically connected to the Earth, could eventually propagate along the well-connected open flux tube. Our model is based on the results of a low-beta resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulation of a three-dimensional line-tied and initially current-free bipole, that is embedded in a non-uniform open potential field. The topology of this configuration is that of an asymmetric coronal null-point, with a closed fan surface and an open outer spine. When driven by slow photospheric shearing motions, field lines, initially fully anchored below the fan dome, reconnect at the null point, and jump to the open magnetic domain. This is the standard interchange mode as sketched and calculated in 2D. The key result in 3D is that, reconnected open field lines located in the vicinity of the outer spine, keep reconnecting continuously, across an open quasi-separatrix layer, as previously identified for non-open-null-point reconnection. The apparent slipping motion of these field lines leads to form an extended narrow magnetic flux tube at high altitude. Because of the slip-running reconnection, we conjecture that if energetic particles would be travelling through, or be accelerated inside, the diffusion region, they would be successively injected along continuously reconnecting field lines that are connected farther and farther from the spine. At the scale of the full Sun, owing to the super-radial expansion of field lines below 3 solar radius, such energetic particles could easily be injected in field lines slipping over significant distances, and could eventually reach the distant flux tube that is well-connected to the Earth.

Tail reconnection in the global magnetospheric context: Vlasiator first results

Science.gov (United States)

Palmroth, Minna; Hoilijoki, Sanni; Juusola, Liisa; Pulkkinen, Tuija I.; Hietala, Heli; Pfau-Kempf, Yann; Ganse, Urs; von Alfthan, Sebastian; Vainio, Rami; Hesse, Michael

2017-11-01

The key dynamics of the magnetotail have been researched for decades and have been associated with either three-dimensional (3-D) plasma instabilities and/or magnetic reconnection. We apply a global hybrid-Vlasov code, Vlasiator, to simulate reconnection self-consistently in the ion kinetic scales in the noon-midnight meridional plane, including both dayside and nightside reconnection regions within the same simulation box. Our simulation represents a numerical experiment, which turns off the 3-D instabilities but models ion-scale reconnection physically accurately in 2-D. We demonstrate that many known tail dynamics are present in the simulation without a full description of 3-D instabilities or without the detailed description of the electrons. While multiple reconnection sites can coexist in the plasma sheet, one reconnection point can start a global reconfiguration process, in which magnetic field lines become detached and a plasmoid is released. As the simulation run features temporally steady solar wind input, this global reconfiguration is not associated with sudden changes in the solar wind. Further, we show that lobe density variations originating from dayside reconnection may play an important role in stabilising tail reconnection.

Influence of pinches on magnetic reconnection in turbulent space plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Olshevsky, Vyacheslav; Lapenta, Giovanni; Markidis, Stefano; Divin, Andrey

A generally accepted scenario of magnetic reconnection in space plasmas is the breakage of magnetic field lines in X-points. In laboratory, reconnection is widely studied in pinches, current channels embedded into twisted magnetic fields. No model of magnetic reconnection in space plasmas considers both null-points and pinches as peers. We have performed a particle-in-cell simulation of magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional configuration where null-points are present nitially, and Z-pinches are formed during the simulation. The X-points are relatively stable, and no substantial energy dissipation is associated with them. On contrary, turbulent magnetic reconnection in the pinches causes the magnetic energy to decay at a rate of approximately 1.5 percent per ion gyro period. Current channels and twisted magnetic fields are ubiquitous in turbulent space plasmas, so pinches can be responsible for the observed high magnetic reconnection rates.

Current disruption and its spreading in collisionless magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, Neeraj; Büchner, Jörg; Dorfman, Seth; Ji, Hantao; Surjalal Sharma, A.

2013-01-01

Recent magnetic reconnection experiments (MRX) [Dorfman et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 233 (2013)] have disclosed current disruption in the absence of an externally imposed guide field. During current disruption in MRX, both the current density and the total observed out-of-reconnection-plane current drop simultaneous with a rise in out-of-reconnection-plane electric field. Here, we show that current disruption is an intrinsic property of the dynamic formation of an X-point configuration of magnetic field in magnetic reconnection, independent of the model used for plasma description and of the dimensionality (2D or 3D) of reconnection. An analytic expression for the current drop is derived from Ampere's Law. Its predictions are verified by 2D and 3D electron-magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) simulations. Three dimensional EMHD simulations show that the current disruption due to localized magnetic reconnection spreads along the direction of the electron drift velocity with a speed which depends on the wave number of the perturbation. The implications of these results for MRX are discussed

Collisionless Reconnection in Magnetohydrodynamic and Kinetic Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Loureiro, Nuno F.; Boldyrev, Stanislav

2017-12-01

It has recently been proposed that the inertial interval in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is terminated at small scales not by a Kolmogorov-like dissipation region, but rather by a new sub-inertial interval mediated by tearing instability. However, many astrophysical plasmas are nearly collisionless so the MHD approximation is not applicable to turbulence at small scales. In this paper, we propose an extension of the theory of reconnection-mediated turbulence to plasmas which are so weakly collisional that the reconnection occurring in the turbulent eddies is caused by electron inertia rather than by resistivity. We find that the transition scale to reconnection-mediated turbulence depends on the plasma beta and on the assumptions of the plasma turbulence model. However, in all of the cases analyzed, the energy spectra in the reconnection-mediated interval range from E({k}\\perp ){{dk}}\\perp \\propto {k}\\perp -8/3{{dk}}\\perp to E({k}\\perp ){{dk}}\\perp \\propto {k}\\perp -3{{dk}}\\perp .

Stellar flare oscillations: evidence for oscillatory reconnection and evolution of MHD modes

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, J. G.; Shetye, J.; Antonova, A. E.; Kolotkov, D. Y.; Srivastava, A. K.; Stangalini, M.; Gupta, G. R.; Avramova, A.; Mathioudakis, M.

2018-04-01

Here, we report on the detection of a range of quasi-periodic pulsations (20-120 s; QPPs) observed during flaring activity of several magnetically active dMe stars, namely AF Psc, CR Dra, GJ 3685A, Gl 65, SDSS J084425.9+513830, and SDSS J144738.47+035312.1 in the GALEX NUV filter. Based on a solar analogy, this work suggests that many of these flares may be triggered by external drivers creating a periodic reconnection in the flare current sheet or an impulsive energy release giving rise to an avalanche of periodic bursts that occur at time intervals that correspond to the detected periods, thus generating QPPs in their rising and peak phases. Some of these flares also show fast QPPs in their decay phase, indicating the presence of fast sausage mode oscillations either driven externally by periodic reconnection or intrinsically in the post-flare loop system during the flare energy release.

Reconnection Scaling Experiment (RSX): Magnetic Reconnection in Linear Geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Intrator, T.; Sovinec, C.; Begay, D.; Wurden, G.; Furno, I.; Werley, C.; Fisher, M.; Vermare, L.; Fienup, W.

2001-10-01

The linear Reconnection Scaling Experiment (RSX) at LANL is a new experiment that can create MHD relevant plasmas to look at the physics of magnetic reconnection. This experiment can scale many relevant parameters because the guns that generate the plasma and current channels do not depend on equilibrium or force balance for startup. We describe the experiment and initial electrostatic and magnetic probe data. Two parallel current channels sweep down a long plasma column and probe data accumulated over many shots gives 3D movies of magnetic reconnection. Our first data tries to define an operating regime free from kink instabilities that might otherwise confuse the data and shot repeatability. We compare this with MHD 2 fluid NIMROD simulations of the single current channel kink stability boundary for a variety of experimental conditions.

Total magnetic reconnection during a tokamak major disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, J.A.

1990-09-01

Magnetic reconnection has long been considered to be the cause of sawtooth oscillations and major disruptions in tokamak experiments. Experimental confirmation of reconnection models has been hampered by the difficulty of direct measurement of reconnection, which would involve tracing field lines for many transits around the tokamak. Perhaps the most stringent test of reconnection in a tokamak involves measurement of the safety factor q. Reconnection arising from a single helical disturbance with mode numbers m and n should raise q to m/n everywhere inside of the original resonant surface. Total reconnection should also flatten the temperature and current density profiles inside of this surface. Disruptive instabilities have been studied in the Tokapole 2, a poloidal divertor tokamak. When Tokapole 2 is operated in the material limiter configuration, a major disruption results in current termination as in most tokamaks. However, when operated in the magnetic limiter configuration current termination is suppressed and major disruptions appear as giant sawtooth oscillations. The objective of this thesis is to determine if total reconnection is occurring during major disruptions. To accomplish this goal, the poloidal magnetic field has been directly measured in Tokapole 2 with internal magnetic coils. A full two-dimensional measurement over the central current channel has been done. From these measurements, the poloidal magnetic flux function is obtained and the magnetic surfaces are plotted. The flux-surface-averaged safety factor is obtained by integrating the local magnetic field line pitch over the experimentally obtained magnetic surface

Counterstreaming ions as evidence of magnetic reconnection in the recovery phase of substorms at the kinetic level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagai, Tsugunobu; Nakamura, Masao; Shinohara, Iku; Fujimoto, Masaki; Saito, Yoshifumi; Mukai, Toshifumi

2002-01-01

Counterstreaming ions embedded in hot isotropic ions are found at the front of fast earthward plasma flows in the recovery phase of substorms in the Earth's magnetotail. The counterstreaming ions are present only when the northward component of the magnetic field increases in the equatorial plane. Hybrid simulations of magnetic reconnection have been carried out. It is found that counterstreaming ions form in the leading edge of jetting plasmas produced with magnetic reconnection, where the magnetic field lines pile up due to the pre-existing stationary plasmas. These counterstreaming ions originate from cold ions on the northern and southern tail lobe field lines, and earthward transport of the reconnected field lines makes these cold ions flow into the equatorial plane. The present observations provide strong evidence of magnetic reconnection in the recovery phase of substorms at the kinetic level

The MMS Dayside Magnetic Reconnection Locations During Phase 1 and Their Relation to the Predictions of the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model

Science.gov (United States)

Trattner, K. J.; Burch, J. L.; Ergun, R.; Eriksson, S.; Fuselier, S. A.; Giles, B. L.; Gomez, R. G.; Grimes, E. W.; Lewis, W. S.; Mauk, B.; Petrinec, S. M.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Trenchi, L.; Wilder, F. D.

2017-12-01

Several studies have validated the accuracy of the maximum magnetic shear model to predict the location of the reconnection site at the dayside magnetopause. These studies found agreement between model and observations for 74% to 88% of events examined. It should be noted that, of the anomalous events that failed the prediction of the model, 72% shared a very specific parameter range. These events occurred around equinox for an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle of about 240°. This study investigates if this remarkable grouping of events is also present in data from the recently launched MMS. The MMS magnetopause encounter database from the first dayside phase of the mission includes about 4,500 full and partial magnetopause crossings and flux transfer events. We use the known reconnection line signature of switching accelerated ion beams in the magnetopause boundary layer to identify encounters with the reconnection region and identify 302 events during phase 1a when the spacecraft are at reconnection sites. These confirmed reconnection locations are compared with the predicted location from the maximum magnetic shear model and revealed an 80% agreement. The study also revealed the existence of anomalous cases as mentioned in an earlier study. The anomalies are concentrated for times around the equinoxes together with IMF clock angles around 140° and 240°. Another group of anomalies for the same clock angle ranges was found during December events.

Colour reconnection in $e^{+}e^{-} \\rightarrow W^{+}W^{-}$ at $\\sqrt{s}=189-209 GeV$

CERN Document Server

Abbiendi, G.; Akesson, P.F.; Alexander, G.; Anagnostou, G.; Anderson, K.J.; Asai, S.; Axen, D.; Bailey, I.; Barberio, E.; Barillari, T.; Barlow, R.J.; Batley, R.J.; Bechtle, P.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bell, P.J.; Bella, G.; Bellerive, A.; Benelli, G.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Boeriu, O.; Bock, P.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Brown, Robert M.; Burckhart, H.J.; Campana, S.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R.K.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, D.G.; Ciocca, C.; Csilling, A.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; De Roeck, A.; De Wolf, E.A.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Dubbert, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Ferrari, P.; Fiedler, F.; Fleck, I.; Ford, M.; Frey, A.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, John William; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Giunta, Marina; Goldberg, J.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Gunther, P.O.; Gupta, A.; Hajdu, C.; Hamann, M.; Hanson, G.G.; Harel, A.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hill, J.C.; Horvath, D.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Ishii, K.; Jeremie, H.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Kanzaki, J.; Karlen, D.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kramer, T.; Krasznahorkay, A.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kuhl, T.; Kupper, M.; Lafferty, G.D.; Landsman, H.; Lanske, D.; Lellouch, D.; Letts, J.; Levinson, L.; Lillich, J.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Lu, J.; Ludwig, A.; Ludwig, J.; Mader, W.; Marcellini, S.; Martin, A.J.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McKenna, J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Menges, W.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Meyer, Niels T.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Mohr, W.; Mori, T.; Mutter, A.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Nanjo, H.; Neal, H.A.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oh, A.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Pahl, C.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Pooth, O.; Przybycien, M.; Quadt, A.; Rabbertz, K.; Rembser, C.; Renkel, P.; Roney, J.M.; Rossi, A.M.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sarkisyan, E.K.G.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schieck, J.; Schorner-Sadenius, T.; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Seuster, R.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Sherwood, P.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Spano, F.; Stahl, A.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Tarem, S.; Tasevsky, M.; Teuscher, R.; Thomson, M.A.; Torrence, E.; Toya, D.; Tran, P.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Ujvari, B.; Vollmer, C.F.; Vannerem, P.; Vertesi, R.; Verzocchi, M.; Voss, H.; Vossebeld, J.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wengler, T.; Wermes, N.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wolf, G.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Zer-Zion, D.; Zivkovic, Lidija

2006-01-01

The effects of the final state interaction phenomenon known as colour reconnection are investigated at centre-of-mass energies in the range $\\sqrt{s}~ 189-209 GeV using the OPAL detector at LEP. Colour reconnection is expected to affect observables based on charged particles in hadronic decays of W+W-. Measurements of inclusive charged particle multiplicities, and of their angular distribution with respect to the four jet axes of the events, are used to test models of colour reconnection. The data are found to exclude extreme scenarios of the Sjostrand-Khoze Type I (SK-I) model and are compatible with other models, both with and without colour reconnection effects. In the context of the SK-I model, the best agreement with data is obtained for a reconnection probability of 37%. Assuming no colour reconnection, the charged particle multiplicity in hadronically decaying W bosons is measured to be (nqqch) = 19.38+-0.05(stat.)+-0.08 (syst.).

Internal and External Reconnection Series Homologous Solar Flares

Science.gov (United States)

Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.

2001-01-01

Using data from the extreme ultraviolet imaging telescope (EIT) on SOHO and the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on Yohkoh, we examine a series of morphologically homologous solar flares occurring in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) active region 8210 over May 1-2, 1998. An emerging flux region (EFR) impacted against a sunspot to the west and next to a coronal hole to the east is the source of the repeated flaring. An SXT sigmoid parallels the EFR's neutral line at the site of the initial flaring in soft X rays. In EIT each flaring episode begins with the formation of a crinkle pattern external to the EFR. These EIT crinkles move out from, and then in toward, the EFR with velocities approx. 20 km/ s. A shrinking and expansion of the width of the coronal hole coincides with the crinkle activity, and generation and evolution of a postflare loop system begins near the time of crinkle formation. Using a schematic based on magnetograms of the region, we suggest that these observations are consistent with the standard reconnection-based model for solar eruptions but are modified by the presence of the additional magnetic fields of the sunspot and coronal hole. In the schematic, internal reconnection begins inside of the EFR-associated fields, unleashing a flare, postflare loops, and a coronal mass ejection (CME). External reconnection, first occurring between the escaping CME and the coronal hole field and second occurring between fields formed as a result of the first external reconnection, results in the EIT crinkles and changes in the coronal hole boundary. By the end of the second external reconnection, the initial setup is reinstated; thus the sequence can repeat, resulting in morphologically homologous eruptions. Our inferred magnetic topology is similar to that suggested in the "breakout model" of eruptions although we cannot determine if our eruptions are released primarily by the breakout mechanism (external reconnection) or, alternatively

ASYMMETRIC MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN WEAKLY IONIZED CHROMOSPHERIC PLASMAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, Nicholas A.; Lukin, Vyacheslav S.

2015-01-01

Realistic models of magnetic reconnection in the solar chromosphere must take into account that the plasma is partially ionized and that plasma conditions within any two magnetic flux bundles undergoing reconnection may not be the same. Asymmetric reconnection in the chromosphere may occur when newly emerged flux interacts with pre-existing, overlying flux. We present 2.5D simulations of asymmetric reconnection in weakly ionized, reacting plasmas where the magnetic field strengths, ion and neutral densities, and temperatures are different in each upstream region. The plasma and neutral components are evolved separately to allow non-equilibrium ionization. As in previous simulations of chromospheric reconnection, the current sheet thins to the scale of the neutral–ion mean free path and the ion and neutral outflows are strongly coupled. However, the ion and neutral inflows are asymmetrically decoupled. In cases with magnetic asymmetry, a net flow of neutrals through the current sheet from the weak-field (high-density) upstream region into the strong-field upstream region results from a neutral pressure gradient. Consequently, neutrals dragged along with the outflow are more likely to originate from the weak-field region. The Hall effect leads to the development of a characteristic quadrupole magnetic field modified by asymmetry, but the X-point geometry expected during Hall reconnection does not occur. All simulations show the development of plasmoids after an initial laminar phase

LOW-ALTITUDE RECONNECTION INFLOW-OUTFLOW OBSERVATIONS DURING A 2010 NOVEMBER 3 SOLAR ERUPTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savage, Sabrina L.; Holman, Gordon; Su, Yang [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Reeves, Katharine K. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street MS 58, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Seaton, Daniel B. [Royal Observatory of Belgium-SIDC, Avenue Circulaire 3, B-1180 Brussels (Belgium); McKenzie, David E. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173840, Bozeman, MT 59717-3840 (United States)

2012-07-20

For a solar flare occurring on 2010 November 3, we present observations using several SDO/AIA extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) passbands of an erupting flux rope followed by inflows sweeping into a current sheet region. The inflows are soon followed by outflows appearing to originate from near the termination point of the inflowing motion-an observation in line with standard magnetic reconnection models. We measure average inflow plane-of-sky speeds to range from {approx}150 to 690 km s{sup -1} with the initial, high-temperature inflows being the fastest. Using the inflow speeds and a range of Alfven speeds, we estimate the Alfvenic Mach number which appears to decrease with time. We also provide inflow and outflow times with respect to RHESSI count rates and find that the fast, high-temperature inflows occur simultaneously with a peak in the RHESSI thermal light curve. Five candidate inflow-outflow pairs are identified with no more than a minute delay between detections. The inflow speeds of these pairs are measured to be {approx}10{sup 2} km s{sup -1} with outflow speeds ranging from {approx}10{sup 2} to 10{sup 3} km s{sup -1}-indicating acceleration during the reconnection process. The fastest of these outflows are in the form of apparently traveling density enhancements along the legs of the loops rather than the loop apexes themselves. These flows could possibly either be accelerated plasma, shocks, or waves prompted by reconnection. The measurements presented here show an order of magnitude difference between the retraction speeds of the loops and the speed of the density enhancements within the loops-presumably exiting the reconnection site.

LOW-ALTITUDE RECONNECTION INFLOW-OUTFLOW OBSERVATIONS DURING A 2010 NOVEMBER 3 SOLAR ERUPTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savage, Sabrina L.; Holman, Gordon; Su, Yang; Reeves, Katharine K.; Seaton, Daniel B.; McKenzie, David E.

2012-01-01

For a solar flare occurring on 2010 November 3, we present observations using several SDO/AIA extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) passbands of an erupting flux rope followed by inflows sweeping into a current sheet region. The inflows are soon followed by outflows appearing to originate from near the termination point of the inflowing motion—an observation in line with standard magnetic reconnection models. We measure average inflow plane-of-sky speeds to range from ∼150 to 690 km s –1 with the initial, high-temperature inflows being the fastest. Using the inflow speeds and a range of Alfvén speeds, we estimate the Alfvénic Mach number which appears to decrease with time. We also provide inflow and outflow times with respect to RHESSI count rates and find that the fast, high-temperature inflows occur simultaneously with a peak in the RHESSI thermal light curve. Five candidate inflow-outflow pairs are identified with no more than a minute delay between detections. The inflow speeds of these pairs are measured to be ∼10 2 km s –1 with outflow speeds ranging from ∼10 2 to 10 3 km s –1 —indicating acceleration during the reconnection process. The fastest of these outflows are in the form of apparently traveling density enhancements along the legs of the loops rather than the loop apexes themselves. These flows could possibly either be accelerated plasma, shocks, or waves prompted by reconnection. The measurements presented here show an order of magnitude difference between the retraction speeds of the loops and the speed of the density enhancements within the loops—presumably exiting the reconnection site.

On the cessation of magnetic reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Hesse

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Kinetic simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection are used to study the effect on the reconnection rate of ion density enhancements in the inflow region. The goal of the investigation is to study a candidate mechanism for the slow-down of magnetic reconnection. The calculations involve either proton or oxygen additions in the inflow region, initially located at two distances from the current sheet. Protons are found to be much more tightly coupled into the evolution of the reconnecting system and, therefore, they effect an immediate slowdown of the reconnection process, as soon as the flux tubes they reside on become involved. Oxygen, on the other hand, has, within the limits of the calculations, a much less pronounced effect on the reconnection electric field. The difference is attributed to the lack of tight coupling to the magnetic field of the oxygen populations. Last, a study of proton and oxygen acceleration finds that protons respond primarily to the reconnection electric field, whereas the main oxygen electric field is achieved by Hall-type electric fields at the plasma sheet boundary. Key words. Space plasma physics (magnetic reconnection; numerical simulation studies; numerical simulation studies

Compact toroid formation using barrier fields and controlled reconnection in the TRX-1 field reversed theta pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, A.L.; Armstrong, W.T.

1982-01-01

TRX-1 is a new 20 cm diameter, 1-m long field reversed theta pinch with a magnetic field swing of 10 kG in 3 μsec. It employs z discharge preionization and octopole barrier fields to maximize flux trapping on first half cycle operation. Cusp coils are used at the theta pinch ends to delay reconnection and fast mirror coils are used to trigger reconnection at a time designed to maximize axial heating efficiency and toroid lifetime. These controls are designed to study toroid formation methods which are claimed to be especially efficient by Russian experimenters. Studies have been conducted on flux trapping efficiency, triggered reconnection, and equilibrium and lifetime

Structure of reconnection boundary layers in incompressible MHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonnerup, B.U.Oe.; Wang, D.J.

1987-01-01

The incompressible MHD equations with nonvanishing viscosity and resistivity are simplified by use of the boundary layer approximation to describe the flow and magnetic field in the exit flow regions of magnetic field reconnection configurations when the reconnection rate is small. The conditions are derived under which self-similar solutions exist of the resulting boundary layer equations. For the case of zero viscosity and resistivity, the equations describing such self-similar layers are then solved in terms of quadratures, and the resulting flow and field configurations are described. Symmetric solutions, relevant, for example, to reconnection in the geomagnetic tail, as well as asymmetric solutions, relevant to reconnection at the earth's magnetopause, are found to exist. The nature of the external solutions to which the boundary layer solutions should be matched is discussed briefly, but the actual matching, which is to occur at Alfven-wave characteristic curves in the boundary layer solutions, is not carried out. Finally, it is argued that the solutions obtained may also be used to describe the structure of the intense vortex layers observed to occur at magnetic separatrices in computer simulations and in certain analytical models of the reconnection process

Fundamental limitation of a two-dimensional description of magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Firpo, Marie-Christine

2014-10-01

For magnetic reconnection to be possible, the electrons have at some point to ``get free from magnetic slavery,'' according to von Steiger's formulation. Stochasticity may be considered as one possible ingredient through which this may be realized in the magnetic reconnection process. It will be argued that non-ideal effects may be considered as a ``hidden'' way to introduce stochasticity. Then it will be shown that there exists a generic intrinsic stochasticity of magnetic field lines that does not require the invocation of non-ideal effects but cannot show up in effective two-dimensional models of magnetic reconnection. Possible implications will be discussed in the frame of tokamak sawteeth that form a laboratory prototype of magnetic reconnection.

Nonlinear response of a neoclassical four-field magnetic reconnection model to localized current drive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazzaro, E.; Comisso, L.; Valdettaro, L.

2010-01-01

In tokamaks magnetic islands arise from an unstable process of tearing and reconnecting of helical field lines across rational surfaces. After a linear stage the magnetic instability develops through three characteristic nonlinear stages where increasingly complex topological alterations occur in the form of the magnetic islands. The problem of response of reconnection process to the injection of an external current suitably localized is addressed using a four-field model in a plane slab plasma, with a novel extension to account consistently of the relevant neoclassical effects, such as bootstrap current and pressure anisotropy. The results found have implications on the interpretation of the possible mechanism of present day experimental results on neoclassical tearing modes as well as on the concepts for their control or avoidance.

From vortex reconnections to quantum turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipniacki, T.

2001-01-01

An alternative approach to quantum turbulence is proposed in order to derive the evolution equation for vortex line-length density. Special attention is paid to reconnections of vortex lines. The summed line-length change ΔS of two vortex lines resulting from the reconnection (in the presence of counterflow V ns ) can be approximated in the form: δS=-at 1/2 +bV ns 2 t 3/2 , with a>0, b≥0, at least until δS≤0. For steady-state turbulence, the average line-length change left angle ΔS right angle between reconnections has to be zero. If, for a given value of the counterflow, the line density is smaller than the equilibrium one, the reconnections occur less frequently and left angle ΔS right angle becomes positive and the line density grows until the equilibrium is restored. When the line-density is too large, the reconnections are more frequent, the lines shorten between reconnections and the line density gets smaller. The time derivative of the total line density is proportional to the reconnection frequency multiplied by the average line-length change due to a single reconnection. The evolution equation obtained in the proposed approach resembles the alternative Vinen equation. (orig.)

Accessing the Asymmetric Collisionless Reconnection Regime in the Terrestrial Reconnection Experiment (TREX)

Science.gov (United States)

Greess, S.; Egedal, J.; Olson, J.; Millet-Ayala, A.; Myers, R.; Wallace, J.; Clark, M.; Forest, C.

2017-12-01

Kinetic effects are expected to dominate the collisionless reconnection regime, where the mean free path is large enough that the anisotropic electron pressure can develop without being damped away by collisional pitch angle scattering. In simulations, the anisotropic pressure drives the formation of outflow jets [1]. These jets are expected to play a role in the reconnection layer at the Earth's magnetopause, which is currently being explored by Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) [2]. Until recently, this regime of anisotropic pressure was inaccessible by laboratory experiments, but new data from the Terrestrial Reconnection Experiment (TREX) shows that fully collisionless reconnection can now be achieved in the laboratory. Future runs at TREX will delve deeper into this collisionless regime in both the antiparallel and guide-field cases. [1] Le, A. et al. JPP, 81(1). doi: 10.1017/S0022377814000907. [2] Burch, J. L. et al. Space Sci. Rev. 199,5. doi: 10.1007/s11214-015-0164-9 Supported in part by NSF/DOE award DE-SC0013032.

How Does the Electron Dynamics Affect the Reconnection Rate in a Typical Reconnection Layer?

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael

2009-01-01

The question of whether the microscale controls the macroscale or vice-versa remains one of the most challenging problems in plasmas. A particular topic of interest within this context is collisionless magnetic reconnection, where both points of views are espoused by different groups of researchers. This presentation will focus on this topic. We will begin by analyzing the properties of electron diffusion region dynamics both for guide field and anti-parallel reconnection, and how they can be scaled to different inflow conditions. As a next step, we will study typical temporal variations of the microscopic dynamics with the objective of understanding the potential for secular changes to the macroscopic system. The research will be based on a combination of analytical theory and numerical modeling.

The Effect of Ion Multi-scales on Magnetic Reconnection in Earth's Magnetotail - Cluster Observations"

Science.gov (United States)

Shojaei Ardakani, A.; Mouikis, C.; Kistler, L. M.; Torbert, R. B.; Roytershteyn, V.; Omelchenko, Y.

2017-12-01

A recent statistical study, using Cluster observations, showed that during substorms, a higher O+ content in the plasma sheet during the substorm growth phase, makes it more difficult to trigger reconnection [Liu et al, 2013]. In addition, they showed that, in contrast to predictions that the reconnection rate during the substorm expansion phase slows down in the presence of O+, the magnetotail unloading rate is actually faster when the O+ content is higher. This could be due to a faster local reconnection rate or due to reconnection occurring over a greater width in the tail when the O+ content of the plasma sheet is high. To address this question, we use reconnection events observed by Cluster that have different densities of O+ and we determine the local reconnection rate. For the calculation of the reconnection rate we use CODIF observations from the boundary layer/lobes around flow reversals where the distribution functions show signatures of the presence of cold plasma convecting towards the current sheet. In addition, we use timing analysis to deduce the movement of the x-line. This methodology will be compared with the estimation of the reconnection rate using results from fully kinetic and hybrid particle-in-cell simulations that model reconnection in the presence of O+ in both local geometry and in a model magnetotail equilibrium. Finally, we use the deduced local reconnection rate together with the total magnetotail pressure rate of change (from Liu et al., [2013]) to estimate the cross-tail extent of the reconnecting plasma sheet.

ENERGY RELEASE AND TRANSFER IN SOLAR FLARES: SIMULATIONS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birn, J.; Fletcher, L.; Hesse, M.; Neukirch, T.

2009-01-01

Using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations we investigate energy release and transfer in a three-dimensional extension of the standard two-ribbon flare picture. In this scenario, reconnection is initiated in a thin current sheet (suggested to form below a departing coronal mass ejection) above a bipolar magnetic field. Two cases are contrasted: an initially force-free current sheet (low beta) and a finite-pressure current sheet (high beta), where beta represents the ratio between gas (plasma) and magnetic pressure. The energy conversion process from reconnection consists of incoming Poynting flux turned into up- and downgoing Poynting flux, enthalpy flux, and bulk kinetic energy flux. In the low-beta case, the outgoing Poynting flux is the dominant contribution, whereas the outgoing enthalpy flux dominates in the high-beta case. The bulk kinetic energy flux is only a minor contribution in the downward direction. The dominance of the downgoing Poynting flux in the low-beta case is consistent with an alternative to the thick target electron beam model for solar flare energy transport, suggested recently by Fletcher and Hudson, whereas the enthalpy flux may act as an alternative transport mechanism. For plausible characteristic parameters of the reconnecting field configuration, we obtain energy release timescales and energy output rates that compare favorably with those inferred from observations for the impulsive phase of flares. Significant enthalpy flux and heating are found even in the initially force-free case with very small background beta, resulting mostly from adiabatic compression rather than Ohmic dissipation. The energy conversion mechanism is most easily understood as a two-step process (although the two steps may occur essentially simultaneously): the first step is the acceleration of the plasma by Lorentz forces in layers akin to the slow shocks in the Petschek reconnection model, involving the conversion of magnetic energy to bulk kinetic

Effects of the reconnection electric field on crescent electron distribution functions in asymmetric guide field reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Bessho, N.; Chen, L. J.; Hesse, M.; Wang, S.

2017-12-01

In asymmetric reconnection with a guide field in the Earth's magnetopause, electron motion in the electron diffusion region (EDR) is largely affected by the guide field, the Hall electric field, and the reconnection electric field. The electron motion in the EDR is neither simple gyration around the guide field nor simple meandering motion across the current sheet. The combined meandering motion and gyration has essential effects on particle acceleration by the in-plane Hall electric field (existing only in the magnetospheric side) and the out-of-plane reconnection electric field. We analyze electron motion and crescent-shaped electron distribution functions in the EDR in asymmetric guide field reconnection, and perform 2-D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to elucidate the effect of reconnection electric field on electron distribution functions. Recently, we have analytically expressed the acceleration effect due to the reconnection electric field on electron crescent distribution functions in asymmetric reconnection without a guide field (Bessho et al., Phys. Plasmas, 24, 072903, 2017). We extend the theory to asymmetric guide field reconnection, and predict the crescent bulge in distribution functions. Assuming 1D approximation of field variations in the EDR, we derive the time period of oscillatory electron motion (meandering + gyration) in the EDR. The time period is expressed as a hybrid of the meandering period and the gyro period. Due to the guide field, electrons not only oscillate along crescent-shaped trajectories in the velocity plane perpendicular to the antiparallel magnetic fields, but also move along parabolic trajectories in the velocity plane coplanar with magnetic field. The trajectory in the velocity space gradually shifts to the acceleration direction by the reconnection electric field as multiple bounces continue. Due to the guide field, electron distributions for meandering particles are bounded by two paraboloids (or hyperboloids) in the

Application of PDSLin to the magnetic reconnection problem

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Xuefei

2013-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in a magnetized plasma at both low and high magnetic Lundquist numbers (the ratio of the resistive diffusion time to the Alfvén wave transit time), which occurs in a wide variety of laboratory and space plasmas, e.g. magnetic fusion experiments, the solar corona and the Earth\\'s magnetotail. An implicit time advance for the two-fluid magnetic reconnection problem is known to be difficult because of the large condition number of the associated matrix. This is especially troublesome when the collisionless ion skin depth is large so that the Whistler waves, which cause the fast reconnection, dominate the physics (Yuan et al 2012 J. Comput. Phys. 231 5822-53). For small system sizes, a direct solver such as SuperLU can be employed to obtain an accurate solution as long as the condition number is bounded by the reciprocal of the floating-point machine precision. However, SuperLU scales effectively only to hundreds of processors or less. For larger system sizes, it has been shown that physics-based (Chacón and Knoll 2003 J. Comput. Phys. 188 573-92) or other preconditioners can be applied to provide adequate solver performance. In recent years, we have been developing a new algebraic hybrid linear solver, PDSLin (Parallel Domain decomposition Schur complement-based Linear solver) (Yamazaki and Li 2010 Proc. VECPAR pp 421-34 and Yamazaki et al 2011 Technical Report). In this work, we compare numerical results from a direct solver and the proposed hybrid solver for the magnetic reconnection problem and demonstrate that the new hybrid solver is scalable to thousands of processors while maintaining the same robustness as a direct solver. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Application of PDSLin to the magnetic reconnection problem

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Xuefei; Li, Xiaoyesherry; Yamazaki, Ichitaro; Jardin, Stephen C.; Koniges, Alice E.; Keyes, David E.

2013-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in a magnetized plasma at both low and high magnetic Lundquist numbers (the ratio of the resistive diffusion time to the Alfvén wave transit time), which occurs in a wide variety of laboratory and space plasmas, e.g. magnetic fusion experiments, the solar corona and the Earth's magnetotail. An implicit time advance for the two-fluid magnetic reconnection problem is known to be difficult because of the large condition number of the associated matrix. This is especially troublesome when the collisionless ion skin depth is large so that the Whistler waves, which cause the fast reconnection, dominate the physics (Yuan et al 2012 J. Comput. Phys. 231 5822-53). For small system sizes, a direct solver such as SuperLU can be employed to obtain an accurate solution as long as the condition number is bounded by the reciprocal of the floating-point machine precision. However, SuperLU scales effectively only to hundreds of processors or less. For larger system sizes, it has been shown that physics-based (Chacón and Knoll 2003 J. Comput. Phys. 188 573-92) or other preconditioners can be applied to provide adequate solver performance. In recent years, we have been developing a new algebraic hybrid linear solver, PDSLin (Parallel Domain decomposition Schur complement-based Linear solver) (Yamazaki and Li 2010 Proc. VECPAR pp 421-34 and Yamazaki et al 2011 Technical Report). In this work, we compare numerical results from a direct solver and the proposed hybrid solver for the magnetic reconnection problem and demonstrate that the new hybrid solver is scalable to thousands of processors while maintaining the same robustness as a direct solver. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Vortex line topology during vortex tube reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

McGavin, P.; Pontin, D. I.

2018-05-01

This paper addresses reconnection of vortex tubes, with particular focus on the topology of the vortex lines (field lines of the vorticity). This analysis of vortex line topology reveals key features of the reconnection process, such as the generation of many small flux rings, formed when reconnection occurs in multiple locations in the vortex sheet between the tubes. Consideration of three-dimensional reconnection principles leads to a robust measurement of the reconnection rate, even once instabilities break the symmetry. It also allows us to identify internal reconnection of vortex lines within the individual vortex tubes. Finally, the introduction of a third vortex tube is shown to render the vortex reconnection process fully three-dimensional, leading to a fundamental change in the topological structure of the process. An additional interesting feature is the generation of vorticity null points.

Crab Flares and Magnetic Reconnection in Pulsar Winds

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice K.

2012-01-01

The striped winds of rotation-powered pulsars are ideal sites for magnetic reconnection. The magnetic fields of the wind near the current sheet outside the light cylinder alternate polarity every pulsar period and eventually encounter a termination shock. Magnetic reconnection in the wind has been proposed as a mechanism for transferring energy from electromagnetic fields to particles upstream of the shock (the "sigma" problem), but it is not clear if, where and how this occurs. Fermi and AGILE have recently observed powerful gamma-ray flares from the Crab nebula, which challenge traditional models of acceleration at the termination shock. New simulations are revealing that magnetic reconnection may be instrumental in understanding the Crab flares and in resolving the "sigma" problem in pulsar wind nebulae.

Tests of models of color reconnection and a search for glueballs using gluon jets with a rapidity gap

CERN Document Server

Abbiendi, G.; Akesson, P.F.; Alexander, G.; Allison, John; Amaral, P.; Anagnostou, G.; Anderson, K.J.; Arcelli, S.; Asai, S.; Axen, D.; Azuelos, G.; Bailey, I.; Barberio, E.; Barlow, R.J.; Batley, R.J.; Bechtle, P.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bell, P.J.; Bella, G.; Bellerive, A.; Benelli, G.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Boeriu, O.; Bock, P.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Brown, Robert M.; Buesser, K.; Burckhart, H.J.; Campana, S.; Carnegie, R.K.; Caron, B.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, David G.; Csilling, A.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; De Roeck, A.; De Wolf, E.A.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Donkers, M.; Dubbert, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Feld, L.; Ferrari, P.; Fiedler, F.; Fleck, I.; Ford, M.; Frey, A.; Furtjes, A.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, John William; Gaycken, G.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Giunta, Marina; Goldberg, J.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Gunther, P.O.; Gupta, A.; Hajdu, C.; Hamann, M.; Hanson, G.G.; Harder, K.; Harel, A.; Harin-Dirac, M.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Hensel, C.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hill, J.C.; Hoffman, Kara Dion; Horvath, D.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Ishii, K.; Jeremie, H.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Kanaya, N.; Kanzaki, J.; Karapetian, G.; Karlen, D.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Kim, D.H.; Klein, K.; Klier, A.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kormos, Laura L.; Kramer, T.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kruger, K.; Kuhl, T.; Kupper, M.; Lafferty, G.D.; Landsman, H.; Lanske, D.; Layter, J.G.; Leins, A.; Lellouch, D.; Lettso, J.; Levinson, L.; Lillich, J.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Lu, J.; Ludwig, J.; Macpherson, A.; Mader, W.; Marcellini, S.; Martin, A.J.; Masetti, G.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McDonald, W.J.; McKenna, J.; McMahon, T.J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Menges, W.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Moed, S.; Mohr, W.; Mori, T.; Mutter, A.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Nanjo, H.; Neal, H.A.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oh, A.; Okpara, A.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Pahl, C.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Patrick, G.N.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Poli, B.; Polok, J.; Pooth, O.; Przybycien, M.; Quadt, A.; Rabbertz, K.; Rembser, C.; Renkel, P.; Roney, J.M.; Rosati, S.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sarkisyan, E.K.G.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schieck, J.; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Schwick, C.; Scott, W.G.; Seuster, R.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Sherwood, P.; Siroli, G.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Spano, F.; Stahl, A.; Stephens, K.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Tarem, S.; Tasevsky, M.; Taylor, R.J.; Teuscher, R.; Thomson, M.A.; Torrence, E.; Toya, D.; Tran, P.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Ujvari, B.; Vollmer, C.F.; Vannerem, P.; Vertesi, R.; Verzocchi, M.; Voss, H.; Vossebeld, J.; Waller, D.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wengler, T.; Wermes, N.; Wetterling, D.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wolf, G.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Zer-Zion, D.; Zivkovic, Lidija

2004-01-01

Gluon jets with a mean energy of 22 GeV and purity of 95% are selected from hadronic Z0 decay events produced in e+e- annihilations. A subsample of these jets is identified which exhibits a large gap in the rapidity distribution of particles within the jet. After imposing the requirement of a rapidity gap, the gluon jet purity is 86%. These jets are observed to demonstrate a high degree of sensitivity to the presence of color reconnection, i.e. higher order QCD processes affecting the underlying color structure. We use our data to test three QCD models which include a simulation of color reconnection: one in the Ariadne Monte Carlo, one in the Herwig Monte Carlo, and the other by Rathsman in the Pythia Monte Carlo. We find the Rathsman and Ariadne color reconnection models can describe our gluon jet measurements only if very large values are used for the cutoff parameters which serve to terminate the parton showers, and that the description of inclusive Z0 data is significantly degraded in this case. We concl...

Magnetic field reconnection at the dayside magnetopause

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rijnbeek, R.P.

1992-01-01

Magnetic field reconnection is a fundamental energy conversion process, and the energy liberated during this process gives rise to phenomena which can be observed in space and laboratory plasmas. At the dayside magnetopause reconnection results in a coupling between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. Manifestations of this include large disturbances in the magnetic field known as flux transfer events, and accelerated plasma flows along the magnetopause. Progress has been made in the development of a physical model incorporating such phenomena, aided by experimental data from various spacecraft missions

Magnetotail Fast Flow Occurrence Rate and Dawn-Dusk Asymmetry at XGSM ˜ -60 RE

Science.gov (United States)

Kiehas, S. A.; Runov, A.; Angelopolos, V.; Hietala, H.; Korovinksiy, D.

2018-03-01

As a direct result of magnetic reconnection, plasma sheet fast flows act as primary transporter of mass, flux, and energy in the Earth's magnetotail. During the last decades, these flows were mainly studied within XGSM>-60RE, as observations near or beyond lunar orbit were limited. By using 5 years (2011-2015) of ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moons Interaction with the Sun) data, we statistically investigate earthward and tailward flows at around 60 RE downtail. A significant fraction of fast flows is directed earthward, comprising 43% (vx>400 km/s) to 56% (vx>100 km/s) of all observed flows. This suggests that near-Earth and midtail reconnection are equally probable of occurring on either side of the ARTEMIS downtail distance. For fast convective flows (v⊥x>400 km/s), this fraction of earthward flows is reduced to about 29%, which is in line with reconnection as source of these flows and a downtail decreasing Alfvén velocity. More than 60% of tailward convective flows occur in the dusk sector (as opposed to the dawn sector), while earthward convective flows are nearly symmetrically distributed between the two sectors for low AL (>-400 nT) and asymmetrically distributed toward the dusk sector for high AL (infer that near-Earth reconnection is preferentially located at dusk, whereas midtail reconnection (X >- 60RE) is likely symmetric across the tail during weak substorms and asymmetric toward the dusk sector for strong substorms, as the dawn-dusk asymmetric nature of reconnection onset in the near-Earth region progresses downtail.

Plasma pressure tensor effects on reconnection: Hybrid and Hall-magnetohydrodynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Lin; Winske, Dan

2003-01-01

Collisionless reconnection is studied using two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid (particle ions, massless fluid electrons) and Hall-magnetohydrodynamics (Hall-MHD) simulations. Both use the full electron pressure tensor instead of a localized resistivity in Ohm's law to initiate reconnection; an initial perturbation or boundary driving to the equilibrium is used. The initial configurations include one-dimensional (1-D) and 2-D current sheets both with and without a guide field. Electron dynamics from the two calculations are compared, and overall agreement is found between the calculations in both reconnection rate and global configuration [L. Yin et al., J. Geophys. Res. 106, 10761 (2001)]. It is shown that the electron drifts in the small-transverse-scale fields near the X point cause the electron motion to decouple from the ion motion, and that reconnection occurs due to electron viscous effects contained in the off-diagonal terms of the electron pressure tensor. Comparing the hybrid and Hall-MHD simulations shows that effects of the off-diagonal terms in the ion pressure tensor, i.e., the ion gyro-radius effects, are necessary in order to model correctly the ion out-of-plane motion. It is shown that these effects can be modeled efficiently in a particle Hall-MHD simulation in which particle ions are used in a predictor/corrector manner to implement ion gyro-radius corrections [L. Yin et al., Phys. Plasmas 9, 2575 (2002)]. For modeling reconnection in large systems, a new integrated approach is examined in which Hall-MHD calculations using a full electron pressure tensor model is embedded inside a MHD simulation. The embedded simulation of current sheet thinning and reconnection dynamics in a realistic 2-D magnetotail equilibrium exhibits smooth transitions of plasma and field quantities between the two regions, with small-scale physics represented well in the compressed current sheet and in the near-X-point region

Spreading Speed of Magnetopause Reconnection X-Lines Using Ground-Satellite Coordination

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Ying; Walsh, Brian M.; Nishimura, Yukitoshi; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Ruohoniemi, J. Michael; McWilliams, Kathryn A.; Nishitani, Nozomu

2018-01-01

Conceptual and numerical models predict that magnetic reconnection starts at a localized region and then spreads out of the reconnection plane. At the Earth's magnetopause this spreading would occur primarily in local time along the boundary. Different simulations have found the spreading to occur at different speeds such as the Alfvén speed and speed of the current carriers. We use conjugate Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft and Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar measurements to observationally determine the X-line spreading speed at the magnetopause. THEMIS probes the reconnection parameters locally, and SuperDARN tracks the reconnection development remotely. Spreading speeds under different magnetopause boundary conditions are obtained and compared with model predictions. We find that while spreading under weak guide field could be explained by either the current carriers or the Alfvén waves, spreading under strong guide field is consistent only with the current carriers.

Magnetic reconnection in nontoroidal plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boozer, Allen H.

2005-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a major issue in solar and astrophysical plasmas. The mathematical result that the evolution of a magnetic field with only point nulls is always locally ideal limits the nature of reconnection in nontoroidal plasmas. Here it is shown that the exponentially increasing separation of neighboring magnetic field lines, which is generic, tends to produce rapid magnetic reconnection if the length of the field lines is greater than about 20 times the exponentiation, or Lyapunov, length

Scales of guide field reconnection at the hydrogen mass ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapenta, G.; Markidis, S.; Divin, A.; Goldman, M.; Newman, D.

2010-01-01

We analyze the signatures of component reconnection for a Harris current sheet with a guide field using the physical mass ratio of hydrogen. The study uses the fully kinetic particle in cell code IPIC3D to investigate the scaling with mass ratio of the following three main component reconnection features: electron density cavities along the separatrices, channels of fast electron flow within the cavities, and electron phase space holes due to the Buneman instability in the electron high speed channels. The width and strength of the electron holes and of the electron cavities are studied up the mass ratio proper of hydrogen, considering the effect of the simulation box size, and of the boundary conditions. The results compare favorably with the existing data from the Cluster and Themis missions and provide quantitative predictions for realistic conditions to be encountered by the planned magnetospheric multiscale mission.

Experimental investigation of the trigger problem in magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, Noam; Egedal, Jan; Fox, Will; Le, Ari; Vrublevskis, Arturs; Bonde, Jeff

2011-01-01

Magnetic reconnection releases magnetic energy not only in steady state, but also in time-dependent and often explosive events. Here, we investigate the trigger mechanism for this explosive release by using a toroidal experiment in the strong guide-field regime. We observe spontaneous reconnection events with exponentially growing reconnection rates, and we characterize the full 3D dynamics of these events using multiple internal probes. The reconnection is asymmetric: it begins at one toroidal location and propagates around in both directions. The spontaneous onset is facilitated by an interaction between the x-line current channel and a global mode, which appears in the electrostatic potential. It is this mode which breaks axisymmetry and enables a localized decrease in x-line current. We apply a simple model - which relies on ion polarization currents for current continuity - to reproduce the exponential growth and compute the growth rate. The result agrees well with the experimental growth rate.

Study of Local Reconnection Physics in a Laboratory Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hantao Ji; Troy Carter; Scott Hsu; Masaaki Yamada

2001-01-01

A short review of physics results obtained in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) is given with an emphasis on the local features of magnetic reconnection in a controlled environment. Stable two-dimensional current sheets are formed and sustained by induction using two internal coils. The observed reconnection rates are found to be quantitatively consistent with a generalized Sweet-Parker model which incorporates compressibility, unbalanced upstream-downstream pressure, and the effective resistivity. The latter is significantly enhanced over its classical values in the low collisionality regime. Strong local ion heating is measured by an optical probe during the reconnection process, and at least half of the increased ion energy must be due to nonclassical processes, consistent with the resistivity enhancement. Characteristics of high-frequency electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations detected in the current sheet suggest presence of the lower-hybrid-drift-like waves with significant magnetic components. The detailed structures of the current sheet are measured and compared with Harris theory and two-fluid theory

Magnetic Reconnection in Strongly Magnetized Regions of the Low Solar Chromosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Lei; Lukin, Vyacheslav S.; Murphy, Nicholas A.; Lin, Jun

2018-01-01

Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized regions around the temperature minimum region of the low solar atmosphere is studied by employing MHD-based simulations of a partially ionized plasma within a reactive 2.5D multi-fluid model. It is shown that in the absence of magnetic nulls in a low β plasma, the ionized and neutral fluid flows are well-coupled throughout the reconnection region. However, non-equilibrium ionization–recombination dynamics play a critical role in determining the structure of the reconnection region, leading to much lower temperature increases and a faster magnetic reconnection rate as compared to simulations that assume plasma to be in ionization–recombination equilibrium. The rate of ionization of the neutral component of the plasma is always faster than recombination within the current sheet region even when the initial plasma β is as high as {β }0=1.46. When the reconnecting magnetic field is in excess of a kilogauss and the plasma β is lower than 0.0145, the initially weakly ionized plasmas can become fully ionized within the reconnection region and the current sheet can be strongly heated to above 2.5× {10}4 K, even as most of the collisionally dissipated magnetic energy is radiated away. The Hall effect increases the reconnection rate slightly, but in the absence of magnetic nulls it does not result in significant asymmetries or change the characteristics of the reconnection current sheet down to meter scales.

Solar wind energy and electric field transfer to the Earth's magnetosphere VIA magnetopause reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, W.D.; Gonzalez, A.L.C.

1981-01-01

Some general expressions for the convection and parallel electric fields as well as for the energy transfer, due to magnetopause reconnection, are derived using a nose-reconnection model that takes into account the presence of the clefts. For the case of equal geomagnetic and magnetosheath field amplitudes, the expression for the power dissipated by the convection electric field reduces to the substorm parameter e widely discussed in the recent literature. This result suggests that magnetopause reconnection is defined at the nose with a tilted reconnection line, but that the convection electric field is related only to the dawn-dusk component of the reconnection electric field, as defined at high latitudes

Non-thermal particle acceleration in collisionless relativistic electron-proton reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, G. R.; Uzdensky, D. A.; Begelman, M. C.; Cerutti, B.; Nalewajko, K.

2018-02-01

Magnetic reconnection in relativistic collisionless plasmas can accelerate particles and power high-energy emission in various astrophysical systems. Whereas most previous studies focused on relativistic reconnection in pair plasmas, less attention has been paid to electron-ion plasma reconnection, expected in black hole accretion flows and relativistic jets. We report a comprehensive particle-in-cell numerical investigation of reconnection in an electron-ion plasma, spanning a wide range of ambient ion magnetizations σi, from the semirelativistic regime (ultrarelativistic electrons but non-relativistic ions, 10-3 ≪ σi ≪ 1) to the fully relativistic regime (both species are ultrarelativistic, σi ≫ 1). We investigate how the reconnection rate, electron and ion plasma flows, electric and magnetic field structures, electron/ion energy partitioning, and non-thermal particle acceleration depend on σi. Our key findings are: (1) the reconnection rate is about 0.1 of the Alfvénic rate across all regimes; (2) electrons can form concentrated moderately relativistic outflows even in the semirelativistic, small-σi regime; (3) while the released magnetic energy is partitioned equally between electrons and ions in the ultrarelativistic limit, the electron energy fraction declines gradually with decreased σi and asymptotes to about 0.25 in the semirelativistic regime; and (4) reconnection leads to efficient non-thermal electron acceleration with a σi-dependent power-law index, p(σ _i)˜eq const+0.7σ _i^{-1/2}. These findings are important for understanding black hole systems and lend support to semirelativistic reconnection models for powering non-thermal emission in blazar jets, offering a natural explanation for the spectral indices observed in these systems.

INTERCHANGE RECONNECTION AND CORONAL HOLE DYNAMICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edmondson, J. K.; Antiochos, S. K.; DeVore, C. R.; Lynch, B. J.; Zurbuchen, T. H.

2010-01-01

We investigate the effect of magnetic reconnection between open and closed fields, often referred to as 'interchange' reconnection, on the dynamics and topology of coronal hole boundaries. The most important and most prevalent three-dimensional topology of the interchange process is that of a small-scale bipolar magnetic field interacting with a large-scale background field. We determine the evolution of such a magnetic topology by numerical solution of the fully three-dimensional MHD equations in spherical coordinates. First, we calculate the evolution of a small-scale bipole that initially is completely inside an open field region and then is driven across a coronal hole boundary by photospheric motions. Next the reverse situation is calculated in which the bipole is initially inside the closed region and driven toward the coronal hole boundary. In both cases, we find that the stress imparted by the photospheric motions results in deformation of the separatrix surface between the closed field of the bipole and the background field, leading to rapid current sheet formation and to efficient reconnection. When the bipole is inside the open field region, the reconnection is of the interchange type in that it exchanges open and closed fields. We examine, in detail, the topology of the field as the bipole moves across the coronal hole boundary and find that the field remains well connected throughout this process. Our results, therefore, provide essential support for the quasi-steady models of the open field, because in these models the open and closed flux are assumed to remain topologically distinct as the photosphere evolves. Our results also support the uniqueness hypothesis for open field regions as postulated by Antiochos et al. On the other hand, the results argue against models in which open flux is assumed to diffusively penetrate deeply inside the closed field region under a helmet streamer. We discuss the implications of this work for coronal observations.

Scaling of Sweet-Parker reconnection with secondary islands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassak, P. A.; Shay, M. A.; Drake, J. F.

2009-01-01

Sweet-Parker (collisional) magnetic reconnection at high Lundquist number is modified by secondary islands. Daughton et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 065004 (2009)] suggested the Sweet-Parker model governs the fragmented current sheet segments. If true, the reconnection rate would increase by the square root of the number of secondary islands. High Lundquist number resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations are presented which agree, in a time-averaged sense, with the predicted scaling. This result may have important implications for energy storage before a solar eruption and its subsequent release.

Helicity, Reconnection, and Dynamo Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Hantao

1998-01-01

The inter-relationships between magnetic helicity, magnetic reconnection, and dynamo effects are discussed. In laboratory experiments, where two plasmas are driven to merge, the helicity content of each plasma strongly affects the reconnection rate, as well as the shape of the diffusion region. Conversely, magnetic reconnection events also strongly affect the global helicity, resulting in efficient helicity cancellation (but not dissipation) during counter-helicity reconnection and a finite helicity increase or decrease (but less efficiently than dissipation of magnetic energy) during co-helicity reconnection. Close relationships also exist between magnetic helicity and dynamo effects. The turbulent electromotive force along the mean magnetic field (alpha-effect), due to either electrostatic turbulence or the electron diamagnetic effect, transports mean-field helicity across space without dissipation. This has been supported by direct measurements of helicity flux in a laboratory plasma. When the dynamo effect is driven by electromagnetic turbulence, helicity in the turbulent field is converted to mean-field helicity. In all cases, however, dynamo processes conserve total helicity except for a small battery effect, consistent with the observation that the helicity is approximately conserved during magnetic relaxation

Reconnection at the earth's magnetopause - Magnetic field observations and flux transfer events

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, C. T.

1984-01-01

Theoretical models of plasma acceleration by magnetic-field-line reconnection at the earth magnetopause and the high-resolution three-dimensional plasma measurements obtained with the ISEE satellites are compared and illustrated with diagrams, graphs, drawings, and histograms. The history of reconnection theory and the results of early satellite observations are summarized; the thickness of the magnetopause current layer is discussed; problems in analyzing the polarization of current-layer rotation are considered; and the flux-transfer events responsible for periods of patchy reconnection are characterized in detail. The need for further observations and refinements of the theory to explain the initiation of reconnection and identify the mechanism determining whether it is patchy or steady-state is indicated.

Principle of Minimum Energy in Magnetic Reconnection in a Self-organized Critical Model for Solar Flares

Science.gov (United States)

Farhang, Nastaran; Safari, Hossein; Wheatland, Michael S.

2018-05-01

Solar flares are an abrupt release of magnetic energy in the Sun’s atmosphere due to reconnection of the coronal magnetic field. This occurs in response to turbulent flows at the photosphere that twist the coronal field. Similar to earthquakes, solar flares represent the behavior of a complex system, and expectedly their energy distribution follows a power law. We present a statistical model based on the principle of minimum energy in a coronal loop undergoing magnetic reconnection, which is described as an avalanche process. We show that the distribution of peaks for the flaring events in this self-organized critical system is scale-free. The obtained power-law index of 1.84 ± 0.02 for the peaks is in good agreement with satellite observations of soft X-ray flares. The principle of minimum energy can be applied for general avalanche models to describe many other phenomena.

RECONNECTION-DRIVEN CORONAL-HOLE JETS WITH GRAVITY AND SOLAR WIND

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karpen, J. T.; DeVore, C. R.; Antiochos, S. K. [Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD 20771 (United States); Pariat, E. [LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon (France)

2017-01-01

Coronal-hole jets occur ubiquitously in the Sun's coronal holes, at EUV and X-ray bright points associated with intrusions of minority magnetic polarity. The embedded-bipole model for these jets posits that they are driven by explosive, fast reconnection between the stressed closed field of the embedded bipole and the open field of the surrounding coronal hole. Previous numerical studies in Cartesian geometry, assuming uniform ambient magnetic field and plasma while neglecting gravity and solar wind, demonstrated that the model is robust and can produce jet-like events in simple configurations. We have extended these investigations by including spherical geometry, gravity, and solar wind in a nonuniform, coronal hole-like ambient atmosphere. Our simulations confirm that the jet is initiated by the onset of a kink-like instability of the internal closed field, which induces a burst of reconnection between the closed and external open field, launching a helical jet. Our new results demonstrate that the jet propagation is sustained through the outer corona, in the form of a traveling nonlinear Alfvén wave front trailed by slower-moving plasma density enhancements that are compressed and accelerated by the wave. This finding agrees well with observations of white-light coronal-hole jets, and can explain microstreams and torsional Alfvén waves detected in situ in the solar wind. We also use our numerical results to deduce scaling relationships between properties of the coronal source region and the characteristics of the resulting jet, which can be tested against observations.

A model of fast radio bursts: collisions between episodic magnetic blobs

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Long-Biao; Huang, Yong-Feng; Geng, Jin-Jun; Li, Bing

2018-06-01

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are bright radio pulses from the sky with millisecond durations and Jansky-level flux densities. Their origins are still largely uncertain. Here we suggest a new model for FRBs. We argue that the collision of a white dwarf with a black hole can generate a transient accretion disk, from which powerful episodicmagnetic blobs will be launched. The collision between two consecutive magnetic blobs can result in a catastrophic magnetic reconnection, which releases a large amount of free magnetic energy and forms a forward shock. The shock propagates through the cold magnetized plasma within the blob in the collision region, radiating through the synchrotron maser mechanism, which is responsible for a non-repeating FRB signal. Our calculations show that the theoretical energetics, radiation frequency, duration timescale and event rate can be very consistent with the observational characteristics of FRBs.

Diagnosis of Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Heating

Science.gov (United States)

Dufor, Mikal T.; Jemiolo, Andrew J.; Keesee, Amy; Cassak, Paul; Tu, Weichao; Scime, Earl E.

2017-10-01

The DARTH (Diagnosis of Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Heating) experiment is an intermediate-scale, experimental facility designed to study magnetic reconnection at and below the kinetic scale of ions and electrons. The experiment will have non-perturbative diagnostics with high temporal and three-dimensional spatial resolution, giving it the capability to investigate kinetic-scale physics. Of specific scientific interest are particle acceleration, plasma heating, turbulence and energy dissipation during reconnection. Here we will describe the magnetic field system and the two plasma guns used to create flux ropes that then merge through magnetic reconnection. We will also describe the key diagnostic systems: laser induced fluorescence (LIF) for ion vdf measurements, a 300 GHz microwave scattering system for sub-mm wavelength fluctuation measurements and a Thomson scattering laser for electron vdf measurements. The vacuum chamber is designed to provide unparalleled access for these particle diagnostics. The scientific goals of DARTH are to examine particle acceleration and heating during, the role of three-dimensional instabilities during reconnection, how reconnection ceases, and the role of impurities and asymmetries in reconnection. This work was supported by the by the O'Brien Energy Research Fund.

Self-organized Te Redistribution during Driven Reconnection Processes in High Temperature Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, H.K.; Mazzucato, E.; Luhmann, N.C. Jr.; Domier, C.W.; Xia, Z.; Munsat, T.; Donne, A.J.H.; Classen, I.G.J.; van de Pol, M.J.

2005-01-01

Two-dimensional (2-D) images of electron temperature fluctuations with a high temporal and spatial resolution were employed to study the sawtooth oscillation in TEXTOR tokamak plasmas. The new findings are: (1) 2-D images revealed that the reconnection is localized and permitted the determination of the physical dimensions of the reconnection zone in the poloidal and toroidal planes. (2) The combination of a pressure driven mode and a kink instability leads to an 'X-point' reconnection process. (3) Reconnection can take place anywhere along the q∼1 rational magnetic surface (both high and low field sides). (4) Heat flow from the core to the outside of the inversion radius during the reconnection time is highly asymmetric and the behavior is collective. These new findings are compared with the characteristics of various theoretical models and experimental results for the study of the sawtooth oscillation in tokamak plasmas

Towards cross-hierarchy simulation of collisionless driven reconnection in an open system

OpenAIRE

R., HORIUCHI; H., OHTANI; A., ISHIZAWA

2006-01-01

The basic idea of a cross-hierarchy model for magnetic reconnection in an open system is proposed, where a microscopic system is surrounded by a macroscopic system and the interaction between the two systems is expressed by the plasma inflow and outflow through the system boundary. Collisionless driven reconnection in two-dimensional and three-dimensional open systems is demonstrated using an open particle simulation model developed as a microscopic part of a cross-hierarchy model. It is foun...

Observations & modeling of solar-wind/magnetospheric interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Hoilijoki, Sanni; Von Alfthan, Sebastian; Pfau-Kempf, Yann; Palmroth, Minna; Ganse, Urs

2016-07-01

The majority of the global magnetospheric dynamics is driven by magnetic reconnection, indicating the need to understand and predict reconnection processes and their global consequences. So far, global magnetospheric dynamics has been simulated using mainly magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models, which are approximate but fast enough to be executed in real time or near-real time. Due to their fast computation times, MHD models are currently the only possible frameworks for space weather predictions. However, in MHD models reconnection is not treated kinetically. In this presentation we will compare the results from global kinetic (hybrid-Vlasov) and global MHD simulations. Both simulations are compared with in-situ measurements. We will show that the kinetic processes at the bow shock, in the magnetosheath and at the magnetopause affect global dynamics even during steady solar wind conditions. Foreshock processes cause an asymmetry in the magnetosheath plasma, indicating that the plasma entering the magnetosphere is not symmetrical on different sides of the magnetosphere. Behind the bow shock in the magnetosheath kinetic wave modes appear. Some of these waves propagate to the magnetopause and have an effect on the magnetopause reconnection. Therefore we find that kinetic phenomena have a significant role in the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. While kinetic models cannot be executed in real time currently, they could be used to extract heuristics to be added in the faster MHD models.

Magnetic Reconnection in Extreme Astrophysical Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Uzdensky, Dmitri

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma physics process of breaking ideal-MHD's frozen-in constraints on magnetic field connectivity and of dramatic rearranging of the magnetic topol-ogy, which often leads to a violent release of the free magnetic energy. Reconnection has long been acknowledged to be of great importance in laboratory plasma physics (magnetic fusion) and in space and solar physics (responsible for solar flares and magnetospheric substorms). In addition, its importance in Astrophysics has been increasingly recognized in recent years. However, due to a great diversity of astrophysical environments, the fundamental physics of astrophysical magnetic reconnection can be quite different from that of the traditional recon-nection encountered in the solar system. In particular, environments like the solar corona and the magnetosphere are characterized by relatively low energy densities, where the plasma is ad-equately described as a mixture of electrons and ions whose numbers are conserved and where the dissipated magnetic energy basically stays with the plasma. In contrast, in many high-energy astrophysical phenomena the energy density is so large that photons play as important a role as electrons and ions and, in particular, radiation pressure and radiative cooling become dominant. In this talk I focus on the most extreme case of high-energy-density astrophysical reconnec-tion — reconnection of magnetar-strength (1014 - 1015 Gauss) magnetic fields, important for giant flares in soft-gamma repeaters (SGRs), and for rapid magnetic energy release in either the central engines or in the relativistic jets of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). I outline the key relevant physical processes and present a new theoretical picture of magnetic reconnection in these environments. The corresponding magnetic energy density is so enormous that, when suddenly released, it inevitably heats the plasma to relativistic temperatures, resulting in co-pious production of electron

Comparison of reconnection in magnetosphere and solar corona

Science.gov (United States)

Imada, Shinsuke; Hirai, Mariko; Isobe, Hiroaki; Oka, Mitsuo; Watanabe, Kyoko; Minoshima, Takashi

One of the most famous rapid energy conversion mechanisms in space is a magnetic reconnec-tion. The general concept of a magnetic reconnection is that the rapid energy conversion from magnetic field energy to thermal energy, kinetic energy or non-thermal particle energy. The understanding of rapid energy conversion rates from magnetic field energy to other energy is the fundamental and essential problem in the space physics. One of the important goals for studying magnetic reconnection is to answer what plasma condition/parameter controls the energy conversion rates. Earth's magnetotail has been paid much attention to discuss a mag-netic reconnection, because we can discuss magnetic reconnection characteristics in detail with direct in-situ observation. Recently, solar atmosphere has been focused as a space laboratory for magnetic reconnection because of its variety in plasma condition. So far considerable effort has been devoted toward understanding the energy conversion rates of magnetic reconnection, and various typical features associated with magnetic reconnection have been observed in the Earth's magnetotail and the solar corona. In this talk, we first introduce the variety of plasma condition/parameter in solar corona and Earth's magnetotail. Later, we discuss what plasma condition/parameter controls the energy conversion from magnetic field to especially non-thermal particle. To compare non-thermal electron and ion acceleration in magnetic reconnection, we used Hard X-ray (electron) /Neu-tron monitor (ion) for solar corona and Geotail in-situ measurement (electron and ion) for magnetoatil. We found both of electron and ion accelerations are roughly controlled by re-connection electric field (reconnection rate). However, some detail points are different in ion and electron acceleration. Further, we will discuss what is the major difference between solar corona and Earth's magnetotail for particle acceleration.

Parameterizing the Magnetopause Reconnection Rate from Observations of the Expanding Polar Cap

Science.gov (United States)

Milan, S. E.; Gosling, J. S.; Hubert, B.

2012-04-01

We determine an expression for the magnetopause reconnection rate in terms of upstream interplanetary parameters. We quantify the dayside reconnection rate from observations of the expanding polar cap when the nightside reconnection rate is assumed to be zero. The polar cap open flux is calculated from auroral images collected by the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) Far Ultraviolet camera (FUV), and its rate of increase is correlated with upstream solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field measurements from the OMNI data-set. We find that the reconnection rate is successfully reproduced by considering the magnetic flux transport within a 4 Re-wide channel within the solar wind (with an additional small correction for the solar wind velocity) and an IMF clock angle dependence with an exponent of 9/2. Contrary to several previous studies we do not find a dependence of the reconnection rate on solar wind density. We discuss our findings in the context of previous studies and solar wind-magnetosphere coupling models.

Colour reconnection at LEP2

CERN Document Server

Abreu, P

2002-01-01

The preliminary results on the search of colour reconnection effects (CR) from the four experiments at LEP, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, are reviewed. Extreme models are excluded by studies of standard variables, and on going studies of a method first suggested by L3, the particle flow method (D. Duchesneau, (2001)), are yet inconclusive. (22 refs).

Tripolar electric field Structure in guide field magnetic reconnection

OpenAIRE

S. Fu; S. Huang; M. Zhou; B. Ni; X. Deng

2018-01-01

It has been shown that the guide field substantially modifies the structure of the reconnection layer. For instance, the Hall magnetic and electric fields are distorted in guide field reconnection compared to reconnection without guide fields (i.e., anti-parallel reconnection). In this paper, we performed 2.5-D electromagnetic full particle simulation to study the electric field structures in magnetic reconnection under different initial guide fields (Bg). Once the amplit...

Impulsive nature in collisional driven reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitabata, Hideyuki; Hayashi, Takaya; Sato, Tetsuya.

1995-11-01

Compressible magnetohydrodynamic simulation is carried out in order to investigate energy relaxation process of the driven magnetic reconnection in an open finite system through a long time calculation. It is found that a very impulsive energy release occurs in an intermittent fashion through magnetic reconnection for a continuous magnetic flux injection on the boundary. In the impulsive phase, the reconnection rate is remarkably enhanced up to more than ten times of the driving rate on the boundary. (author)

Reconnections of Wave Vortex Lines

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, M. V.; Dennis, M. R.

2012-01-01

When wave vortices, that is nodal lines of a complex scalar wavefunction in space, approach transversely, their typical crossing and reconnection is a two-stage process incorporating two well-understood elementary events in which locally coplanar hyperbolas switch branches. The explicit description of this reconnection is a pedagogically useful…

Unraveling the Nature of Steady Magnetopause Reconnection Versus Flux Transfer Events

Science.gov (United States)

Raeder, J.

2002-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mode of energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. It is known to occur in different forms depending on solar wind and magnetospheric conditions. In particular, steady reconnection can be distinguished from pulse-like reconnection events which are also known as Flux Transfer Events (FTEs). The formation mechanism of FTEs and their contolling factors remain controversial. We use global MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere to show that for southward IMF conditions: a) steady reconnection preferentially occurs without FTEs when the stagnation flow line nearly coincides with the X-line location, which requires small dipole tilt and nearly due southward IMF, b) FTEs occur when the flow/field symmetry is broken, which requires either a large dipole tilt and/or a substantial east-west component of the IMF, c) the predicted spacecraft signature and the repetition frequency of FTEs in the simulations agrees very well with typical observations, lending credibility to the the model, d) the fundamental process that leads to FTE formation is multiple X-line formation caused by the flow and field patterns in the magnetosheath and requires no intrinsic plasma property variations like variable resistivity, e) if the dipole tilt breaks the symmetry FTEs occur only in the winter hemisphere whereas the reconnection signatures in the summer hemisphere are steady with no bipolar FTE-like signatures, f) if the IMF east-west field component breaks the symmetry FTEs occur in both hemispheres, and g) FTE formation depends on sufficient resolution and low diffusion in the model -- coarse resolution and/or high diffusivity lead to flow-through reconnection signatures that appear unphysical given the frequent observation of FTEs.

Observing Formation of Flux Rope by Tether-cutting Reconnection in the Sun

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xue, Zhike; Yan, Xiaoli; Yang, Liheng; Wang, Jincheng; Zhao, Li, E-mail: zkxue@ynao.ac.cn [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan 650216 (China)

2017-05-10

Tether-cutting reconnection is considered as one mechanism for the formation of a flux rope. It has been proposed for more than 30 years; however, so far, direct observations of it are very rare. In this Letter, we present observations of the formation of a flux rope via tether-cutting reconnection in NOAA AR 11967 on 2014 February 2 by combining observations with the New Vacuum Solar Telescope and the Solar Dynamic Observatory . The tether-cutting reconnection occurs between two sets of highly sheared magnetic arcades. Comprehensive observational evidence of the reconnection is as follows: changes of the connections between the arcades, brightenings at the reconnection site, hot outflows, formation of a flux rope, slow-rise motion of the flux rope, and flux cancelation. The outflows are along three directions from the reconnection site to the footpoints with the velocities from 24 ± 1 km s{sup −1} to 69 ± 5 km s{sup −1}. Additionally, it is found that the newly formed flux rope connects far footpoints and has a left-handed twisted structure with many fine threads and a concave-up-shape structure in the middle. All the observations are in agreement with the tether-cutting model and provide evidence that tether-cutting reconnection leads to the formation of the flux rope associated with flux shear flow and cancelation.

Lessons on collisionless reconnection from quantum fluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasuhito eNarita

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Magnetic reconnection in space plasmas remains a challenge in physics in that the phenomenon is associated with the breakdown of frozen-in magnetic field in a collisionless medium. Such a topology change can also be found in superfluidity, known as the quantum vortex reconnection. We give a plasma physicists' view of superfluidity to obtain insights on essential processes in collisionless reconnection, including discussion of the kinetic and fluid pictures, wave dynamics, and time reversal asymmetry. The most important lesson from the quantum fluid is the scenario that reconnection is controlled by the physics of topological defects on the microscopic scale, and by the physics of turbulence on the macroscopic scale. Quantum vortex reconnection is accompanied by wave emission in the form of Kelvin waves and sound waves, which imprints the time reversal asymmetry.

Dipolarization Fronts from Reconnection Onset

Science.gov (United States)

Sitnov, M. I.; Swisdak, M. M.; Merkin, V. G.; Buzulukova, N.; Moore, T. E.

2012-12-01

Dipolarization fronts observed in the magnetotail are often viewed as signatures of bursty magnetic reconnection. However, until recently spontaneous reconnection was considered to be fully prohibited in the magnetotail geometry because of the linear stability of the ion tearing mode. Recent theoretical studies showed that spontaneous reconnection could be possible in the magnetotail geometries with the accumulation of magnetic flux at the tailward end of the thin current sheet, a distinctive feature of the magnetotail prior to substorm onset. That result was confirmed by open-boundary full-particle simulations of 2D current sheet equilibria, where two magnetotails were separated by an equilibrium X-line and weak external electric field was imposed to nudge the system toward the instability threshold. To investigate the roles of the equilibrium X-line, driving electric field and other parameters in the reconnection onset process we performed a set of 2D PIC runs with different initial settings. The investigated parameter space includes the critical current sheet thickness, flux tube volume per unit magnetic flux and the north-south component of the magnetic field. Such an investigation is critically important for the implementation of kinetic reconnection onset criteria into global MHD codes. The results are compared with Geotail visualization of the magnetotail during substorms, as well as Cluster and THEMIS observations of dipolarization fronts.

Internal and External reconnection in a Series of Homologous Solar Flares

Science.gov (United States)

Sterling, Alphonse C.; Moore, Ronald L.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Using data from the Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (EIT) on SOHO and the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on Yohkoh, we examine a series of morphologically homologous solar flares occurring in NOAA AR 8210 over May 1-2, 1998. An emerging flux region (EFR) impacted against a sunspot to the west and next to a coronal hole to the east is the source of the repeated flaring. An SXT sigmoid parallels the EFR's neutral line at the site of the initial flaring in soft X-rays. In EIT, each flaring episode begins with the formation of a crinkle pattern external to the EFR. These EIT crinkles move out from, and then in toward, the EFR with velocities approximately 20 km/s. A shrinking and expansion of the width of the coronal hole coincides with the crinkle activity, and generation and evolution of a postflare loop system begins near the. time of crinkle formation. Using a schematic based on magnetograms of the region, we suggest that these observations are consistent with the standard reconnection-based model for solar eruptions, but modified by the presence of the additional magnetic fields of the sunspot and coronal hole. In the schematic, internal reconnection begins inside of the EFR-associated fields, unleashing a flare, postflare loops, and a CME. External reconnection, first occurring between the escaping CME and the coronal hole field, and second occurring between fields formed as a result of the first external reconnection, results in the EIT crinkles and changes in the coronal hole boundary. By the end of the second external reconnection, the initial setup is reinstated; thus the sequence can repeat, resulting in morphologically homologous eruptions. Our inferred magnetic topology is similar to that suggested in the "breakout model" of eruptions [Antiochos, 1998], although we cannot determine if our eruptions are released primarily by the breakout mechanism (external reconnection) or, alternatively, are released primarily by the internal reconnection.

SLIP-SQUASHING FACTORS AS A MEASURE OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Titov, V. S.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. A.; Forbes, T. G.; Priest, E. R.

2009-01-01

A general method for describing magnetic reconnection in arbitrary three-dimensional magnetic configurations is proposed. The method is based on the field-line mapping technique previously used only for the analysis of a magnetic structure at a given time. This technique is extended here so as to analyze the evolution of a magnetic structure. Such a generalization is made with the help of new dimensionless quantities called s lip-squashing factors.Their large values define the surfaces that border the reconnected or to-be-reconnected magnetic flux tubes for a given period of time during the magnetic evolution. The proposed method is universal, since it assumes only that the time sequence of evolving magnetic field and the tangential boundary flows are known. The application of the method is illustrated for simple examples, one of which was considered previously by Hesse and coworkers in the framework of the general magnetic reconnection theory. The examples help us to compare these two approaches; it reveals also that, just as for magnetic null points, hyperbolic and cusp minimum points of a magnetic field serve as favorable sites for magnetic reconnection. The new method admits a straightforward numerical implementation and provides a powerful tool for the diagnostics of magnetic reconnection in numerical models of solar-flare-like phenomena in space and laboratory plasmas.

Colour reconnection in DELPHI at LEP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abreu, P.

2003-01-01

The preliminary results of two different methods for the search of colour reconnection effects (CR), used in the DELPHI experiment at LEP are presented. The methods were found to be largely uncorrelated, and a combined likelihood for values of the κ strength parameter in the SK-I model is given

Collisionless magnetic reconnection in a plasmoid chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Markidis

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The kinetic features of plasmoid chain formation and evolution are investigated by two dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. Magnetic reconnection is initiated in multiple X points by the tearing instability. Plasmoids form and grow in size by continuously coalescing. Each chain plasmoid exhibits a strong out-of plane core magnetic field and an out-of-plane electron current that drives the coalescing process. The disappearance of the X points in the coalescence process are due to anti-reconnection, a magnetic reconnection where the plasma inflow and outflow are reversed with respect to the original reconnection flow pattern. Anti-reconnection is characterized by the Hall magnetic field quadrupole signature. Two new kinetic features, not reported by previous studies of plasmoid chain evolution, are here revealed. First, intense electric fields develop in-plane normally to the separatrices and drive the ion dynamics in the plasmoids. Second, several bipolar electric field structures are localized in proximity of the plasmoid chain. The analysis of the electron distribution function and phase space reveals the presence of counter-streaming electron beams, unstable to the two stream instability, and phase space electron holes along the reconnection separatrices.

Relativistic reconnection in near critical Schwinger field

Science.gov (United States)

Schoeffler, Kevin; Grismayer, Thomas; Fonseca, Ricardo; Silva, Luis; Uzdensky, Dmitri

2017-10-01

Magnetic reconnection in relativistic pair plasma with QED radiation and pair-creation effects in the presence of strong magnetic fields is investigated using 2D particle-in-cell simulations. The simulations are performed with the QED module of the OSIRIS framework that includes photon emission by electrons and positrons and single photon decay into pairs (non-linear Breit-Wheeler). We investigate the effectiveness of reconnection as a pair- and gamma-ray production mechanism across a broad range of reconnecting magnetic fields, including those approaching the critical quantum (Schwinger) field, and we also explore how the radiative cooling and pair-production processes affect reconnection. We find that in the extreme field regime, the magnetic energy is mostly converted into radiation rather than into particle kinetic energy. This study is a first concrete step towards better understanding of magnetic reconnection as a possible mechanism powering gamma-ray flares in magnetar magnetospheres.

Electron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI in strong magnetic guide field reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. A. Treumann

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The ECMI model of electromagnetic radiation from electron holes is shown to be applicable to spontaneous magnetic reconnection. We apply it to reconnection in strong current-aligned magnetic guide fields. Such guide fields participate only passively in reconnection, which occurs in the antiparallel components to both sides of the guide-field-aligned current sheets with current carried by kinetic Alfvén waves. Reconnection generates long (the order of hundreds of electron inertial scales electron exhaust regions at the reconnection site X point, which are extended perpendicular to the current and the guide fields. Exhausts contain a strongly density-depleted hot electron component and have properties similar to electron holes. Exhaust electron momentum space distributions are highly deformed, exhibiting steep gradients transverse to both the reconnecting and guide fields. Such properties suggest application of the ECMI mechanism with the fundamental ECMI X-mode emission beneath the nonrelativistic guide field cyclotron frequency in localized source regions. An outline of the mechanism and its prospects is given. Potential applications are the kilometric radiation (AKR in auroral physics, solar radio emissions during flares, planetary emissions and astrophysical scenarios (radiation from stars and compact objects involving the presence of strong magnetic fields and field-aligned currents. Drift of the exhausts along the guide field maps the local field and plasma properties. Escape of radiation from the exhaust and radiation source region still poses a problem. The mechanism can be studied in 2-D particle simulations of strong guide field reconnection which favours 2-D, mapping the deformation of the electron distribution perpendicular to the guide field, and using it in the numerical calculation of the ECMI growth rate. The mechanism suggests also that reconnection in general may become a source of the ECMI with or without guide fields. This is

Electron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI) in strong magnetic guide field reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Treumann, Rudolf A.; Baumjohann, Wolfgang

2017-08-01

The ECMI model of electromagnetic radiation from electron holes is shown to be applicable to spontaneous magnetic reconnection. We apply it to reconnection in strong current-aligned magnetic guide fields. Such guide fields participate only passively in reconnection, which occurs in the antiparallel components to both sides of the guide-field-aligned current sheets with current carried by kinetic Alfvén waves. Reconnection generates long (the order of hundreds of electron inertial scales) electron exhaust regions at the reconnection site X point, which are extended perpendicular to the current and the guide fields. Exhausts contain a strongly density-depleted hot electron component and have properties similar to electron holes. Exhaust electron momentum space distributions are highly deformed, exhibiting steep gradients transverse to both the reconnecting and guide fields. Such properties suggest application of the ECMI mechanism with the fundamental ECMI X-mode emission beneath the nonrelativistic guide field cyclotron frequency in localized source regions. An outline of the mechanism and its prospects is given. Potential applications are the kilometric radiation (AKR) in auroral physics, solar radio emissions during flares, planetary emissions and astrophysical scenarios (radiation from stars and compact objects) involving the presence of strong magnetic fields and field-aligned currents. Drift of the exhausts along the guide field maps the local field and plasma properties. Escape of radiation from the exhaust and radiation source region still poses a problem. The mechanism can be studied in 2-D particle simulations of strong guide field reconnection which favours 2-D, mapping the deformation of the electron distribution perpendicular to the guide field, and using it in the numerical calculation of the ECMI growth rate. The mechanism suggests also that reconnection in general may become a source of the ECMI with or without guide fields. This is of particular

Reconnection Mediated by Magnetic Fractures and the Solar Flare

Science.gov (United States)

Haerendel, Gerhard

2018-03-01

Reconnection of sheared magnetic fields is commonly treated by regarding the component perpendicular to the antiparallel components as a largely inert guide field. In this paper an alternative is proposed in which the free energy residing in the shear field is being converted prior to reconnection. This happens in high-density, dissipative current sheets bordering the reconnection site. A global scenario is presented in which low-intensity currents out of the photosphere are converging into the narrow, high-intensity currents at high altitude. This is enabled by the obliqueness of the latter. The very short timescale of the energy conversion causes a lateral propagation of the current sheets. In a quasi-stationary situation, it balances the reconnection rate, which turns out to be much lower than in guide-field approaches. Another important consequence of the obliqueness is the field-parallel emission of runaway electrons. Accelerated up to tens of keV, they are possibly important contributors to the production of hard X-rays during the impulsive phase of a flare, but only in areas of upward-directed currents. Quantitative evaluation of the model predicts various potentially observable properties, such as width and propagation speed of the generated flare ribbons, spatial dependences of the electron spectrum, size of the area of energy deposition, and successive decrease of the shear angle between conjugate footpoints. The presented theoretical model can account for the observed brightness asymmetry of flare ribbons with respect to the direction of the vertical currents.

SAR Observation and Numerical Simulation of Internal Solitary Wave Refraction and Reconnection Behind the Dongsha Atoll

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, T.; Liang, J. J.; Li, X.-M.; Sha, J.

2018-01-01

The refraction and reconnection of internal solitary waves (ISWs) around the Dongsha Atoll (DSA) in the northern South China Sea (SCS) are investigated based on spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations and numerical simulations. In general, a long ISW front propagating from the deep basin of the northern SCS splits into northern and southern branches when it passes the DSA. In this study, the statistics of Envisat Advanced SAR (ASAR) images show that the northern and southern wave branches can reconnect behind the DSA, but the reconnection location varies. A previously developed nonlinear refraction model is set up to simulate the refraction and reconnection of the ISWs behind the DSA, and the model is used to evaluate the effects of ocean stratification, background currents, and incoming ISW characteristics at the DSA on the variation in reconnection locations. The results of the first realistic simulation agree with consecutive TerraSAR-X (TSX) images captured within 12 h of each other. Further sensitivity simulations show that ocean stratification, background currents, and initial wave amplitudes all affect the phase speeds of wave branches and therefore shift their reconnection locations while shapes and locations of incoming wave branches upstream of the DSA profoundly influence the subsequent propagation paths. This study clarifies the variation in reconnection locations of ISWs downstream of the DSA and reveals the important mechanisms governing the reconnection process, which can improve our understanding of the propagation of ISWs near the DSA.

Study of driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Masaaki; Ji, H.; Hsu, S.; Carter, T.; Kulsrud, R.; Bretz, N.; Jobes, F.; Ono, Yasushi; Perkins, F.

1998-01-01

The Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) has been constructed to investigate the fundamental physics of magnetic reconnection in a well controlled laboratory setting. This device creates an environment satisfying the criteria for a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) plasma (S much-gt 1, ρ i much-lt L). The boundary conditions can be controlled externally, and experiments with fully three-dimensional reconnection are now possible. In the initial experiments, the effects of the third vector component of reconnecting fields have been studied. Two distinctively different shapes of neutral sheet current layers, depending on the third component, are identified during driven magnetic reconnection. Without the third component (anti-parallel or null-helicity reconnection), a thin double-Y shaped diffusion region is identified. A neutral sheet current profile is measured accurately to be as narrow as order ion gyro-radius. In the presence of an appreciable third component (co-helicity reconnection), an O-shaped diffusion region appears and grows into a spheromak configuration

Comparison of S3-3 polar cap potential drops with the interplanetary magnetic field and models of magnetopause reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wygant, J.R.; Torbert, R.B.; Mozer, F.S.

1983-01-01

Measurements of the cross polar cap electric potential, by the double probe electric field experiment aboard S3-3, from 55 orbits in the dawn-dusk plane are compared with the reconnection electric fields predicted by a variety of models, both theoretical and experimental. The purpose of these comparisons is to understand the extent to which nonreconnection contributes to the polar cap potential must be included, to determine the time response of the polar cap potential to time varying reconnection rates, and to determine the efficiency and saturation levels of the reconnection process. It is found that (1) After several hours of northward interplanetary magnetic field, the cross polar cap potential declines to progressively lower values than those after 1 hour of northward interplanetary magnetic field. This suggests that it requires several hours for the ionospheric polar cap potential to respond to the ''turning off'' of ''turning down'' of the reconnection process. (2) The decay of the polar cap potential is used to demonstrate that contirubtions to the polar cap potential not associated with the reconnection process can be limited to less than 20 kV. It is shown that contributions to the polar cap potential that scale with the dynamic pressure of the solar wind are limited to less than 1 kV. (3) The cross polar cap electric potential is best predicted by a weighted sum of contributions from interplanetary magnetic field parameter over the 4 hours previous to the measurement. The weighting functions have the form of an exponential decay 2--3 hours with the strongest weight on interplanetary parameters over the 1 hour previous to the measurement

Magnetic reconnection and self-organized plasma systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Masaaki; Ji, Hantao

2000-01-01

In this paper the recent results from the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at PPPL are discussed along with their relationship to observations from solar flares, the magnetosphere, and current carrying pinch discharges such as tokamaks, reversed field pinches, spheromaks and field reversed configurations. It is found that the reconnection speed decreases as the angle of merging field lines decreases, consistent with the well-established observation in the dayside magnetosphere. This observation can also provide a qualitative interpretation of a generally observed trend in pinch plasmas, namely that magnetic field diffuses (or reconnects) faster when magnetic shear is larger. A recently conceived research project, SPIRIT (Self-organized Plasma with Induction, Reconnection, and Injection Techniques), will also be discussed. (author)

The Roles of Fluid Compression and Shear in Electron Energization during Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaocan; Guo, Fan; Li, Hui; Birn, Joachim

2018-03-01

Particle acceleration in space and astrophysical reconnection sites is an important unsolved problem in studies of magnetic reconnection. Earlier kinetic simulations have identified several acceleration mechanisms that are associated with particle drift motions. Here, we show that, for sufficiently large systems, the energization processes due to particle drift motions can be described as fluid compression and shear, and that the shear energization is proportional to the pressure anisotropy of energetic particles. By analyzing results from fully kinetic simulations, we show that the compression energization dominates the acceleration of high-energy particles in reconnection with a weak guide field, and the compression and shear effects are comparable when the guide field is 50% of the reconnecting component. Spatial distributions of those energization effects reveal that reconnection exhausts, contracting islands, and island-merging regions are the three most important regions for compression and shear acceleration. This study connects particle energization by particle guiding-center drift motions with that due to background fluid motions, as in the energetic particle transport theory. It provides foundations for building particle transport models for large-scale reconnection acceleration such as those in solar flares.

Magnetic Reconnection and Particle Acceleration in the Solar Corona

Science.gov (United States)

Neukirch, Thomas

Reconnection plays a major role for the magnetic activity of the solar atmosphere, for example solar flares. An interesting open problem is how magnetic reconnection acts to redistribute the stored magnetic energy released during an eruption into other energy forms, e.g. gener-ating bulk flows, plasma heating and non-thermal energetic particles. In particular, finding a theoretical explanation for the observed acceleration of a large number of charged particles to high energies during solar flares is presently one of the most challenging problems in solar physics. One difficulty is the vast difference between the microscopic (kinetic) and the macro-scopic (MHD) scales involved. Whereas the phenomena observed to occur on large scales are reasonably well explained by the so-called standard model, this does not seem to be the case for the small-scale (kinetic) aspects of flares. Over the past years, observations, in particular by RHESSI, have provided evidence that a naive interpretation of the data in terms of the standard solar flare/thick target model is problematic. As a consequence, the role played by magnetic reconnection in the particle acceleration process during solar flares may have to be reconsidered.

Magnetic field, reconnection, and particle acceleration in extragalactic jets

Science.gov (United States)

Romanova, M. M.; Lovelace, R. V. E.

1992-01-01

Extra-galactic radio jets are investigated theoretically taking into account that the jet magnetic field is dragged out from the central rotating source by the jet flow. Thus, magnetohydrodynamic models of jets are considered with zero net poloidal current and flux, and consequently a predominantly toroidal magnetic field. The magnetic field naturally has a cylindrical neutral layer. Collisionless reconnection of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the neutral layer acts to generate a non-axisymmetric radial magnetic field. In turn, axial shear-stretching of reconnected toroidal field gives rise to a significant axial magnetic field if the flow energy-density is larger than the energy-density of the magnetic field. This can lead to jets with an apparent longitudinal magnetic field as observed in the Fanaroff-Riley class II jets. In the opposite limit, where the field energy-density is large, the field remains mainly toroidal as observed in Fanaroff-Riley class I jets. Driven collisionless reconnection at neutral layers may lead to acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies in the weak electrostatic field of the neutral layer. A simple model is discussed for particle acceleration at neutral layers in electron/positron and electron/proton plasmas.

Green's function of compressible Petschek-type magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penz, Thomas; Semenov, V.S.; Ivanova, V.V.; Heyn, M.F.; Ivanov, I.B.; Biernat, H.K.

2006-01-01

We present a method to analyze the wave and shock structures arising from Petschek-type magnetic reconnection. Based on a time-dependent analytical approach developed by Heyn and Semenov [Phys. Plasmas 3, 2725 (1996)] and Semenov et al. [Phys. Plasmas 11, 62 (2004)], we calculate the perturbations caused by a delta function-shaped reconnection electric field, which allows us to achieve a representation of the plasma variables in the form of Green's functions. Different configurations for the initial conditions are considered. In the case of symmetric, antiparallel magnetic fields and symmetric plasma density, the well-known structure of an Alfven discontinuity, a fast body wave, a slow shock, a slow wave, and a tube wave occurs. In the case of asymmetric, antiparallel magnetic fields, additionally surface waves are found. We also discuss the case of symmetric, antiparallel magnetic fields and asymmetric densities, which leads to a faster propagation in the lower half plane, causing side waves forming a Mach cone in the upper half plane. Complex effects like anisotropic propagation characteristics, intrinsic wave coupling, and the generation of different nonlinear and linear wave modes in a finite β plasma are retained. The temporal evolution of these wave and shock structures is shown

Test of colour reconnection models using three-jet events in hadronic Z decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schael, S.; Barate, R.; Bruneliere, R.; De Bonis, I.; Decamp, D.; Goy, C.; Jezequel, S.; Lees, J.-P.; Martin, F.; Merle, E.; Minard, M.-N.; Pietrzyk, B.; Trocme, B.; Bravo, S.; Casado, M.P.; Chmeissani, M.; Crespo, J.M.; Fernandez, E.; Fernandez-Bosman, M.; Garrido, L.; Martinez, M.; Pacheco, A.; Ruiz, H.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; De Filippis, N.; de Palma, M.; Iaselli, G.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; Nuzzo, S.; Ranieri, A.; Raso, G.; Ruggieri, F.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Tempesta, P.; Tricomi, A.; Zito, G.; Huang, X.; Lin, J.; Ouyang, Q.; Wang, T.; Xie, Y.; Xu, R.; Xue, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, W.; Abbaneo, D.; Barklow, T.; Buchmueller, O.; Cattaneo, M.; Clerbaux, B.; Drevermann, H.; Forty, R.W.; Frank, M.; Gianotti, F.; Hansen, J.B.; Harvey, J.; Hutchcroft, D.E.; Janot, P.; Jost, B.; Kado, M.; Mato, P.; Moutoussi, A.; Ranjard, F.; Rolandi, L.; Schlatter, D.; Teubert, F.; Valassi, A.; Videau, I.; Badaud, F.; Dessagne, S.; Falvard, A.; Fayolle, D.; Gay, P.; Jousset, J.; Michel, B.; Monteil, S.; Pallin, D.; Pascolo, J.M.; Perret, P.; Hansen, J.D.; Hansen, J.R.; Hansen, P.H.; Kraan, A.C.; Nilsson, B.S.; Kyriakis, A.; Markou, C.; Simopoulou, E.; Vayaki, A.; Zachariadou, K.; Blondel, A.; Brient, J.-C.; Machefert, F.; Rouge, A.; Videau, H.; Ciulli, V.; Focardi, E.; Parrini, G.; Antonelli, A.; Antonelli, M.; Bencivenni, G.; Bossi, F.; Capon, G.; Cerutti, F.; Chiarella, V.; Laurelli, P.; Mannocchi, G.; Murtas, G.P.; Passalacqua, L.; Kennedy, J.; Lynch, J.G.; Negus, P.; O'Shea, V.; Thompson, A.S.; Wasserbaech, S.; Cavanaugh, R.; Dhamotharan, S.; Geweniger, C.; Hanke, P.; Hepp, V.; Kluge, E.E.; Putzer, A.; Stenzel, H.; Tittel, K.; Wunsch, M.; Beuselinck, R.; Cameron, W.; Davies, G.; Dornan, P.J.; Girone, M.; Marinelli, N.; Nowell, J.; Rutherford, S.A.; Sedgbeer, J.K.; Thompson, J.C.; White, R.; Ghete, V.M.; Girtler, P.; Jussel, P.; Kneringer, E.; Kuhn, D.; Rudolph, G.; Bouhova-Thacker, E.; Bowdery, C.K.; Clarke, D.P.; Ellis, G.; Finch, A.J.; Foster, F.; Hughes, G.; Jones, R.W.L.; Pearson, M.R.; Robertson, N.A.; Smizanska, M.; van der Aa, O.; Delaere, C.; Leibenguth, G.; Lemaitre, V.; Blumenschein, U.; Hoelldorfer, F.; Jakobs, K.; Kayser, F.; Mueller, A.-S.; Renk, B.; Sander, H.-G.; Schmeling, S.; Wachsmuth, H.; Zeitnitz, C.; Ziegler, T.; Bonissent, A.; Coyle, P.; Curtil, C.; Ealet, A.; Fouchez, D.; Payre, P.; Tilquin, A.; Ragusa, F.; David, A.; Dietl, H.; Ganis, G.; Huettmann, K.; Luetjens, G.; Maenner, W.; Moser, H.-G.; Settles, R.; Villegas, M.; Wolf, G.; Boucrot, J.; Callot, O.; Davier, M.; Duflot, L.; Grivaz, J.-F.; Heusse, P.; Jacholkowska, A.; Serin, L.; Veillet, J.-J.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, G.; Boccali, T.; Foa, L.; Giammanco, A.; Giassi, A.; Ligabue, F.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Sanguinetti, G.; Sciaba, A.; Sguazzoni, G.; Spagnolo, P.; Tenchini, R.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P.G.; Awunor, O.; Blair, G.A.; Cowan, G.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Green, M.G.; Medcalf, T.; Misiejuk, A.; Strong, J.A.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Clifft, R.W.; Edgecock, T.R.; Norton, P.R.; Tomalin, I.R.; Ward, J.J.; Bloch-Devaux, B.; Boumediene, D.; Colas, P.; Fabbro, B.; Lancon, E.; Lemaire, M.-C.; Locci, E.; Perez, P.; Rander, J.; Tuchming, B.; Vallage, B.; Litke, A.M.; Taylor, G.; Booth, C.N.; Cartwright, S.; Combley, F.; Hodgson, P.N.; Lehto, M.; Thompson, L.F.; Boehrer, A.; Brandt, S.; Grupen, C.; Hess, J.; Ngac, A.; Prange, G.; Borean, C.; Giannini, G.; He, H.; Putz, J.; Rothberg, J.; Armstrong, S.R.; Berkelman, K.; Cranmer, K.; Ferguson, D.P.S.; Gao, Y.; Gonzalez, S.; Hayes, O.J.; Hu, H.; Jin, S.; Kile, J.; McNamara III, P.A.; Nielsen, J.; Pan, Y.B.; von Wimmersperg-Toeller, J.H.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wu, J.; Wu, S.L.; Wu, X.; Zobernig, G.

2006-01-01

Hadronic Z decays into three jets are used to test QCD models of colour reconnection (CR). A sensitive quantity is the rate of gluon jets with a gap in the particle rapidity distribution and zero jet charge. Gluon jets are identified by either energy-ordering or by tagging two b-jets. The rates predicted by two string-based tunable CR models, one implemented in JETSET (the GAL model), the other in ARIADNE, are too high and disfavoured by the data, whereas the rates from the corresponding non-CR standard versions of these generators are too low. The data can be described by the GAL model assuming a small value for the R 0 parameter in the range 0.01-0.02. (orig.)

Test of Colour Reconnection Models using Three-Jet Events in Hadronic Z Decays

CERN Document Server

Schael, S; Brunelière, R; De Bonis, I; Décamp, D; Goy, C; Jézéquel, S; Lees, J P; Martin, F; Merle, E; Minard, M N; Pietrzyk, B; Trocmé, B; Bravo, S; Casado, M P; Chmeissani, M; Crespo, J M; Fernández, E; Fernández-Bosman, M; Garrido, L; Martínez, M; Pacheco, A; Ruiz, H; Colaleo, A; Creanza, D; De Filippis, N; De Palma, M; Iaselli, G; Maggi, G; Maggi, M; Nuzzo, S; Ranieri, A; Raso, G; Ruggieri, F; Selvaggi, G; Silvestris, L; Tempesta, P; Tricomi, A; Zito, G; Huang, X; Lin, J; Ouyang, Q; Wang, T; Xie, Y; Xu, R; Xue, S; Zhang, J; Zhang, L; Zhao, W; Abbaneo, D; Barklow, T; Buchmüller, O L; Cattaneo, M; Clerbaux, B; Drevermann, H; Forty, R W; Frank, M; Gianotti, F; Hansen, J B; Harvey, J; Hutchcroft, D E; Janot, P; Jost, B; Kado, M; Mato, P; Moutoussi, A; Ranjard, F; Rolandi, Luigi; Schlatter, W D; Teubert, F; Valassi, A; Videau, I; Badaud, F; Dessagne, S; Falvard, A; Fayolle, D; Gay, P; Jousset, J; Michel, B; Monteil, S; Pallin, D; Pascolo, J M; Perret, P; Hansen, J D; Hansen, J R; Hansen, P H; Kraan, A C; Nilsson, B S; Kyriakis, A; Markou, C; Simopoulou, E; Vayaki, A; Zachariadou, K; Blondel, A; Brient, J C; Machefert, F; Rougé, A; Videau, H L; Ciulli, V; Focardi, E; Parrini, G; Antonelli, A; Antonelli, M; Bencivenni, G; Bossi, F; Capon, G; Cerutti, F; Chiarella, V; Laurelli, P; Mannocchi, G; Murtas, G P; Passalacqua, L; Kennedy, J; Lynch, J G; Negus, P; O'Shea, V; Thompson, A S; Wasserbaech, S; Cavanaugh, R J; Dhamotharan, S; Geweniger, C; Hanke, P; Hepp, V; Kluge, E E; Putzer, A; Stenzel, H; Tittel, K; Wunsch, M; Beuselinck, R; Cameron, W; Davies, G; Dornan, P J; Girone, M; Marinelli, N; Nowell, J; Rutherford, S A; Sedgbeer, J K; Thompson, J C; White, R; Ghete, V M; Girtler, P; Kneringer, E; Kuhn, D; Rudolph, G; Bouhova-Thacker, E; Bowdery, C K; Clarke, D P; Ellis, G; Finch, A J; Foster, F; Hughes, G; Jones, R W L; Pearson, M R; Robertson, N A; Smizanska, M; van der Aa, O; Delaere, C; Leibenguth, G; Lemaître, V; Blumenschein, U; Hölldorfer, F; Jakobs, K; Kayser, F; Müller, A S; Renk, B; Sander, H G; Schmeling, S; Wachsmuth, H W; Zeitnitz, C; Ziegler, T; Bonissent, A; Coyle, P; Curtil, C; Ealet, A; Fouchez, D; Payre, P; Tilquin, A; Ragusa, F; David, A; Dietl, H; Ganis, G; Hüttmann, K; Lütjens, G; Männer, W; Moser, H G; Settles, R; Villegas, M; Wolf, G; Boucrot, J; Callot, O; Davier, M; Duflot, L; Grivaz, J F; Heusse, P; Jacholkowska, A; Serin, L; Veillet, J J; Azzurri, P; Bagliesi, G; Boccali, T; Foà, L; Giammanco, A; Giassi, A; Ligabue, F; Messineo, A; Palla, F; Sanguinetti, G; Sciabà, A; Sguazzoni, G; Spagnolo, P; Tenchini, R; Venturi, A; Verdini, P G; Awunor, O; Blair, G A; Cowan, G; García-Bellido, A; Green, M G; Medcalf, T; Misiejuk, A; Strong, J A; Teixeira-Dias, P; Clifft, R W; Edgecock, T R; Norton, P R; Tomalin, I R; Ward, J J; Bloch-Devaux, B; Boumediene, D E; Colas, P; Fabbro, B; Lançon, E; Lemaire, M C; Locci, E; Pérez, P; Rander, J; Tuchming, B; Vallage, B; Litke, A M; Taylor, G; Booth, C N; Cartwright, S; Combley, F; Hodgson, P N; Lehto, M H; Thompson, L F; Böhrer, A; Brandt, S; Grupen, C; Hess, J; Ngac, A; Prange, G; Borean, C; Giannini, G; He, H; Pütz, J; Rothberg, J E; Armstrong, S R; Berkelman, K; Cranmer, K; Ferguson, D P S; Gao, Y; González, S; Hayes, O J; Hu, H; Jin, S; Kile, J; McNamara, P A; Nielsen, J; Pan, Y B; Von Wimmersperg-Töller, J H; Wiedenmann, W; Wu, J; Wu, S L; Wu, X; Zobernig, G; Dissertori, G

2006-01-01

Hadronic Z decays into three jets are used to test QCD models of colour reconnection (CR). A sensitive quantity is the rate of gluon jets with a gap in the particle rapidity distribution and zero jet charge. Gluon jets are identified by either energy-ordering or by tagging two b-jets. The rates predicted by two string-based tunable CR models, one implemented in JETSET (the GAL model), the other in ARIADNE, are too high and disfavoured by the data, whereas the rates from the corresponding non-CR standard versions of these generators are too low. The data can be described by the GAL model assuming a small value for the R_0 parameter in the range 0.01-0.02.

The Impact of Geometrical Constraints on Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Aunai, Nico; Kuznetsova, Masha; Frolov, Rebekah; Black, Carrrie

2012-01-01

One of the most often cited features associated with collisionless magnetic reconnection is a Hall-type magnetic field, which leads, in antiparallel geometries, to a quadrupolar magnetic field signature. The combination of this out of plane magnetic field with the reconnection in-plane magnetic field leads to angling of magnetic flux tubes out of the plane defined by the incoming magnetic flux. Because it is propagated by Whistler waves, the quadrupolar field can extend over large distances in relatively short amounts of time - in fact, it will extend to the boundary of any modeling domain. In reality, however, the surrounding plasma and magnetic field geometry, defined, for example, by the overall solar wind flow, will in practice limit the extend over which a flux tube can be angled out of the main plain. This poses the question to what extent geometric constraints limit or control the reconnection process and this is the question investigated in this presentation. The investigation will involve a comparison of calculations, where open boundary conditions are set up to mimic either free or constrained geometries. We will compare momentum transport, the geometry of the reconnection regions, and the acceleration if ions and electrons to provide the current sheet in the outflow jet.

Color-reconnection in Z → 3 jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudolph, G.

2004-01-01

The electric charge distribution of gluon jets with a rapidity gap is sensitive to possible effects of color reordering in the final quark-gluon cascade. High statistics data from the ALEPH experiment at LEP-1 are used to test the predictions of different color reconnection models. (author)

Comparison of multi-fluid moment models with particle-in-cell simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Liang; Germaschewski, K.; Hakim, Ammar H.; Bhattacharjee, A.

2015-01-01

We introduce an extensible multi-fluid moment model in the context of collisionless magnetic reconnection. This model evolves full Maxwell equations and simultaneously moments of the Vlasov-Maxwell equation for each species in the plasma. Effects like electron inertia and pressure gradient are self-consistently embedded in the resulting multi-fluid moment equations, without the need to explicitly solving a generalized Ohm's law. Two limits of the multi-fluid moment model are discussed, namely, the five-moment limit that evolves a scalar pressures for each species and the ten-moment limit that evolves the full anisotropic, non-gyrotropic pressure tensor for each species. We first demonstrate analytically and numerically that the five-moment model reduces to the widely used Hall magnetohydrodynamics (Hall MHD) model under the assumptions of vanishing electron inertia, infinite speed of light, and quasi-neutrality. Then, we compare ten-moment and fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a large scale Harris sheet reconnection problem, where the ten-moment equations are closed with a local linear collisionless approximation for the heat flux. The ten-moment simulation gives reasonable agreement with the PIC results regarding the structures and magnitudes of the electron flows, the polarities and magnitudes of elements of the electron pressure tensor, and the decomposition of the generalized Ohm's law. Possible ways to improve the simple local closure towards a nonlocal fully three-dimensional closure are also discussed

Impulsive relaxation process in MHD driven reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitabata, H.; Hayashi, T.; Sato, T.

1997-01-01

Compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation is carried out in order to investigate energy relaxation process of the driven magnetic reconnection in an open finite system through a long time calculation. It is found that a very impulsive energy release occurs in an intermittent fashion through magnetic reconnection for a continuous magnetic flux injection on the boundary. We focus our attention on the detailed process in the impulsive phase, which is the reconnection rate is remarkably enhanced up. (author)

An Electromagnetic Drift Instability in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) and its Importance for Magnetic Reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell Kulsrud; Hantao Ji; Will Fox; Masaaki Yamada

2005-01-01

The role which resistivity plays in breaking magnetic field lines, heating the plasma, and plasma field slippage during magnetic reconnection is discussed. Magnetic fluctuations are observed in the MRX (Magnetic Reconnection Experiment) that are believed to provide resistive friction or wave resistivity. A localized linear theory has been proposed for their origin as an obliquely propagating Lower Hybrid Drift Instability. In this paper, the linear theory of the instability is summarized, and the resulting heating and slippage are calculated from quasi-linear theory. Making use of measured amplitudes of the magnetic fluctuations in the MRX the amount of these effects is estimated. Within the experimental uncertainties they are shown to be quite important for the magnetic reconnection process

Dayside and nightside magnetic field responses at 780 km altitude to dayside reconnection.

Science.gov (United States)

Snekvik, Kristian; Østgaard, Nikolai; Tenfjord, Paul; Petter Reistad, Jone; Magnus Laundal, Karl; Milan, Stephen E.; Haaland, Stein E.

2017-04-01

During southward IMF, dayside reconnection will drive the Dungey cycle in the Earth's magnetosphere, which is manifested as a two cell convection pattern in the ionosphere. We address the response of the ionospheric convection to changes in the dayside reconnection rate. Previous studies have reported two apparently contradicting results. The first is that the ionospheric convection responds within one minute both near noon and near midnight. The second is that the response is 10-20 minutes delayed near midnight compared to near noon. To test these apparently contradicting scenarios, we have performed a statistical investigation of the response by examining the magnetic field perturbations at 780 km altitude due to dayside reconnection. The AMPERE data products derived from the Iridium constellation provide global maps of the disturbance magnetic field. The time development of the convection is modelled as the sum of an accelerating force and a decelerating force. Furthermore, the accelerating force is parametrised as a linear sum of past reconnection rates, while the decelerating force is proportional to the convection itself. This results in an asymptotic model which gradually reaches a steady-state value. By fitting the data to the model, we confirm previous reports of an almost immediate response both near noon and near midnight combined with a 10-20 minutes reconfiguration time of the two cell convection pattern. The e-folding time of the asymptotic model was found to be about 40 minutes. We present a new explanation of the response and reconfiguration times based on how MHD waves propagate in the magnetospheric lobes when newly reconnected open flux tubes are added to the lobes, and the magnetopause flaring angle increases.

Reconnection in space plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terasawa, T.

1984-01-01

One of the outstanding problems in space physics is to understand the physical mechanism which governs energy conversion process from magnetic to particle energies, a typical one being the reconnection mechanism. As a possible candidate process of the magnetic reconnection in space, tearing mode instability has been considered. In this paper are discussed selected topics related to the understanding of the tearing mode instability; the effect of the boundary condition, the resonant particle and current filamentation effects, vorticity excitation, and the Hall current effect. 31 refs, 12 figs

Magnetic reconnection and stochastic plasmoid chains in high-Lundquist-number plasmas

KAUST Repository

Loureiro, N. F.

2012-04-13

A numerical study of magnetic reconnection in the large-Lundquist-number (S), plasmoid-dominated regime is carried out for S up to 10 7. The theoretical model of Uzdensky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 235002 (2010)] is confirmed and partially amended. The normalized reconnection rate is Ẽ eff ∼ 0.02 independently of S for S ≫ 10 4. The plasmoid flux (ψ) and half-width (w x) distribution functions scale as f (ψ) ∼ - ψ -2 and f (w x) ∼ w x -2. The joint distribution of ψ and w x shows that plasmoids populate a triangular region w x ≲ψ/B 0, where B 0 is the reconnecting field. It is argued that this feature is due to plasmoid coalescence. Macroscopic "monster" plasmoids with w x ∼ 10 % of the system size are shown to emerge in just a few Alfvén times, independently of S, suggesting that large disruptive events are an inevitable feature of large-S reconnection. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Magnetic reconnection and stochastic plasmoid chains in high-Lundquist-number plasmas

KAUST Repository

Loureiro, N. F.; Samtaney, Ravi; Schekochihin, A. A.; Uzdensky, D. A.

2012-01-01

A numerical study of magnetic reconnection in the large-Lundquist-number (S), plasmoid-dominated regime is carried out for S up to 10 7. The theoretical model of Uzdensky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 235002 (2010)] is confirmed and partially amended. The normalized reconnection rate is Ẽ eff ∼ 0.02 independently of S for S ≫ 10 4. The plasmoid flux (ψ) and half-width (w x) distribution functions scale as f (ψ) ∼ - ψ -2 and f (w x) ∼ w x -2. The joint distribution of ψ and w x shows that plasmoids populate a triangular region w x ≲ψ/B 0, where B 0 is the reconnecting field. It is argued that this feature is due to plasmoid coalescence. Macroscopic "monster" plasmoids with w x ∼ 10 % of the system size are shown to emerge in just a few Alfvén times, independently of S, suggesting that large disruptive events are an inevitable feature of large-S reconnection. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

CICART Center For Integrated Computation And Analysis Of Reconnection And Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2016-01-01

CICART is a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Dartmouth College. CICART addresses two important science needs of the DoE: the basic understanding of magnetic reconnection and turbulence that strongly impacts the performance of fusion plasmas, and the development of new mathematical and computational tools that enable the modeling and control of these phenomena. The principal participants of CICART constitute an interdisciplinary group, drawn from the communities of applied mathematics, astrophysics, computational physics, fluid dynamics, and fusion physics. It is a main premise of CICART that fundamental aspects of magnetic reconnection and turbulence in fusion devices, smaller-scale laboratory experiments, and space and astrophysical plasmas can be viewed from a common perspective, and that progress in understanding in any of these interconnected fields is likely to lead to progress in others. The establishment of CICART has strongly impacted the education and research mission of a new Program in Integrated Applied Mathematics in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UNH by enabling the recruitment of a tenure-track faculty member, supported equally by UNH and CICART, and the establishment of an IBM-UNH Computing Alliance. The proposed areas of research in magnetic reconnection and turbulence in astrophysical, space, and laboratory plasmas include the following topics: (A) Reconnection and secondary instabilities in large high-Lundquist-number plasmas, (B) Particle acceleration in the presence of multiple magnetic islands, (C) Gyrokinetic reconnection: comparison with fluid and particle-in-cell models, (D) Imbalanced turbulence, (E) Ion heating, and (F) Turbulence in laboratory (including fusion-relevant) experiments. These theoretical studies make active use of three high-performance computer simulation codes: (1) The Magnetic Reconnection Code, based on extended two-fluid (or Hall MHD) equations, in an Adaptive Mesh

MMS Observation of Magnetic Reconnection in the Turbulent Magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Vörös, Z.; Yordanova, E.; Varsani, A.; Genestreti, K. J.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Li, W.; Graham, D. B.; Norgren, C.; Nakamura, R.; Narita, Y.; Plaschke, F.; Magnes, W.; Baumjohann, W.; Fischer, D.; Vaivads, A.; Eriksson, E.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Marklund, G.; Ergun, R. E.; Leitner, M.; Leubner, M. P.; Strangeway, R. J.; Le Contel, O.; Pollock, C.; Giles, B. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Avanov, L. A.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Paterson, W. R.; Lavraud, B.; Saito, Y.

2017-11-01

In this paper we use the full armament of the MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) spacecraft to study magnetic reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-parallel bow shock. Contrarily to the magnetopause and magnetotail cases, only a few observations of reconnection in the magnetosheath have been reported. The case study in this paper presents, for the first time, both fluid-scale and kinetic-scale signatures of an ongoing reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath. The spacecraft are crossing the reconnection inflow and outflow regions and the ion diffusion region (IDR). Inside the reconnection outflows D shape ion distributions are observed. Inside the IDR mixing of ion populations, crescent-like velocity distributions and ion accelerations are observed. One of the spacecraft skims the outer region of the electron diffusion region, where parallel electric fields, energy dissipation/conversion, electron pressure tensor agyrotropy, electron temperature anisotropy, and electron accelerations are observed. Some of the difficulties of the observations of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma are also outlined.

MAVEN observations of magnetic reconnection in the Martian magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Y.; Halekas, J. S.; McFadden, J. P.; Mitchell, D. L.; Mazelle, C. X.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Espley, J. R.; Larson, D. E.; Brain, D. A.; Andersson, L.; DiBraccio, G. A.; Collinson, G.; Livi, R.; Hara, T.; Ruhunusiri, S.; Jakosky, B. M.

2015-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process that changes magnetic field topology and converts magnetic energy into particle energy. Although reconnection may play a key role in controlling ion escape processes at Mars, the fundamental properties of local physics and global dynamics of magnetic reconnection in the Martian environment remain unclear owing to the lack of simultaneous measurements of ions, electrons, and magnetic fields by modern instrumentation. Here we present comprehensive MAVEN observations of reconnection signatures in the near-Mars magnetotail. The observed reconnection signatures include (i) Marsward bulk flows of H+, O+, and O2+ ions, (ii) counterstreaming ion beams along the current sheet normal direction, (iii) Hall magnetic fields, and (iv) trapped electrons with two-sided loss cones. The measured velocity distribution functions of different ion species exhibit mass-dependent characteristics which are qualitatively consistent with previous multi-species kinetic simulations and terrestrial tail observations. The MAVEN observations demonstrate that the near-Mars magnetotail provides a unique environment for studying multi-ion reconnection.

An electromagnetic drift instability in the magnetic reconnection experiment and its importance for magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulsrud, Russell; Ji Hantao; Fox, William; Yamada, Masaaki

2005-01-01

The role which resistivity plays in breaking magnetic field lines, heating the plasma, and plasma-field slippage during magnetic reconnection is discussed. Magnetic fluctuations are observed in the MRX (magnetic reconnection experiment) [M. Yamada, H. Ji, S. Hsu, T. Carter, R. Kulsrud, N. Bertz, F. Jobes, Y. Ono, and F. Perkins, Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997)] that are believed to provide resistive friction or wave resistivity. A localized linear theory has been proposed for their origin as an obliquely propagating lower hybrid drift instability. In this paper, the linear theory of the instability is summarized, and the resulting heating and slippage are calculated from quasilinear theory. Making use of measured amplitudes of the magnetic fluctuations in the MRX, the amount of these effects is estimated. Within the experimental uncertainties they are shown to be quite important for the magnetic reconnection process

Ion distributions in a two-dimensional reconnection field geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curran, D.B.; Goertz, C.K.; Whelan, T.A.

1987-01-01

ISEE observations have shown trapped ion distributions in the magnetosphere along with streaming ion distributions in the magnetosheath. The more energetic ion beams are found to exist further away from the magnetopause than lower-energy ion beams. In order to understand these properties of the data, we have taken a simple two-dimensional reconnection model which contains a neutral line and an azimuthal electric field and compared its predictions with the experimental data of September 8, 1978. Our model explains trapped particles in the magnetosphere due to nonadiabatic mirroring in the magnetosheath and streaming ions in the magnetosheath due to energization at the magnetopause. The model also shows the higher-energy ions extending further into the magnetosheath, away from the magnetopause than the lower-energy ions. This suggests the ion data of September 8, 1978 are consistent with a reconnection geometry. Copyright American Geophysical Union 1987

HEATING MECHANISMS IN THE LOW SOLAR ATMOSPHERE THROUGH MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN CURRENT SHEETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ni, Lei; Lin, Jun [Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650011 (China); Roussev, Ilia I. [Division of Geosciences, National Science Foundation Arlington, Virginia (United States); Schmieder, Brigitte, E-mail: leini@ynao.ac.cn [Observatoire de Paris, LESIA, Meudon (France)

2016-12-01

We simulate several magnetic reconnection processes in the low solar chromosphere/photosphere; the radiation cooling, heat conduction and ambipolar diffusion are all included. Our numerical results indicate that both the high temperature (≳8 × 10{sup 4} K) and low temperature (∼10{sup 4} K) magnetic reconnection events can happen in the low solar atmosphere (100–600 km above the solar surface). The plasma β controlled by plasma density and magnetic fields is one important factor to decide how much the plasma can be heated up. The low temperature event is formed in a high β magnetic reconnection process, Joule heating is the main mechanism to heat plasma and the maximum temperature increase is only several thousand Kelvin. The high temperature explosions can be generated in a low β magnetic reconnection process, slow and fast-mode shocks attached at the edges of the well developed plasmoids are the main physical mechanisms to heat the plasma from several thousand Kelvin to over 8 × 10{sup 4} K. Gravity in the low chromosphere can strongly hinder the plasmoid instability and the formation of slow-mode shocks in a vertical current sheet. Only small secondary islands are formed; these islands, however, are not as well developed as those in the horizontal current sheets. This work can be applied to understand the heating mechanism in the low solar atmosphere and could possibly be extended to explain the formation of common low temperature Ellerman bombs (∼10{sup 4} K) and the high temperature Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) bombs (≳8 × 10{sup 4}) in the future.

Origins of effective resistivity in collisionless magnetic reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Nagendra [Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama 35899 (United States)

2014-07-15

The mechanisms that provide effective resistivity for supporting collisonless magnetic reconnection have remained unsettled despite numerous studies. Some of these studies demonstrated that the electron pressure nongyrotropy generates the resistivity (η{sub npg}) in the electron diffusion region (EDR). We derive an analytical relation for the effective resistivity (η{sub kin}) by momentum balance in a control volume in the EDR. Both η{sub npg} and η{sub kin} mutually compare well and they also compare well with the resistivity required to support reconnection electric field E{sub rec} in multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations as well as in satellite observations when reconnection occurs in an EDR. But they are about an order of magnitude or so smaller than that required when the reconnection occurred in a much wider reconnecting current sheet (RCS) of half width (w) of the order of the ion skin depth (d{sub i}), observed in the Earth magnetosphere. The chaos-induced resistivity reported in the literature is found to be even more deficient. We find that for reconnection in RCS with w ∼ d{sub i}, anomalous diffusion, such as the universal Bhom diffusion and/or that arising from kinetic Alfven waves, could fairly well account for the required resistivity.

SCALING LAW OF RELATIVISTIC SWEET-PARKER-TYPE MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hiroyuki R.; Kudoh, Takahiro; Masada, Youhei; Matsumoto, Jin

2011-01-01

Relativistic Sweet-Parker-type magnetic reconnection is investigated by relativistic resistive magnetohydrodynamic (RRMHD) simulations. As an initial setting, we assume anti-parallel magnetic fields and a spatially uniform resistivity. A perturbation imposed on the magnetic fields triggers magnetic reconnection around a current sheet, and the plasma inflows into the reconnection region. The inflows are then heated due to ohmic dissipation in the diffusion region and finally become relativistically hot outflows. The outflows are not accelerated to ultrarelativistic speeds (i.e., Lorentz factor ≅ 1), even when the magnetic energy dominates the thermal and rest mass energies in the inflow region. Most of the magnetic energy in the inflow region is converted into the thermal energy of the outflow during the reconnection process. The energy conversion from magnetic to thermal energy in the diffusion region results in an increase in the plasma inertia. This prevents the outflows from being accelerated to ultrarelativistic speeds. We find that the reconnection rate R obeys the scaling relation R≅S -0.5 , where S is the Lundquist number. This feature is the same as that of non-relativistic reconnection. Our results are consistent with the theoretical predictions of Lyubarsky for Sweet-Parker-type magnetic reconnection.

Relationship between interplanetary parameters and the magnetopause reconnection rate quantified from observations of the expanding polar cap

Science.gov (United States)

Milan, S. E.; Gosling, J. S.; Hubert, B.

2012-03-01

Many studies have attempted to quantify the coupling of energy from the solar wind into the magnetosphere. In this paper we parameterize the dependence of the magnetopause reconnection rate on interplanetary parameters from the OMNI data set. The reconnection rate is measured as the rate of expansion of the polar cap during periods when the nightside reconnection rate is thought to be low, determined from observations by the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imager. Our fitting suggests that the reconnection rate is determined by the magnetic flux transport in the solar wind across a channel approximately 4 RE in width, with a small correction dependent on the solar wind speed, and a clock angle dependence. The reconnection rate is not found to be significantly dependent on the solar wind density. Comparison of the modeled reconnection rate with SuperDARN measurements of the cross-polar cap potential provides broad support for the magnitude of the predictions. In the course of the paper we discuss the relationship between the dayside reconnection rate and the cross-polar cap potential.

Search for Colour Singlet and Colour Reconnection Effects in Hadronic Z Decays at LEP

CERN Document Server

Achard, P; Aguilar-Benítez, M; Alcaraz, J; Alemanni, G; Allaby, James V; Aloisio, A; Alviggi, M G; Anderhub, H; Andreev, V P; Anselmo, F; Arefev, A; Azemoon, T; Aziz, T; Bagnaia, P; Bajo, A; Baksay, G; Baksay, L; Baldew, S V; Banerjee, S; Banerjee, Sw; Barczyk, A; Barillère, R; Bartalini, P; Basile, M; Batalova, N; Battiston, R; Bay, A; Becattini, F; Becker, U; Behner, F; Bellucci, L; Berbeco, R; Berdugo, J; Berges, P; Bertucci, B; Betev, B L; Biasini, M; Biglietti, M; Biland, A; Blaising, J J; Blyth, S C; Bobbink, Gerjan J; Böhm, A; Boldizsar, L; Borgia, B; Bottai, S; Bourilkov, D; Bourquin, Maurice; Braccini, S; Branson, J G; Brochu, F; Burger, J D; Burger, W J; Cai, X D; Capell, M; Cara Romeo, G; Carlino, G; Cartacci, A M; Casaus, J; Cavallari, F; Cavallo, N; Cecchi, C; Cerrada, M; Chamizo-Llatas, M; Chang, Y H; Chemarin, M; Chen, A; Chen, G; Chen, G M; Chen, H F; Chen, H S; Chiefari, G; Cifarelli, Luisa; Cindolo, F; Clare, I; Clare, R; Coignet, G; Colino, N; Costantini, S; de la Cruz, B; Cucciarelli, S; van Dalen, J A; De Asmundis, R; Déglon, P L; Debreczeni, J; Degré, A; Dehmelt, K; Deiters, K; Della Volpe, D; Delmeire, E; Denes, P; De Notaristefani, F; De Salvo, A; Diemoz, M; Dierckxsens, M; Dionisi, C; Dittmar, M; Doria, A; Dova, M T; Duchesneau, D; Duda, M; Echenard, B; Eline, A; El-Hage, A; El-Mamouni, H; Engler, A; Eppling, F J; Extermann, P; Falagán, M A; Falciano, S; Favara, A; Fay, J; Fedin, O; Felcini, M; Ferguson, T; Fesefeldt, H S; Fiandrini, E; Field, J H; Filthaut, F; Fisher, P H; Fisher, W; Fisk, I; Forconi, G; Freudenreich, Klaus; Furetta, C; Galaktionov, Yu; Ganguli, S N; García-Abia, P; Gataullin, M; Gentile, S; Giagu, S; Gong, Z F; Grenier, G; Grimm, O; Grünewald, M W; Guida, M; van Gulik, R; Gupta, V K; Gurtu, A; Gutay, L J; Haas, D; Hatzifotiadou, D; Hebbeker, T; Hervé, A; Hirschfelder, J; Hofer, H; Hohlmann, M; Holzner, G; Hou, S R; Hu, Y; Jin, B N; Jones, L W; de Jong, P; Josa-Mutuberria, I; Käfer, D; Kaur, M; Kienzle-Focacci, M N; Kim, J K; Kirkby, Jasper; Kittel, E W; Klimentov, A; König, A C; Kopal, M; Koutsenko, V F; Kräber, M H; Krämer, R W; Krüger, A; Kunin, A; Ladrón de Guevara, P; Laktineh, I; Landi, G; Lebeau, M; Lebedev, A; Lebrun, P; Lecomte, P; Lecoq, P; Le Coultre, P; Le Goff, J M; Leiste, R; Levtchenko, M; Levchenko, P M; Li, C; Likhoded, S; Lin, C H; Lin, W T; Linde, Frank L; Lista, L; Liu, Z A; Lohmann, W; Longo, E; Lü, Y S; Luci, C; Luminari, L; Lustermann, W; Ma Wen Gan; Malgeri, L; Malinin, A; Maña, C; Mans, J; Martin, J P; Marzano, F; Mazumdar, K; McNeil, R R; Mele, S; Merola, L; Meschini, M; Metzger, W J; Mihul, A; Milcent, H; Mirabelli, G; Mnich, J; Mohanty, G B; Muanza, G S; Muijs, A J M; Musicar, B; Musy, M; Nagy, S; Natale, S; Napolitano, M; Nessi-Tedaldi, F; Newman, H; Nisati, A; Novák, T; Nowak, H; Ofierzynski, R A; Organtini, G; Pal, I; Palomares, C; Paolucci, P; Paramatti, R; Passaleva, G; Patricelli, S; Paul, T; Pauluzzi, M; Paus, C; Pauss, Felicitas; Pedace, M; Pensotti, S; Perret-Gallix, D; Petersen, B; Piccolo, D; Pierella, F; Pioppi, M; Piroué, P A; Pistolesi, E; Plyaskin, V; Pohl, M; Pozhidaev, V; Pothier, J; Prokofev, D; Prokofiev, D O; Quartieri, J; Rahal-Callot, G; Rahaman, M A; Raics, P; Raja, N; Ramelli, R; Rancoita, P G; Ranieri, R; Raspereza, A V; Razis, P A; Ren, D; Rescigno, M; Reucroft, S; Riemann, S; Riles, K; Roe, B P; Romero, L; Rosca, A; Rosier-Lees, S; Roth, S; Rosenbleck, C; Rubio, J A; Ruggiero, G; Rykaczewski, H; Sakharov, A; Saremi, S; Sarkar, S; Salicio, J; Sánchez, E; Schäfer, C; Shchegelskii, V; Schopper, Herwig Franz; Schotanus, D J; Sciacca, C; Servoli, L; Shevchenko, S; Shivarov, N; Shoutko, V; Shumilov, E; Shvorob, A V; Son, D; Souga, C; Spillantini, P; Steuer, M; Stickland, D P; Stoyanov, B; Strässner, A; Sudhakar, K; Sultanov, G G; Sun, L Z; Sushkov, S; Suter, H; Swain, J D; Szillási, Z; Tang, X W; Tarjan, P; Tauscher, Ludwig; Taylor, L; Tellili, B; Teyssier, D; Timmermans, C; Ting, Samuel C C; Ting, S M; Tonwar, S C; Tóth, J; Tully, C; Tung, K L; Ulbricht, J; Valente, E; Van de Walle, R T; Vásquez, R; Veszpremi, V; Vesztergombi, G; Vetlitskii, I; Vicinanza, D; Viertel, Gert M; Villa, S; Vivargent, M; Vlachos, S; Vodopyanov, I; Vogel, H; Vogt, H; Vorobev, I; Vorobyov, A A; Wadhwa, M; Wang, Q; Wang, X L; Wang, Z M; Weber, M; Wienemann, P; Wilkens, H; Wynhoff, S; Xia, L; Xu, Z Z; Yamamoto, J; Yang, B Z; Yang, C G; Yang, H J; Yang, M; Yeh, S C; Zalite, A; Zalite, Yu; Zhang, Z P; Zhao, J; Zhu, G Y; Zhu, R Y; Zhuang, H L; Zichichi, A; Zimmermann, B; Zöller, M

2004-01-01

A search is performed in symmetric 3-jet hadronic Z decay events for evidence of colour singlet production or colour reconnection effects. Asymmetries in the angular separation of particles are found to be sensitive indicators of such effects. Upper limits on the level of colour singlet production and colour reconnection effects are established for a variety of models.

Global dynamics of magnetic reconnection in VINETA II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bohlin, Hannes

2014-12-12

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process where a change in field line connectivity occurs in a current sheet at the boundary between regions of opposing magnetic fields. In this process, energy stored in the magnetic field is converted into kinetic and thermal energy, which provides a source of plasma heating and energetic particles. Magnetic reconnection plays a key role in many space and laboratory plasma phenomena, e.g. solar flares, Earth's magnetopause dynamics and instabilities in tokamaks. A new linear device (VINETAII) has been designed for the study of the fundamental physical processes involved in magnetic reconnection. The plasma parameters are such that magnetic reconnection occurs in a collision-dominated regime. A plasma gun creates a localized current sheet, and magnetic reconnection is driven by modulating the plasma current and the magnetic field structure. The plasma current is shown to flow in response to a combination of an externally induced electric field and electrostatic fields in the plasma, and is highly affected by axial sheath boundary conditions. Further, the current is changed by an additional axial magnetic field (guide field), and the current sheet geometry was demonstrated to be set by a combination of magnetic mapping and cross-field plasma diffusion. With increasing distance from the plasma gun, magnetic mapping results in an increase of the current sheet length and a decrease of the width. The control parameter is the ratio of the guide field to the reconnection magnetic field strength. Cross-field plasma diffusion leads to a radial expansion of the current sheet at low guide fields. Plasma currents are also observed in the azimuthal plane and were found to originate from a combination of the field-aligned current component and the diamagnetic current generated by steep in-plane pressure gradients in combination with the guide field. The reconnection rate, defined via the inductive electric field, is shown to be

ON THE NATURE OF RECONNECTION AT A SOLAR CORONAL NULL POINT ABOVE A SEPARATRIX DOME

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pontin, D. I.; Priest, E. R.; Galsgaard, K.

2013-01-01

Three-dimensional magnetic null points are ubiquitous in the solar corona and in any generic mixed-polarity magnetic field. We consider magnetic reconnection at an isolated coronal null point whose fan field lines form a dome structure. Using analytical and computational models, we demonstrate several features of spine-fan reconnection at such a null, including the fact that substantial magnetic flux transfer from one region of field line connectivity to another can occur. The flux transfer occurs across the current sheet that forms around the null point during spine-fan reconnection, and there is no separator present. Also, flipping of magnetic field lines takes place in a manner similar to that observed in the quasi-separatrix layer or slip-running reconnection

Three-dimensional earthward fast flow in the near-Earth plasma sheet in a sheared field: comparisons between simulations and observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kondoh

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional configuration of earthward fast flow in the near-Earth plasma sheet is studied using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD simulations on the basis of the spontaneous fast reconnection model. In this study, the sheared magnetic field in the plasma sheet is newly considered in order to investigate the effects of it to the earthward fast flow, and the results are discussed in comparison with no-shear simulations. The virtual probes located at different positions in our simulation domain in shear/no-shear cases could explain different behavior of fast flows in the real observations.

The location and rate of dayside reconnection during an interval of southward interplanetary magnetic field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Pinnock

2003-07-01

Full Text Available Using ionospheric data from the SuperDARN radar network and a DMSP satellite we obtain a comprehensive description of the spatial and temporal pattern of day-side reconnection. During a period of southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF, the data are used to determine the location of the ionospheric projection of the dayside magnetopause reconnection X-line. From the flow of plasma across the projected X-line, we derive the reconnection rate across 7 h of longitude and estimate it for the total length of the X-line footprint, which was found to be 10 h of longitude. Using the Tsyganenko 96 magnetic field model, the ionospheric data are mapped to the magnetopause, in order to provide an estimate of the extent of the reconnection X-line. This is found to be ~ 38 RE in extent, spanning the whole dayside magnetopause from dawn to dusk flank. Our results are compared with previously reported encounters by the Equator-S and Geotail spacecraft with a reconnecting magnetopause, near the dawn flank, for the same period. The SuperDARN observations allow the satellite data to be set in the context of the whole magnetopause reconnection X-line. The total potential associated with dayside reconnection was ~ 150 kV. The reconnection signatures detected by the Equator-S satellite mapped to a region in the ionosphere showing continuous flow across the polar cap boundary, but the reconnection rate was variable and showed a clear spatial variation, with a distinct minimum at 14:00 magnetic local time which was present throughout the 30-min study period.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers; magnetosphere-ionoshere interactions – Space plasma physics (magnetic reconnection

Power-Law Statistics of Driven Reconnection in the Magnetically Closed Corona

Science.gov (United States)

Klimchuk, J. A.; DeVore, C. R.; Knizhnik, K. J.; Uritskiy, V. M.

2018-01-01

Numerous observations have revealed that power-law distributions are ubiquitous in energetic solar processes. Hard X-rays, soft X-rays, extreme ultraviolet radiation, and radio waves all display power-law frequency distributions. Since magnetic reconnection is the driving mechanism for many energetic solar phenomena, it is likely that reconnection events themselves display such power-law distributions. In this work, we perform numerical simulations of the solar corona driven by simple convective motions at the photospheric level. Using temperature changes, current distributions, and Poynting fluxes as proxies for heating, we demonstrate that energetic events occurring in our simulation display power-law frequency distributions, with slopes in good agreement with observations. We suggest that the braiding-associated reconnection in the corona can be understood in terms of a self-organized criticality model driven by convective rotational motions similar to those observed at the photosphere.

Power-law Statistics of Driven Reconnection in the Magnetically Closed Corona

Science.gov (United States)

Knizhnik, K. J.; Uritsky, V. M.; Klimchuk, J. A.; DeVore, C. R.

2018-01-01

Numerous observations have revealed that power-law distributions are ubiquitous in energetic solar processes. Hard X-rays, soft X-rays, extreme ultraviolet radiation, and radio waves all display power-law frequency distributions. Since magnetic reconnection is the driving mechanism for many energetic solar phenomena, it is likely that reconnection events themselves display such power-law distributions. In this work, we perform numerical simulations of the solar corona driven by simple convective motions at the photospheric level. Using temperature changes, current distributions, and Poynting fluxes as proxies for heating, we demonstrate that energetic events occurring in our simulation display power-law frequency distributions, with slopes in good agreement with observations. We suggest that the braiding-associated reconnection in the corona can be understood in terms of a self-organized criticality model driven by convective rotational motions similar to those observed at the photosphere.

Overlapping ion structures in the mid-altitude cusp under northward IMF: signature of dual lobe reconnection?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Pitout

2012-03-01

Full Text Available On some rare occasions, data from the Cluster Ion Spectrometer (CIS in the mid-altitude cusp reveal overlapping ion populations under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF. While the poleward part of the cusp exhibits the expected reverse dispersion due to lobe reconnection, its equatorward part shows a second ion population at higher-energy that coexists with the low energy tail of the dispersion. This second population is either dispersionless or slightly dispersed with energies increasing with increasing latitudes, indicative of lobe reconnection as well. Our analysis of a case that occurred 3 September 2002 when the IMF stayed northward for more than two hours suggests that the second population comes from the opposite hemisphere and is very likely on newly-closed field lines. We interpret this overlap of cusp populations as a clear mid-altitude signature of re-closed magnetic field lines by double lobe reconnection (reconnection in both hemispheres under northward IMF. This interpretation is supported by modelling performed with the Cooling model and an MHD model.

MESSENGER observations of magnetic reconnection in Mercury's magnetosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Slavin, James A; Acuña, Mario H; Anderson, Brian J; Baker, Daniel N; Benna, Mehdi; Boardsen, Scott A; Gloeckler, George; Gold, Robert E; Ho, George C; Korth, Haje; Krimigis, Stamatios M; McNutt, Ralph L; Raines, Jim M; Sarantos, Menelaos; Schriver, David; Solomon, Sean C; Trávnícek, Pavel; Zurbuchen, Thomas H

2009-05-01

Solar wind energy transfer to planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres is controlled by magnetic reconnection, a process that determines the degree of connectivity between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a planet's magnetic field. During MESSENGER's second flyby of Mercury, a steady southward IMF was observed and the magnetopause was threaded by a strong magnetic field, indicating a reconnection rate ~10 times that typical at Earth. Moreover, a large flux transfer event was observed in the magnetosheath, and a plasmoid and multiple traveling compression regions were observed in Mercury's magnetotail, all products of reconnection. These observations indicate that Mercury's magnetosphere is much more responsive to IMF direction and dominated by the effects of reconnection than that of Earth or the other magnetized planets.

Electron-Scale Measurements of Magnetic Reconnection in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Phan, T. D.; Chen, L.-J.; Moore, T. E.; Ergun, R. E.; Eastwood, J. P.; Gershman, D. J.; Cassak, P. A.; Argall, M. R.;

Rapid reconnection in compressible plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heyn, M.F.; Semenov, V.S.

1996-01-01

A study of set-up, propagation, and interaction of non-linear and linear magnetohydrodynamic waves driven by magnetic reconnection is presented. The source term of the waves generated by magnetic reconnection is obtained explicitly in terms of the initial background conditions and the local reconnection electric field. The non-linear solution of the problem found earlier, serves as a basis for formulation and extensive investigation of the corresponding linear initial-boundary value problem of compressible magnetohydrodynamics. In plane geometry, the Green close-quote s function of the problem is obtained and its properties are discussed. For the numerical evaluation it turns out that a specific choice of the integration contour in the complex plane of phase velocities is much more effective than the convolution with the real Green close-quote s function. Many complex effects like intrinsic wave coupling, anisotropic propagation characteristics, generation of surface and side wave modes in a finite beta plasma are retained in this analysis. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Electron Jet of Asymmetric Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Graham, D. B.; Norgren, C.; Eriksson, E.; Li, W.; Johlander, A.; Vaivads, A.; Andre, M.; Pritchett, P. L.; Retino, A.;

Dependence of the dayside magnetopause reconnection rate on local conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shan; Kistler, Lynn M.; Mouikis, Christopher G.; Petrinec, Steven M.

2015-08-01

We estimate the reconnection rates for eight dayside magnetopause reconnection events observed by the Cluster spacecraft and compare them with the predictions of the Cassak-Shay Formula (Rcs) Cassak and Shay (2007). The measured reconnection rate is determined by calculating the product of the inflow velocity and magnetic field in the magnetosheath inflow region. The predicted reconnection rate is calculated using the plasma parameters on both sides of the current layer, including the contributions of magnetosheath H+, magnetospheric hot H+ and O+, and magnetospheric cold ions. The measured reconnection rates show clear correlations with Rcs with an aspect ratio of 0.07. The O+ and cold ions can contribute up to ~30% of the mass density, which may reduce the reconnection rate for individual events. However, the variation of the reconnection rate is dominated by the variation of the magnetosheath parameters. In addition, we calculated the predicted reconnection rate using only magnetosheath parameters (Rsh). The correlation of the measured rate with Rsh was better than the correlation with Rcs, with an aspect ratio of 0.09. This might indicate deviations from the Cassak-Shay theory caused by the asymmetric reconnection structure and kinetic effects of different inflow populations. A better aspect ratio is expected to be between the ones determined using Rcs and Rsh. The aspect ratio does not show a clear dependence on the O+ concentration, likely because the O+ contribution is too small in these events. The aspect ratio also does not show a clear correlation with density asymmetry or guide field.

The physical foundation of the reconnection electric field

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, M.; Liu, Y.-H.; Chen, L.-J.; Bessho, N.; Wang, S.; Burch, J. L.; Moretto, T.; Norgren, C.; Genestreti, K. J.; Phan, T. D.; Tenfjord, P.

2018-03-01

Magnetic reconnection is a key charged particle transport and energy conversion process in environments ranging from astrophysical systems to laboratory plasmas [Yamada et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 82, 603-664 (2010)]. Magnetic reconnection facilitates plasma transport by establishing new connections of magnetic flux tubes, and it converts, often explosively, energy stored in the magnetic field to kinetic energy of charged particles [J. L. Burch and J. F. Drake, Am. Sci. 97, 392-299 (2009)]. The intensity of the magnetic reconnection process is measured by the reconnection electric field, which regulates the rate of flux tube connectivity changes. The change of magnetic connectivity occurs in the current layer of the diffusion zone, where the plasma transport is decoupled from the transport of magnetic flux. Here we report on computer simulations and analytic theory to provide a self-consistent understanding of the role of the reconnection electric field, which extends substantially beyond the simple change of magnetic connections. Rather, we find that the reconnection electric field is essential to maintain the current density in the diffusion region, which would otherwise be dissipated by a set of processes. Natural candidates for current dissipation are the average convection of current carriers away from the reconnection region by the outflow of accelerated particles, or the average rotation of the current density by the magnetic field reversal in the vicinity. Instead, we show here that the current dissipation is the result of thermal effects, underlying the statistical interaction of current-carrying particles with the adjacent magnetic field. We find that this interaction serves to redirect the directed acceleration of the reconnection electric field to thermal motion. This thermalization manifests itself in form of quasi-viscous terms in the thermal energy balance of the current layer. This collisionless viscosity, found in the pressure evolution equation

The effect of guide-field and boundary conditions on collisionless magnetic reconnection in a stressed X-point collapse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graf von der Pahlen, J.; Tsiklauri, D. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom)

2014-01-15

Works of Tsiklauri and Haruki [Phys. Plasmas 15, 102902 (2008); 14, 112905 (2007)] are extended by inclusion of the out-of-plane magnetic (guide) field. In particular, magnetic reconnection during collisionless, stressed X-point collapse for varying out-of-plane guide-fields is studied using a kinetic, 2.5D, fully electromagnetic, relativistic particle-in-cell numerical code. For zero guide-field, cases for both open and closed boundary conditions are investigated, where magnetic flux and particles are lost and conserved, respectively. It is found that reconnection rates, out-of-plane currents and density in the X-point increase more rapidly and peak sooner in the closed boundary case, but higher values are reached in the open boundary case. The normalized reconnection rate is fast: 0.10-0.25. In the open boundary case it is shown that an increase of guide-field yields later onsets in the reconnection peak rates, while in the closed boundary case initial peak rates occur sooner but are suppressed. The reconnection current changes similarly with increasing guide-field; however for low guide-fields the reconnection current increases, giving an optimal value for the guide-field between 0.1 and 0.2 times the in-plane field in both cases. Also, in the open boundary case, it is found that for guide-fields of the order of the in-plane magnetic field, the generation of electron vortices occurs. Possible causes of the vortex generation, based on the flow of decoupled particles in the diffusion region and localized plasma heating, are discussed. Before peak reconnection onset, oscillations in the out-of-plane electric field at the X-point are found, ranging in frequency from approximately 1 to 2 ω{sub pe} and coinciding with oscillatory reconnection. These oscillations are found to be part of a larger wave pattern in the simulation domain. Mapping the out-of-plane electric field along the central lines of the domain over time and applying a 2D Fourier transform reveal that

Experimental Investigation of the Neutral sheet Profile During Magnetic Reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trintchouk, F.; Ji, H.; Yamada, M.; Kulsrud, R.; Hsu, S.; Carter, T.

1999-01-01

During magnetic reconnection, a ''neutral sheet'' current is induced, heating the plasma. The resultant plasma thermal pressure forms a stationary equilibrium with the opposing magnetic fields. The reconnection layer profile holds significant clues about the physical mechanisms which control reconnection. On the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment [M. Yamada et al., Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997)], a quasi steady-state and axisymmetric neutral sheet profile has been measured precisely using a magnetic probe array with spatial resolution equal to one quarter of the ion gyro-radius. It was found that the reconnecting field profile fits well with a Harris-type profile [E. G. Harris, Il Nuovo Cimento 23, 115 (1962)], B(x) approximately tanh(x/delta). This agreement is remarkable since the Harris theory does not take into account reconnection and associated electric fields and dissipation. An explanation for this agreement is presented. The sheet thickness delta is found to be approximately 0.4 times the ion skin depth, which agrees with a generalized Harris theory incorporating non-isothermal electron and ion temperatures and finite electric field. The detailed study of additional local features of the reconnection region is also presented

CICART Center For Integrated Computation And Analysis Of Reconnection And Turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhattacharjee, Amitava [Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)

2016-03-27

CICART is a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Dartmouth College. CICART addresses two important science needs of the DoE: the basic understanding of magnetic reconnection and turbulence that strongly impacts the performance of fusion plasmas, and the development of new mathematical and computational tools that enable the modeling and control of these phenomena. The principal participants of CICART constitute an interdisciplinary group, drawn from the communities of applied mathematics, astrophysics, computational physics, fluid dynamics, and fusion physics. It is a main premise of CICART that fundamental aspects of magnetic reconnection and turbulence in fusion devices, smaller-scale laboratory experiments, and space and astrophysical plasmas can be viewed from a common perspective, and that progress in understanding in any of these interconnected fields is likely to lead to progress in others. The establishment of CICART has strongly impacted the education and research mission of a new Program in Integrated Applied Mathematics in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UNH by enabling the recruitment of a tenure-track faculty member, supported equally by UNH and CICART, and the establishment of an IBM-UNH Computing Alliance. The proposed areas of research in magnetic reconnection and turbulence in astrophysical, space, and laboratory plasmas include the following topics: (A) Reconnection and secondary instabilities in large high-Lundquist-number plasmas, (B) Particle acceleration in the presence of multiple magnetic islands, (C) Gyrokinetic reconnection: comparison with fluid and particle-in-cell models, (D) Imbalanced turbulence, (E) Ion heating, and (F) Turbulence in laboratory (including fusion-relevant) experiments. These theoretical studies make active use of three high-performance computer simulation codes: (1) The Magnetic Reconnection Code, based on extended two-fluid (or Hall MHD) equations, in an Adaptive Mesh

MAGNETIZATION OF CLOUD CORES AND ENVELOPES AND OTHER OBSERVATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF RECONNECTION DIFFUSION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazarian, A.; Esquivel, A.; Crutcher, R.

2012-01-01

Recent observational results for magnetic fields in molecular clouds reviewed by Crutcher seem to be inconsistent with the predictions of the ambipolar diffusion theory of star formation. These include the measured decrease in mass to flux ratio between envelopes and cores, the failure to detect any self-gravitating magnetically subcritical clouds, the determination of the flat probability distribution function (PDF) of the total magnetic field strengths implying that there are many clouds with very weak magnetic fields, and the observed scaling B∝ρ 2/3 that implies gravitational contraction with weak magnetic fields. We consider the problem of magnetic field evolution in turbulent molecular clouds and discuss the process of magnetic field diffusion mediated by magnetic reconnection. For this process that we termed 'reconnection diffusion', we provide a simple physical model and explain that this process is inevitable in view of the present-day understanding of MHD turbulence. We address the issue of the expected magnetization of cores and envelopes in the process of star formation and show that reconnection diffusion provides an efficient removal of magnetic flux that depends only on the properties of MHD turbulence in the core and the envelope. We show that as the amplitude of turbulence as well as the scale of turbulent motions decrease from the envelope to the core of the cloud, the diffusion of the magnetic field is faster in the envelope. As a result, the magnetic flux trapped during the collapse in the envelope is being released faster than the flux trapped in the core, resulting in much weaker fields in envelopes than in cores, as observed. We provide simple semi-analytical model calculations which support this conclusion and qualitatively agree with the observational results. Magnetic reconnection is also consistent with the lack of subcritical self-gravitating clouds, with the observed flat PDF of field strengths, and with the scaling of field strength

MAGNETIZATION OF CLOUD CORES AND ENVELOPES AND OTHER OBSERVATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF RECONNECTION DIFFUSION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazarian, A. [Astronomy Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Esquivel, A. [Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 70-543, 04510 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Crutcher, R. [Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2012-10-01

Recent observational results for magnetic fields in molecular clouds reviewed by Crutcher seem to be inconsistent with the predictions of the ambipolar diffusion theory of star formation. These include the measured decrease in mass to flux ratio between envelopes and cores, the failure to detect any self-gravitating magnetically subcritical clouds, the determination of the flat probability distribution function (PDF) of the total magnetic field strengths implying that there are many clouds with very weak magnetic fields, and the observed scaling B{proportional_to}{rho}{sup 2/3} that implies gravitational contraction with weak magnetic fields. We consider the problem of magnetic field evolution in turbulent molecular clouds and discuss the process of magnetic field diffusion mediated by magnetic reconnection. For this process that we termed 'reconnection diffusion', we provide a simple physical model and explain that this process is inevitable in view of the present-day understanding of MHD turbulence. We address the issue of the expected magnetization of cores and envelopes in the process of star formation and show that reconnection diffusion provides an efficient removal of magnetic flux that depends only on the properties of MHD turbulence in the core and the envelope. We show that as the amplitude of turbulence as well as the scale of turbulent motions decrease from the envelope to the core of the cloud, the diffusion of the magnetic field is faster in the envelope. As a result, the magnetic flux trapped during the collapse in the envelope is being released faster than the flux trapped in the core, resulting in much weaker fields in envelopes than in cores, as observed. We provide simple semi-analytical model calculations which support this conclusion and qualitatively agree with the observational results. Magnetic reconnection is also consistent with the lack of subcritical self-gravitating clouds, with the observed flat PDF of field strengths, and

The Time-Dependent Structure of the Electron Reconnection Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Zenitani, Seiji; Kuznetsova, Masha; Klimas, Alex

2009-01-01

Collisionless magnetic reconnection is often associated with time-dependent behavior. Specifically, current layers in the diffusion region can become unstable to tearing-type instabilities on one hand, or to instabilities with current-aligned wave vectors on the other. In the former case, the growth of tearing instabilities typically leads to the production of magnetic islands, which potentially provide feedback on the reconnection process itself, as well as on the rate of reconnection. The second class of instabilities tend to modulate the current layer along the direction of the current flow, for instance generating kink-type perturbations, or smaller-scale turbulence with the potential to broaden the current layer. All of these processes contribute to rendering magnetic reconnection time-dependent. In this presentation, we will provide a summary of these effects, and a discussion of how much they contribute to the overall magnetic reconnection rate.

Nonlinear magnetic reconnection in low collisionality plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ottaviani, M [Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon (United Kingdom). JET Joint Undertaking; Porcelli, F [Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy)

1994-07-01

The magnetic reconnection in collisionless regimes, where electron inertia is responsible for the decoupling of the plasma motion from that of the field lines, is discussed. Since the linear theory of m=1 modes breaks down for very small magnetic island widths, a non linear analysis is called for. Thus, the behaviour of a collisionless, 2-D fluid slab model in the limit {rho}/d -> 0, is analyzed. The main result is that, when the island size is larger than the linear layer but smaller than the equilibrium scale length, the reconnection rate exhibits a quasi-explosive time behaviour, during which a current density sub-layer narrower than the skin depth is formed. It is believed that the inclusion of the electron initial term in Ohm`s law opens the possibility to understand the rapidity of relaxation process observed in low collisionality plasmas. 7 refs., 6 figs.

On the location of dayside magnetic reconnection during an interval of duskward oriented IMF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. A. Wild

2007-02-01

Full Text Available We present space- and ground-based observations of the signatures of magnetic reconnection during an interval of duskward-oriented interplanetary magnetic field on 25 March 2004. In situ field and plasma measurements are drawn from the Double Star and Cluster satellites during traversals of the pre-noon sector dayside magnetopause at low and high latitudes, respectively. These reveal the typical signatures of flux transfer events (FTEs, namely bipolar perturbations in the magnetic field component normal to the local magnetopause, enhancements in the local magnetic field strength and mixing of magnetospheric and magnetosheath plasmas. Further evidence of magnetic reconnection is inferred from the ground-based signatures of pulsed ionospheric flow observed over an extended interval. In order to ascertain the location of the reconnection site responsible for the FTEs, a simple model of open flux tube motion over the surface of the magnetopause is employed. A comparison of the modelled and observed motion of open flux tubes (i.e. FTEs and plasma flow in the magnetopause boundary layer indicates that the FTEs observed at both low and high latitudes were consistence with the existence of a tilted X-line passing through the sub-solar region, as suggested by the component reconnection paradigm. While a high latitude X-line (as predicted by the anti-parallel description of reconnection may have been present, we find it unlikely that it could have been responsible for the FTEs observed in the pre-noon sector under the observed IMF conditions. Finally, we note that throughout the interval, the magnetosphere was bathed in ULF oscillations within the solar wind electric field. While no one-to-one correspondence with the pulsed reconnection rate suggested by the ground-based observation of pulsed ionospheric flow has been demonstrated, we note that similar periodicity oscillations were observed throughout the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere system. These

Driving reconnection in sheared magnetic configurations with forced fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Pongkitiwanichakul, Peera; Makwana, Kirit D.; Ruffolo, David

2018-02-01

We investigate reconnection of magnetic field lines in sheared magnetic field configurations due to fluctuations driven by random forcing by means of numerical simulations. The simulations are performed with an incompressible, pseudo-spectral magnetohydrodynamics code in 2D where we take thick, resistively decaying, current-sheet like sheared magnetic configurations which do not reconnect spontaneously. We describe and test the forcing that is introduced in the momentum equation to drive fluctuations. It is found that the forcing does not change the rate of decay; however, it adds and removes energy faster in the presence of the magnetic shear structure compared to when it has decayed away. We observe that such a forcing can induce magnetic reconnection due to field line wandering leading to the formation of magnetic islands and O-points. These reconnecting field lines spread out as the current sheet decays with time. A semi-empirical formula is derived which reasonably explains the formation and spread of O-points. We find that reconnection spreads faster with stronger forcing and longer correlation time of forcing, while the wavenumber of forcing does not have a significant effect. When the field line wandering becomes large enough, the neighboring current sheets with opposite polarity start interacting, and then the magnetic field is rapidly annihilated. This work is useful to understand how forced fluctuations can drive reconnection in large scale current structures in space and astrophysical plasmas that are not susceptible to reconnection.

TETHER-CUTTING RECONNECTION BETWEEN TWO SOLAR FILAMENTS TRIGGERING OUTFLOWS AND A CORONAL MASS EJECTION

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Chen, Huadong; Zhang, Jun; Li, Leping [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Ma, Suli, E-mail: hdchen@nao.cas.cn [College of Science, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580 (China)

2016-02-20

Triggering mechanisms of solar eruptions have long been a challenge. A few previous case studies have indicated that preceding gentle filament merging via magnetic reconnection may launch following intense eruption, according to the tether-cutting (TC) model. However, the detailed process of TC reconnection between filaments has not been exhibited yet. In this work, we report the high-resolution observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS) of TC reconnection between two sheared filaments in NOAA active region 12146. The TC reconnection commenced on ∼15:35 UT on 2014 August 29 and triggered an eruptive GOES C4.3-class flare ∼8 minutes later. An associated coronal mass ejection appeared in the field of view of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/LASCO C2 about 40 minutes later. Thanks to the high spatial resolution of IRIS data, bright plasma outflows generated by the TC reconnection are clearly observed, which moved along the subarcsecond fine-scale flux tube structures in the erupting filament. Based on the imaging and spectral observations, the mean plane-of-sky and line-of-sight velocities of the TC reconnection outflows are separately measured to be ∼79 and 86 km s{sup −1}, which derives an average real speed of ∼120 km s{sup −1}. In addition, it is found that spectral features, such as peak intensities, Doppler shifts, and line widths in the TC reconnection region are evidently enhanced compared to those in the nearby region just before the flare.

Synergy of Stochastic and Systematic Energization of Plasmas during Turbulent Reconnection

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Pisokas, Theophilos; Vlahos, Loukas; Isliker, Heinz

2018-01-01

The important characteristic of turbulent reconnection is that it combines large-scale magnetic disturbances (δ B/B∼ 1) with randomly distributed unstable current sheets (UCSs). Many well-known nonlinear MHD structures (strong turbulence, current sheet(s), shock(s)) lead asymptotically to the state of turbulent reconnection. We analyze in this article, for the first time, the energization of electrons and ions in a large-scale environment that combines large-amplitude disturbances propagating with sub-Alfvénic speed with UCSs. The magnetic disturbances interact stochastically (second-order Fermi) with the charged particles and play a crucial role in the heating of the particles, while the UCSs interact systematically (first-order Fermi) and play a crucial role in the formation of the high-energy tail. The synergy of stochastic and systematic acceleration provided by the mixture of magnetic disturbances and UCSs influences the energetics of the thermal and nonthermal particles, the power-law index, and the length of time the particles remain inside the energy release volume. We show that this synergy can explain the observed very fast and impulsive particle acceleration and the slightly delayed formation of a superhot particle population.

INJECTION OF PLASMA INTO THE NASCENT SOLAR WIND VIA RECONNECTION DRIVEN BY SUPERGRANULAR ADVECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Liping; He Jiansen; Tu Chuanyi; Chen Wenlei; Zhang Lei; Wang Linghua; Yan Limei; Peter, Hardi; Marsch, Eckart; Feng, Xueshang

2013-01-01

To understand the origin of the solar wind is one of the key research topics in modern solar and heliospheric physics. Previous solar wind models assumed that plasma flows outward along a steady magnetic flux tube that reaches continuously from the photosphere through the chromosphere into the corona. Inspired by more recent comprehensive observations, Tu et al. suggested a new scenario for the origin of the solar wind, in which it flows out in a magnetically open coronal funnel and mass is provided to the funnel by small-scale side loops. Thus mass is supplied by means of magnetic reconnection that is driven by supergranular convection. To validate this scenario and simulate the processes involved, a 2.5 dimensional (2.5D) numerical MHD model is established in the present paper. In our simulation a closed loop moves toward an open funnel, which has opposite polarity and is located at the edge of a supergranulation cell, and magnetic reconnection is triggered and continues while gradually opening up one half of the closed loop. Its other half connects with the root of the open funnel and forms a new closed loop which is submerged by a reconnection plasma stream flowing downward. Thus we find that the outflowing plasma in the newly reconnected funnel originates not only from the upward reconnection flow but also from the high-pressure leg of the originally closed loop. This implies an efficient supply of mass from the dense loop to the dilute funnel. The mass flux of the outflow released from the funnel considered in our study is calculated to be appropriate for providing the mass flux at the coronal base of the solar wind, though additional heating and acceleration mechanisms are necessary to keep the velocity at the higher location. Our numerical model demonstrates that in the funnel the mass for the solar wind may be supplied from adjacent closed loops via magnetic reconnection as well as directly from the footpoints of open funnels.

Flux Rope Acceleration and Enhanced Magnetic Reconnection Rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

C.Z. Cheng; Y. Ren; G.S. Choe; Y.-J. Moon

2003-01-01

A physical mechanism of flares, in particular for the flare rise phase, has emerged from our 2-1/2-dimensional resistive MHD simulations. The dynamical evolution of current-sheet formation and magnetic reconnection and flux-rope acceleration subject to continuous, slow increase of magnetic shear in the arcade are studied by employing a non-uniform anomalous resistivity in the reconnecting current sheet under gravity. The simulation results directly relate the flux rope's accelerated rising motion with an enhanced magnetic reconnection rate and thus an enhanced reconnection electric field in the current sheet during the flare rise phase. The simulation results provide good quantitative agreements with observations of the acceleration of flux rope, which manifests in the form of SXR ejecta or erupting filament or CMEs, in the low corona. Moreover, for the X-class flare events studied in this paper the peak reconnection electric field is about O(10 2 V/m) or larger, enough to accelerate p articles to over 100 keV in a field-aligned distance of 10 km. Nonthermal electrons thus generated can produce hard X-rays, consistent with impulsive HXR emission observed during the flare rise phase

An experimental platform for pulsed-power driven magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Hare, J. D.; Suttle, L. G.; Lebedev, S. V.; Loureiro, N. F.; Ciardi, A.; Chittenden, J. P.; Clayson, T.; Eardley, S. J.; Garcia, C.; Halliday, J. W. D.; Robinson, T.; Smith, R. A.; Stuart, N.; Suzuki-Vidal, F.; Tubman, E. R.

2018-05-01

We describe a versatile pulsed-power driven platform for magnetic reconnection experiments, based on the exploding wire arrays driven in parallel [Suttle et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 225001 (2016)]. This platform produces inherently magnetised plasma flows for the duration of the generator current pulse (250 ns), resulting in a long-lasting reconnection layer. The layer exists for long enough to allow the evolution of complex processes such as plasmoid formation and movement to be diagnosed by a suite of high spatial and temporal resolution laser-based diagnostics. We can access a wide range of magnetic reconnection regimes by changing the wire material or moving the electrodes inside the wire arrays. We present results with aluminium and carbon wires, in which the parameters of the inflows and the layer that forms are significantly different. By moving the electrodes inside the wire arrays, we change how strongly the inflows are driven. This enables us to study both symmetric reconnection in a range of different regimes and asymmetric reconnection.

Electron and ion distribution functions in magnetopause reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Chen, L. J.; Bessho, N.; Hesse, M.; Kistler, L. M.; Torbert, R. B.; Mouikis, C.; Pollock, C. J.

2015-12-01

We investigate electron and ion velocity distribution functions in dayside magnetopause reconnection events observed by the Cluster and MMS spacecraft. The goal is to build a spatial map of electron and ion distribution features to enable the indication of the spacecraft location in the reconnection structure, and to understand plasma energization processes. Distribution functions, together with electromagnetic field structures, plasma densities, and bulk velocities, are organized and compared with particle-in-cell simulation results to indicate the proximities to the reconnection X-line. Anisotropic features in the distributions of magnetospheric- and magnetosheath- origin electrons at different locations in the reconnection inflow and exhaust are identified. In particular, parallel electron heating is observed in both the magnetosheath and magnetosphere inflow regions. Possible effects of the guide field strength, waves, and upstream density and temperature asymmetries on the distribution features will be discussed.

Low and middle altitude cusp particle signatures for general magnetopause reconnection rate variations. 1: Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, M.; Smith, M. F.

1994-01-01

We present predictions of the signatures of magnetosheath particle precipitation (in the regions classified as open low-latitude boundary layer, cusp, mantle and polar cap) for periods when the interplanetary magnetic field has a southward component. These are made using the 'pulsating cusp' model of the effects of time-varying magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. Predictions are made for both low-altitude satellites in the topside ionosphere and for midaltitude spacecraft in the magnetosphere. Low-altitude cusp signatures, which show a continuous ion dispersion signature, reveal 'quasi-steady reconnection' (one limit of the pulsating cusp model), which persists for a period of at least 10 min. We estimate that 'quasi-steady' in this context corresponds to fluctuations in the reconnection rate of a factor of 2 or less. The other limit of the pulsating cusp model explains the instantaneous jumps in the precipitating ion spectrum that have been observed at low altitudes. Such jumps are produced by isolated pulses of reconnection: that is, they are separated by intervals when the reconnection rate is zero. These also generate convecting patches on the magnetopause in which the field lines thread the boundary via a rotational discontinuity separated by more extensive regions of tangential discontinuity. Predictions of the corresponding ion precipitation signatures seen by midaltitude spacecraft are presented. We resolve the apparent contradiction between estimates of the width of the injection region from midaltitude data and the concept of continuous entry of solar wind plasma along open field lines. In addition, we reevaluate the use of pitch angle-energy dispersion to estimate the injection distance.

Electron Surfing Acceleration in Magnetic Reconnection

OpenAIRE

Hoshino, Masahiro

2005-01-01

We discuss that energetic electrons are generated near the X-type magnetic reconnection region due to a surfing acceleration mechanism. In a thin plasma sheet, the polarization electric fields pointing towards the neutral sheet are induced around the boundary between the lobe and plasma sheet in association with the Hall electric current. By using a particle-in-cell simulation, we demonstrate that the polarization electric fields are strongly enhanced in an externally driven reconnection syst...

MMS Observations of Large Guide Field Symmetric Reconnection Between Colliding Reconnection Jets at the Center of a Magnetic Flux Rope at the Magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

Oieroset, M.; Phan, T. D.; Haggerty, C.; Shay, M. A.; Eastwood, J. P.; Gershman, D. J.; Drake, J. F.; Fujimoto, M.; Ergun, R. E.; Mozer, F. S.;

Laser-driven magnetic reconnection in the multi-plasmoid regime

Science.gov (United States)

Totorica, Samuel; Abel, Tom; Fiuza, Frederico

2017-10-01

Magnetic reconnection is a promising candidate mechanism for accelerating the nonthermal particles associated with explosive astrophysical phenomena. Laboratory experiments are starting to probe multi-plasmoid regimes of relevance for particle acceleration. We have performed two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to explore particle acceleration for parameters relevant to laser-driven reconnection experiments. We have extended our previous work to explore particle acceleration in larger system sizes. Our results show the transition to plasmoid-dominated acceleration associated with the merging and contraction of plasmoids that further extend the maximum energy of the power-law tail of the particle distribution. Furthermore, we have modeled Coulomb collisions and will discuss the influence of collisionality on the plasmoid formation, dynamics, and particle acceleration.

Turbulence in Three Dimensional Simulations of Magnetopause Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, J. F.; Price, L.; Swisdak, M.; Burch, J. L.; Cassak, P.; Dahlin, J. T.; Ergun, R.

2017-12-01

We present two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the 16 October 2015 MMS magnetopause reconnection event. While the two-dimensional simulation is laminar, turbulence develops at both the x-line and along the magnetic separatrices in the three-dimensional simulation. This turbulence is electromagnetic in nature, is characterized by a wavevector k given by kρ e ˜(m_e/m_i)0.25 with ρ e the electron Larmor radius, and appears to have the ion pressure gradient as its source of free energy. Taken together, these results suggest the instability is a variant of the lower-hybrid drift instability. The turbulence produces electric field fluctuations in the out-of-plane direction (the direction of the reconnection electric field) with an amplitude of around ± 10 mV/m, which is much greater than the reconnection electric field of around 0.1 mV/m. Such large values of the out-of-plane electric field have been identified in the MMS data. The turbulence in the simulation controls the scale lengths of the density profile and current layers in asymmetric reconnection, driving them closer to √ {ρ eρ_i } than the ρ e or de scalings seen in 2D reconnection simulations, where de is the electron inertial length. The turbulence is strong enough to make the magnetic field around the reconnection island chaotic and produces both anomalous resistivity and anomalous viscosity. Each contribute significantly to breaking the frozen-in condition in the electron diffusion region. The crescent-shaped features in velocity space seen both in MMS observations and in two-dimensional simulations survive, even in the turbulent environment of the three-dimensional system. We compare and contrast these results to a three-dimensional simulation of the 8 December 2015 MMS magnetopause reconnection event in which the reconnecting and out-of-plane guide fields are comparable. LHDI is still present in this event, although its appearance is modified by the presence of the guide

SLIPPING MAGNETIC RECONNECTIONS WITH MULTIPLE FLARE RIBBONS DURING AN X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Ruisheng; Chen, Yao; Wang, Bing

2016-01-01

With the observations of the Solar Dynamics Observatory , we present the slipping magnetic reconnections with multiple flare ribbons (FRs) during an X1.2 eruptive flare on 2014 January 7. A center negative polarity was surrounded by several positive ones, and three FRs appeared. The three FRs showed apparent slipping motions, and hook structures formed at their ends. Due to the moving footpoints of the erupting structures, one tight semi-circular hook disappeared after the slippage along its inner and outer edges, and coronal dimmings formed within the hook. The east hook also faded as a result of the magnetic reconnection between the arcades of a remote filament and a hot loop that was impulsively heated by the under flare loops. Our results are accordant with the slipping magnetic reconnection regime in three-dimensional standard model for eruptive flares. We suggest that the complex structures of the flare are likely a consequence of the more complex flux distribution in the photosphere, and the eruption involves at least two magnetic reconnections.

Nonlinear Modeling of Forced Magnetic Reconnection with Transient Perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Beidler, Matthew T.; Callen, James D.; Hegna, Chris C.; Sovinec, Carl R.

2017-10-01

Externally applied 3D magnetic fields in tokamaks can penetrate into the plasma and lead to forced magnetic reconnection, and hence magnetic islands, on resonant surfaces. Analytic theory has been reasonably successful in describing many aspects of this paradigm with regard to describing the time asymptotic-steady state. However, understanding the nonlinear evolution into a low-slip, field-penetrated state, especially how MHD events such as sawteeth and ELMs precipitate this transition, is in its early development. We present nonlinear computations employing the extended-MHD code NIMROD, building on previous work by incorporating a temporally varying external perturbation as a simple model for an MHD event that produces resonant magnetic signals. A parametric series of proof-of-principle computations and accompanying analytical theory characterize the transition into a mode-locked state with an emphasis on detailing the temporal evolution properties. Supported by DOE OFES Grants DE-FG02-92ER54139, DE-FG02-86ER53218, and the U.S. DOE FES Postdoctoral Research program administered by ORISE and managed by ORAU under DOE contract DE-SC0014664.

Observational Test of the Dayside Magnetopause Reconnection Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C.

2014-12-01

In asymmetric reconnection, the reconnection rate (R) is expected to follow the Cassak-Shay formula with an aspect ratio of around 0.1. At the magnetopause, reconnection is asymmetric, with the dense shocked solar wind population on the magnetosheath side, and a normally hot and tenuous population on the magnetospheric side. However, the hot magnetospheric population can contain a significant O+ component that increases the mass density, and the magnetospheric population may also include a cold dense population of plasmaspheric origin. We perform a statistical study of 13 magnetopause reconnection events observed by Cluster to determine how the reconnection rate depends on these different populations. The events are mainly at high latitudes, due to the Cluster orbit. Our results show that the measured R generally follows the Cassak-Shay prediction when all populations are included. However, the predicted rate only considering the magnetosheath contribution also correlates well with the measured R. For individual events, cold ions can make a comparable contribution to the magnetosheath H+ when there are plasmaspheric drainage plumes; the contribution of the magnetospheric hot O+ can be up to ~30%. However, the variation of solar wind conditions has a larger effect on the variation in the reconnection rate. The aspect ratio does not vary systematically with the O+ content, and 0.1 is a reasonable estimation. The outflow velocity is around the hybrid Alfven speed, but there is not a strong correlation. This may be due to motion of the x-line, or effects of the magnetosheath shear flow.

Particle Demagnetization in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael

2006-01-01

The dissipation mechanism of magnetic reconnection remains a subject of intense scientific interest. On one hand, one set of recent studies have shown that particle inertia-based processes, which include thermal and bulk inertial effects, provide the reconnection electric field in the diffusion region. In this presentation, we present analytical theory results, as well as 2.5 and three-dimensional PIC simulations of guide field magnetic reconnection. We will show that diffusion region scale sizes in moderate and large guide field cases are determined by electron Larmor radii, and that analytical estimates of diffusion region dimensions need to include description of the heat flux tensor. The dominant electron dissipation process appears to be based on thermal electron inertia, expressed through nongyrotropic electron pressure tensors. We will argue that this process remains viable in three dimensions by means of a detailed comparison of high resolution particle-in-cell simulations.

Helicity conservation under quantum reconnection of vortex rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuccher, Simone; Ricca, Renzo L

2015-12-01

Here we show that under quantum reconnection, simulated by using the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, self-helicity of a system of two interacting vortex rings remains conserved. By resolving the fine structure of the vortex cores, we demonstrate that the total length of the vortex system reaches a maximum at the reconnection time, while both writhe helicity and twist helicity remain separately unchanged throughout the process. Self-helicity is computed by two independent methods, and topological information is based on the extraction and analysis of geometric quantities such as writhe, total torsion, and intrinsic twist of the reconnecting vortex rings.

Particle acceleration in explosive relativistic reconnection events and Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares

Science.gov (United States)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Komissarov, Serguei; Sironi, Lorenzo

2018-04-01

We develop a model of gamma-ray flares of the Crab Nebula resulting from the magnetic reconnection events in a highly magnetised relativistic plasma. We first discuss physical parameters of the Crab Nebula and review the theory of pulsar winds and termination shocks. We also review the principle points of particle acceleration in explosive reconnection events [Lyutikov et al., J. Plasma Phys., vol. 83(6), p. 635830601 (2017a); J. Plasma Phys., vol. 83(6), p. 635830602 (2017b)]. It is required that particles producing flares are accelerated in highly magnetised regions of the nebula. Flares originate from the poleward regions at the base of the Crab's polar outflow, where both the magnetisation and the magnetic field strength are sufficiently high. The post-termination shock flow develops macroscopic (not related to the plasma properties on the skin-depth scale) kink-type instabilities. The resulting large-scale magnetic stresses drive explosive reconnection events on the light-crossing time of the reconnection region. Flares are produced at the initial stage of the current sheet development, during the X-point collapse. The model has all the ingredients needed for Crab flares: natural formation of highly magnetised regions, explosive dynamics on the light travel time, development of high electric fields on macroscopic scales and acceleration of particles to energies well exceeding the average magnetic energy per particle.

Search for Colour Reconnection Effects in $e^+ e^- \\to W^+ W^- \\to hadrons$ through Particle-Flow Studies at LEP

CERN Document Server

Achard, P; Aguilar-Benítez, M; Alcaraz, J; Alemanni, G; Allaby, James V; Aloisio, A; Alviggi, M G; Anderhub, H; Andreev, V P; Anselmo, F; Arefev, A; Azemoon, T; Aziz, T; Bagnaia, P; Bajo, A; Baksay, G; Baksay, L; Baldew, S V; Banerjee, S; Banerjee, Sw; Barczyk, A; Barillère, R; Bartalini, P; Basile, M; Batalova, N; Battiston, R; Bay, A; Becattini, F; Becker, U; Behner, F; Bellucci, L; Berbeco, R; Berdugo, J; Berges, P; Bertucci, B; Betev, B L; Biasini, M; Biglietti, M; Biland, A; Blaising, J J; Blyth, S C; Bobbink, Gerjan J; Böhm, A; Boldizsar, L; Borgia, B; Bottai, S; Bourilkov, D; Bourquin, Maurice; Braccini, S; Branson, J G; Brochu, F; Burger, J D; Burger, W J; Cai, X D; Capell, M; Cara Romeo, G; Carlino, G; Cartacci, A M; Casaus, J; Cavallari, F; Cavallo, N; Cecchi, C; Cerrada, M; Chamizo-Llatas, M; Chang, Y H; Chemarin, M; Chen, A; Chen, G; Chen, G M; Chen, H F; Chen, H S; Chiefari, G; Cifarelli, Luisa; Cindolo, F; Clare, I; Clare, R; Coignet, G; Colino, N; Costantini, S; de la Cruz, B; Cucciarelli, S; van Dalen, J A; De Asmundis, R; Déglon, P L; Debreczeni, J; Degré, A; Dehmelt, K; Deiters, K; Della Volpe, D; Delmeire, E; Denes, P; De Notaristefani, F; De Salvo, A; Diemoz, M; Dierckxsens, M; Dionisi, C; Dittmar, M; Doria, A; Dova, M T; Duchesneau, D; Duda, M; Echenard, B; Eline, A; El-Hage, A; El-Mamouni, H; Engler, A; Eppling, F J; Extermann, P; Falagán, M A; Falciano, S; Favara, A; Fay, J; Fedin, O; Felcini, M; Ferguson, T; Fesefeldt, H S; Fiandrini, E; Field, J H; Filthaut, Frank; Fisher, P H; Fisher, W; Fisk, I; Forconi, G; Freudenreich, Klaus; Furetta, C; Galaktionov, Yu; Ganguli, S N; García-Abia, P; Gataullin, M; Gentile, S; Giagu, S; Gong, Z F; Grenier, G; Grimm, O; Grünewald, M W; Guida, M; van Gulik, R; Gupta, V K; Gurtu, A; Gutay, L J; Haas, D; Hakobyan, R S; Hatzifotiadou, D; Hebbeker, T; Hervé, A; Hirschfelder, J; Hofer, H; Hohlmann, M; Holzner, G; Hou, S R; Hu, Y; Jin, B N; Jones, L W; de Jong, P; Josa-Mutuberria, I; Käfer, D; Kaur, M; Kienzle-Focacci, M N; Kim, J K; Kirkby, Jasper; Kittel, E W; Klimentov, A; König, A C; Kopal, M; Koutsenko, V F; Kräber, M H; Krämer, R W; Krüger, A; Kunin, A; Ladrón de Guevara, P; Laktineh, I; Landi, G; Lebeau, M; Lebedev, A; Lebrun, P; Lecomte, P; Lecoq, P; Le Coultre, P; Le Goff, J M; Leiste, R; Levtchenko, M; Levchenko, P M; Li, C; Likhoded, S; Lin, C H; Lin, W T; Linde, Frank L; Lista, L; Liu, Z A; Lohmann, W; Longo, E; Lü, Y S; Luci, C; Luminari, L; Lustermann, W; Ma Wen Gan; Malgeri, L; Malinin, A; Maña, C; Mans, J; Martin, J P; Marzano, F; Mazumdar, K; McNeil, R R; Mele, S; Merola, L; Meschini, M; Metzger, W J; Mihul, A; Milcent, H; Mirabelli, G; Mnich, J; Mohanty, G B; Muanza, G S; Muijs, A J M; Musicar, B; Musy, M; Nagy, S; Natale, S; Napolitano, M; Nessi-Tedaldi, F; Newman, H; Nisati, A; Nowak, H; Ofierzynski, R A; Organtini, G; Pal, I; Palomares, C; Paolucci, P; Paramatti, R; Passaleva, G; Patricelli, S; Paul, T; Pauluzzi, M; Paus, C; Pauss, Felicitas; Pedace, M; Pensotti, S; Perret-Gallix, D; Petersen, B; Piccolo, D; Pierella, F; Pioppi, M; Piroué, P A; Pistolesi, E; Plyaskin, V; Pohl, M; Pozhidaev, V; Pothier, J; Prokofev, D; Prokofiev, D O; Quartieri, J; Rahal-Callot, G; Rahaman, M A; Raics, P; Raja, N; Ramelli, R; Rancoita, P G; Ranieri, R; Raspereza, A V; Razis, P A; Ren, D; Rescigno, M; Reucroft, S; Riemann, S; Riles, K; Roe, B P; Romero, L; Rosca, A; Rosier-Lees, S; Roth, S; Rosenbleck, C; Rubio, J A; Ruggiero, G; Rykaczewski, H; Sakharov, A; Saremi, S; Sarkar, S; Salicio, J; Sánchez, E; Schäfer, C; Shchegelskii, V; Schopper, Herwig Franz; Schotanus, D J; Sciacca, C; Servoli, L; Shevchenko, S; Shivarov, N; Shoutko, V; Shumilov, E; Shvorob, A V; Son, D; Souga, C; Spillantini, P; Steuer, M; Stickland, D P; Stoyanov, B; Strässner, A; Sudhakar, K; Sultanov, G G; Sun, L Z; Sushkov, S; Suter, H; Swain, J D; Szillási, Z; Tang, X W; Tarjan, P; Tauscher, Ludwig; Taylor, L; Tellili, B; Teyssier, D; Timmermans, C; Ting, Samuel C C; Ting, S M; Tonwar, S C; Tóth, J; Tully, C; Tung, K L; Ulbricht, J; Valente, E; Van de Walle, R T; Vásquez, R; Veszpremi, V; Vesztergombi, G; Vetlitskii, I; Vicinanza, D; Viertel, Gert M; Villa, S; Vivargent, M; Vlachos, S; Vodopyanov, I; Vogel, H; Vogt, H; Vorobev, I; Vorobyov, A A; Wadhwa, M; Wang, Q; Wang, X L; Wang, Z M; Weber, M; Wienemann, P; Wilkens, H; Wynhoff, S; Xia, L; Xu, Z Z; Yamamoto, J; Yang, B Z; Yang, C G; Yang, H J; Yang, M; Yeh, S C; Zalite, A; Zalite, Yu; Zhang, Z P; Zhao, J; Zhu, G Y; Zhu, R Y; Zhuang, H L; Zichichi, A; Zimmermann, B; Zöller, M

2003-01-01

A search for colour reconnection effects in hadronic decays of W pairs is performed with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. The analysis is based on the study of the particle flow between jets associated to the same W boson and between two different W bosons in qqqq events. The ratio of particle yields in the different interjet regions is found to be sensitive to colour reconnection effects implemented in some hadronisation models. The data are compared to different models with and without such effects. An extreme scenario of colour reconnection is ruled out.

Ion-Scale Structure in Mercury's Magnetopause Reconnection Diffusion Region

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Daniel J.; Dorelli, John C.; DiBraccio, Gina A.; Raines, Jim M.; Slavin, James A.; Poh, Gangkai; Zurbuchen, Thomas H.

2016-01-01

The strength and time dependence of the electric field in a magnetopause diffusion region relate to the rate of magnetic reconnection between the solar wind and a planetary magnetic field. Here we use approximately 150 milliseconds measurements of energetic electrons from the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft observed over Mercury's dayside polar cap boundary (PCB) to infer such small-scale changes in magnetic topology and reconnection rates. We provide the first direct measurement of open magnetic topology in flux transfer events at Mercury, structures thought to account for a significant portion of the open magnetic flux transport throughout the magnetosphere. In addition, variations in PCB latitude likely correspond to intermittent bursts of approximately 0.3 to 3 millivolts per meter reconnection electric fields separated by approximately 5 to10 seconds, resulting in average and peak normalized dayside reconnection rates of approximately 0.02 and approximately 0.2, respectively. These data demonstrate that structure in the magnetopause diffusion region at Mercury occurs at the smallest ion scales relevant to reconnection physics.

Investigation of Colour Reconnection in WW Events with the DELPHI detector at LEP-2

CERN Document Server

Abdallah, J; Adam, W; Adzic, P; Albrecht, T; Alemany-Fernandez, R; Allmendinger, T; Allport, P P; Amaldi, Ugo; Amapane, N; Amato, S; Anashkin, E; Andreazza, A; Andringa, S; Anjos, N; Antilogus, P; Apel, W D; Arnoud, Y; Ask, S; Åsman, B; Augustin, J E; Augustinus, A; Baillon, P; Ballestrero, A; Bambade, P; Barbier, R; Bardin, D; Barker, G J; Baroncelli, A; Battaglia, M; Baubillier, M; Becks, K H; Begalli, M; Behrmann, A; Ben-Haim, E; Benekos, N; Benvenuti, A; Bérat, C; Berggren, M; Berntzon, L; Bertrand, D; Besancon41, M; Besson, N; Bloch, D; Blom, M; Bluj, M; Bonesini, M; Boonekamp, M; Booth, P S L; Borisov, G; Botner, O; Bouquet, B; Bowcock, T J V; Boyko, I; Bracko, M; Brenner, R; Brodet, E; Brückman, P; Brunet8, J M; Buschbeck55, B; Buschmann, P; Calvi, M; Camporesi, T; Canale, V; Carena, F; Castro, N; Cavallo, F; Chapkin, M; Charpentier, P; Checchia, P; Chierici, R; Shlyapnikov, P; Chudoba, J; Chung, S U; Cieslik, K; Collins, P; Contri, R; Cosme, G; Cossutti, F; Costa, M J; Crennell, D J; Cuevas-Maestro, J; D'Hondt, J; Dalmau, J; Da Silva, T; Da Silva, W; Della Ricca, G; De Angelis, A; de Boer, Wim; De Clercq, C; De Lotto, B; De Maria, N; De Min, A; De Paula, L; Di Ciaccio, L; Di Simone, A; Doroba, K; Drees, J; Eigen, G; Ekelöf, T J C; Ellert, M; Elsing, M; Espirito-Santo, M C; Fanourakis, G K; Fassouliotis, D; Feindt, M; Fernández, J; Ferrer, A; Ferro, F; Flagmeyer, U; Föth, H; Fokitis, E; Fulda-Quenzer, F; Fuster, J; Gandelman, M; García, C; Gavillet, P; Gazis, E; Gokieli, R; Golob, B; Gómez-Ceballos, G; Gonçalves, P; Graziani, E; Grosdidier, G; Grzelak, K; Guy, J; Haag, C; Hallgren, A; Hamacher, K; Hamilton, K; Haug, S; Hauler, F; Hedberg, V; Hennecke, M; Herr, H; Hoffman, J; Holmgren, S O; Holt, P J; Houlden, M A; Jackson, J N; Jarlskog, G; Jarry, P; Jeans, D; Johansson, E K; Johansson, P D; Jonsson, P; Joram, C; Jungermann, L; Kapusta, F; Katsanevas, S; Katsoufis, E; Kernel, G; Kersevan, B P; Kerzel, U; King, B T; Kjaer, N J; Kluit, P; Kokkinias, P; Kourkoumelis, C; Kuznetsov, O; Krumshtein, Z; Kucharczyk, M; Lamsa, J; Leder, G; Ledroit, F; Leinonen, L; Leitner, R; Lemonne, J; Lepeltier, V; Lesiak, T; Liebig, W; Liko, D; Lipniacka, A; Lopes, J H; López, J M; Loukas, D; Lutz, P; Lyons, L; MacNaughton, J; Malek, A; Maltezos, S; Mandl, F; Marco, J; Marco, R; Maréchal, B; Margoni, M; Marin, J C; Mariotti, C; Markou, A; Martínez-Rivero, C; Masik, J; Mastroyiannopoulos, N; Matorras, F; Matteuzzi, C; Mazzucato, F; Mazzucato, M; McNulty, R; Meroni, C; Migliore, E; Mitaroff, W A; Mjörnmark, U; Moa, T; Moch, R; Mönig, K; Monge, R; Montenegro, J; Moraes, D; Moreno, S; Morettini, P; Müller, U; Münich, K; Mulders, M; Mundim, L; Murray, W; Muryn, B; Myatt, G; Myklebust, T; Nassiakou, M; Navarria, F; Nawrocki, K; Nicolaidou, R; Nikolenko, M; Oblakowska-Mucha, A; Obraztsov, V F; Olshevskii, A G; Onofre, A; Orava, R; Österberg, K; Ouraou, A; Oyanguren, A; Paganoni, M; Paiano, S; Palacios, J P; Palka, H; Papadopoulou, T D; Pape, L; Parkes, C; Parodi, F; Parzefall, U; Passeri, A; Passon, O; Peralta, L; Perepelitsa, V; Perrotta, A; Petrolini, A; Piedra, J; Pieri, L; Pierre, F; Pimenta, M; Piotto, E; Podobnik, T; Poireau, V; Pol, M E; Polok, G; Pozdnyakov, V; Pukhaeva, N; Pullia, A; Rames, J; Read, A; Rebecchi, P; Rehn, J; Reid, D; Reinhardt, R; Renton, P B; Richard, F; Rídky, J; Rivero, M; Rodríguez, D; Romero, A; Ronchese, P; Roudeau, P; Rovelli, T; Ruhlmann-Kleider, V; Ryabtchikov, D; Sadovskii, A; Salmi, L; Salt, J; Sander, C; Savoy-Navarro, A; Schwickerath, U; Sekulin, R; Siebel, M; Sisakian, A; Smadja, G; Smirnova, O; Sokolov, A; Sopczak, A; Sosnowski, R; Spassoff, Tz; Stanitzki, M; Stocchi, A; Strauss, J; Stugu, B; Szczekowski, M; Szeptycka, M; Szumlak, T; Tabarelli de Fatis, T; Taffard, A C; Tegenfeldt, F; Timmermans, J; Tkatchev, L; Tobin, M; Todorovova, S; Tomé, B; Tonazzo, A; Tortosa, P; Travnicek, P; Treille, D; Tristram, G; Trochimczuk, M; Troncon, C; Turluer, M L; Tyapkin, I A; Tyapkin, P; Tzamarias, S; Uvarov, V; Valenti, G; van Dam, P; Van Eldik, J; Van Remortel, N; Van Vulpen, I; Vegni, G; Veloso, F; Venus, W; Verdier, P; Verzi, V; Vilanova, D; Vitale, L; Vrba, V; Wahlen, H; Washbrook, A J; Weiser, C; Wicke, D; Wickens, J; Wilkinson, G; Winter, M; Witek, M; Yushchenko, O; Zalewska-Bak, A; Zalewski, P; Zavrtanik, D; Zhuravlov, V; Zimin, N; Zintchenko, A; Zupan, M

2007-01-01

In the reaction e+e- -> WW -> (q_1 qbar_2)(q_3 qbar_4) the usual hadronization models treat the colour singlets q_1 qbar_2 and q_3 qbar_4 coming from two W bosons independently. However, since the final state partons may coexist in space and time, cross-talk between the two evolving hadronic systems may be possible during fragmentation through soft gluon exchange. This effect is known as Colour Reconnection. In this article the results of the investigation of Colour Reconnection effects in fully hadronic decays of W pairs in DELPHI at LEP are presented. Two complementary analyses were performed, studying the particle flow between jets and W mass estimators, with negligible correlation between them, and the results were combined and compared to models. In the framework of the SK-I model, the value for its kappa parameter most compatible with the data was found to be: kappa_{SK-I} = 2.2^{+2.5}_{-1.3} corresponding to the probability of reconnection P_{reco} to be in the range 0.31 < P_{reco} < 0.68 at 68%...

Kinetic modeling of particle acceleration in a solar null point reconnection region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baumann, Gisela; Haugbølle, Troels; Nordlund, Åke

2013-01-01

The primary focus of this paper is on the particle acceleration mechanism in solar coronal 3D reconnection null-point regions. Starting from a potential field extrapolation of a SOHO magnetogram taken on 2002 November 16, we first performed MHD simulations with horizontal motions observed by SOHO...... particles and 3.5 billion grid cells of size 17.5\\,km --- these simulations offer a new opportunity to study particle acceleration in solar-like settings....... applied to the photospheric boundary of the computational box. After a build-up of electric current in the fan-plane of the null-point, a sub-section of the evolved MHD data was used as initial and boundary conditions for a kinetic particle-in-cell model of the plasma. We find that sub...

Colour reconnection studies in $e^{+}e^{-} \\to W^{+}W^{-}$ at $\\sqrt{s}$=183 GeV

CERN Document Server

Abbiendi, G.; Alexander, G.; Allison, John; Altekamp, N.; Anderson, K.J.; Anderson, S.; Arcelli, S.; Asai, S.; Ashby, S.F.; Axen, D.; Azuelos, G.; Ball, A.H.; Barberio, E.; Barlow, Roger J.; Bartoldus, R.; Batley, J.R.; Baumann, S.; Bechtluft, J.; Behnke, T.; Bell, Kenneth Watson; Bella, G.; Bellerive, A.; Bentvelsen, S.; Bethke, S.; Betts, S.; Biebel, O.; Biguzzi, A.; Bird, S.D.; Blobel, V.; Bloodworth, I.J.; Bock, P.; Bohme, J.; Bonacorsi, D.; Boutemeur, M.; Braibant, S.; Bright-Thomas, P.; Brigliadori, L.; Brown, Robert M.; Burckhart, H.J.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R.K.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Chang, C.Y.; Charlton, David G.; Chrisman, D.; Ciocca, C.; Clarke, P.E.L.; Clay, E.; Cohen, I.; Conboy, J.E.; Cooke, O.C.; Couyoumtzelis, C.; Coxe, R.L.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; Dallavalle, G.Marco; Davis, R.; De Jong, S.; de Roeck, A.; Dervan, P.; Desch, K.; Dienes, B.; Dixit, M.S.; Dubbert, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Duerdoth, I.P.; Eatough, D.; Estabrooks, P.G.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Fanti, M.; Faust, A.A.; Fiedler, F.; Fierro, M.; Fleck, I.; Folman, R.; Furtjes, A.; Futyan, D.I.; Gagnon, P.; Gary, J.W.; Gascon, J.; Gascon-Shotkin, S.M.; Gaycken, G.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, P.; Gibson, V.; Gibson, W.R.; Gingrich, D.M.; Glenzinski, D.; Goldberg, J.; Gorn, W.; Grandi, C.; Graham, K.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Gruwe, M.; Hanson, G.G.; Hansroul, M.; Hapke, M.; Harder, K.; Harel, A.; Hargrove, C.K.; Hartmann, C.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C.M.; Hawkings, R.; Hemingway, R.J.; Herndon, M.; Herten, G.; Heuer, R.D.; Hildreth, M.D.; Hill, J.C.; Hobson, P.R.; Hoch, M.; Hocker, James Andrew; Hoffman, Kara Dion; Homer, R.J.; Honma, A.K.; Horvath, D.; Hossain, K.R.; Howard, R.; Huntemeyer, P.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Imrie, D.C.; Ishii, K.; Jacob, F.R.; Jawahery, A.; Jeremie, H.; Jimack, M.; Jones, C.R.; Jovanovic, P.; Junk, T.R.; Karlen, D.; Kartvelishvili, V.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Kayal, P.I.; Keeler, R.K.; Kellogg, R.G.; Kennedy, B.W.; Kim, D.H.; Klier, A.; Kluth, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobel, M.; Koetke, D.S.; Kokott, T.P.; Kolrep, M.; Komamiya, S.; Kowalewski, Robert V.; Kress, T.; Krieger, P.; von Krogh, J.; Kuhl, T.; Kyberd, P.; Lafferty, G.D.; Landsman, H.; Lanske, D.; Lauber, J.; Lautenschlager, S.R.; Lawson, I.; Layter, J.G.; Lazic, D.; Lee, A.M.; Lellouch, D.; Letts, J.; Levinson, L.; Liebisch, R.; List, B.; Littlewood, C.; Lloyd, A.W.; Lloyd, S.L.; Loebinger, F.K.; Long, G.D.; Losty, M.J.; Ludwig, J.; Lui, D.; Macchiolo, A.; Macpherson, A.; Mader, W.; Mannelli, M.; Marcellini, S.; Markopoulos, C.; Martin, A.J.; Martin, J.P.; Martinez, G.; Mashimo, T.; Mattig, Peter; McDonald, W.John; McKenna, J.; Mckigney, E.A.; McMahon, T.J.; McPherson, R.A.; Meijers, F.; Menke, S.; Merritt, F.S.; Mes, H.; Meyer, J.; Michelini, A.; Mihara, S.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D.J.; Mir, R.; Mohr, W.; Montanari, A.; Mori, T.; Nagai, K.; Nakamura, I.; Neal, H.A.; Nellen, B.; Nisius, R.; O'Neale, S.W.; Oakham, F.G.; Odorici, F.; Ogren, H.O.; Oreglia, M.J.; Orito, S.; Palinkas, J.; Pasztor, G.; Pater, J.R.; Patrick, G.N.; Patt, J.; Perez-Ochoa, R.; Petzold, S.; Pfeifenschneider, P.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pinfold, J.; Plane, David E.; Poffenberger, P.; Polok, J.; Przybycien, M.; Rembser, C.; Rick, H.; Robertson, S.; Robins, S.A.; Rodning, N.; Roney, J.M.; Roscoe, K.; Rossi, A.M.; Rozen, Y.; Runge, K.; Runolfsson, O.; Rust, D.R.; Sachs, K.; Saeki, T.; Sahr, O.; Sang, W.M.; Sarkisian, E.K.G.; Sbarra, C.; Schaile, A.D.; Schaile, O.; Scharf, F.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schieck, J.; Schmitt, B.; Schmitt, S.; Schoning, A.; Schroder, Matthias; Schumacher, M.; Schwick, C.; Scott, W.G.; Seuster, R.; Shears, T.G.; Shen, B.C.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C.H.; Sherwood, P.; Siroli, G.P.; Sittler, A.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A.M.; Snow, G.A.; Sobie, R.; Soldner-Rembold, S.; Spagnolo, S.; Sproston, M.; Stahl, A.; Stephens, K.; Steuerer, J.; Stoll, K.; Strom, David M.; Strohmer, R.; Surrow, B.; Talbot, S.D.; Taras, P.; Tarem, S.; Teuscher, R.; Thiergen, M.; Thomas, J.; Thomson, M.A.; von Torne, E.; Torrence, E.; Towers, S.; Trigger, I.; Trocsanyi, Z.; Tsur, E.; Turcot, A.S.; Turner-Watson, M.F.; Ueda, I.; Van Kooten, Rick J.; Vannerem, P.; Verzocchi, M.; Voss, H.; Wackerle, F.; Wagner, A.; Ward, C.P.; Ward, D.R.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watson, N.K.; Wells, P.S.; Wermes, N.; White, J.S.; Wilson, G.W.; Wilson, J.A.; Wyatt, T.R.; Yamashita, S.; Yekutieli, G.; Zacek, V.; Zer-Zion, D.

1999-01-01

The predicted effects of final state interactions such as colour reconnection are investigated by measuring properties of hadronic decays of W bosons, recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=182.7 GeV in the OPAL detector at LEP. Dependence on the modelling of hadronic W decays is avoided by comparing W+W- -> qqqq events with the non-leptonic component of W+W- -> qqlnu events. The scaled momentum distribution, its mean value, x_p, and that of the charged particle multiplicity, n_ch, are measured and found to be consistent in the two channels. The measured differences are: Diff(x_p) = +0.7 +- 0.8 +- 0.6 and Diff(n_ch) = (-0.09 +- 0.09 +-0.05)*10**-2. In addition, measurements of rapidity and thrust are performed for W+W- -> qqqq events. The data are described well by standard QCD models and disfavour one model of colour reconnection within the ARIADNE program. The current implementation of the ELLIS-GEIGER model of colour reconnection is excluded. At the current level of statistical precision no evidenc...

Current-Sheet Formation and Reconnection at a Magnetic X Line in Particle-in-Cell Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Black, C.; Antiochos, S. K.; Hesse, M.; Karpen, J. T.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Zenitani, S.

2011-01-01

The integration of kinetic effects into macroscopic numerical models is currently of great interest to the heliophysics community, particularly in the context of magnetic reconnection. Reconnection governs the large-scale energy release and topological rearrangement of magnetic fields in a wide variety of laboratory, heliophysical, and astrophysical systems. We are examining the formation and reconnection of current sheets in a simple, two-dimensional X-line configuration using high-resolution particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The initial minimum-energy, potential magnetic field is perturbed by excess thermal pressure introduced into the particle distribution function far from the X line. Subsequently, the relaxation of this added stress leads self-consistently to the development of a current sheet that reconnects for imposed stress of sufficient strength. We compare the time-dependent evolution and final state of our PIC simulations with macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic simulations assuming both uniform and localized electrical resistivities (C. R. DeVore et al., this meeting), as well as with force-free magnetic-field equilibria in which the amount of reconnection across the X line can be constrained to be zero (ideal evolution) or optimal (minimum final magnetic energy). We will discuss implications of our results for understanding magnetic-reconnection onset and cessation at kinetic scales in dynamically formed current sheets, such as those occurring in the solar corona and terrestrial magnetotail.

Numerical Study of Erosion, Heating, and Acceleration of the Magnetic Cloud as Impacted by Fast Shock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mao, Shoudi; He, Jiansen; Yang, Liping; Wang, Linghua [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District Beijing, 100871 (China); Zhang, Lei, E-mail: jshept@gmail.com [SIGMA Weather Group, State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences No.1 Nanertiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian district Beijing, 100190 (China)

2017-06-20

The impact of an overtaking fast shock on a magnetic cloud (MC) is a pivotal process in CME–CME (CME: coronal mass ejection) interactions and CME–SIR (SIR: stream interaction region) interactions. MC with a strong and rotating magnetic field is usually deemed a crucial part of CMEs. To study the impact of a fast shock on an MC, we perform a 2.5 dimensional numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulation. Two cases are run in this study: without and with impact by fast shock. In the former case, the MC expands gradually from its initial state and drives a relatively slow magnetic reconnection with the ambient magnetic field. Analyses of forces near the core of the MC as a whole body indicates that the solar gravity is quite small compared to the Lorentz force and the pressure gradient force. In the second run, a fast shock propagates, relative to the background plasma, at a speed twice that of the perpendicular fast magnetosonic speed, catches up with and takes over the MC. Due to the penetration of the fast shock, the MC is highly compressed and heated, with the temperature growth rate enhanced by a factor of about 10 and the velocity increased to about half of the shock speed. The magnetic reconnection with ambient magnetic field is also sped up by a factor of two to four in reconnection rate as a result of the enhanced density of the current sheet, which is squeezed by the forward motion of the shocked MC.

Numerical Study of Erosion, Heating, and Acceleration of the Magnetic Cloud as Impacted by Fast Shock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao, Shoudi; He, Jiansen; Yang, Liping; Wang, Linghua; Zhang, Lei

2017-01-01

The impact of an overtaking fast shock on a magnetic cloud (MC) is a pivotal process in CME–CME (CME: coronal mass ejection) interactions and CME–SIR (SIR: stream interaction region) interactions. MC with a strong and rotating magnetic field is usually deemed a crucial part of CMEs. To study the impact of a fast shock on an MC, we perform a 2.5 dimensional numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulation. Two cases are run in this study: without and with impact by fast shock. In the former case, the MC expands gradually from its initial state and drives a relatively slow magnetic reconnection with the ambient magnetic field. Analyses of forces near the core of the MC as a whole body indicates that the solar gravity is quite small compared to the Lorentz force and the pressure gradient force. In the second run, a fast shock propagates, relative to the background plasma, at a speed twice that of the perpendicular fast magnetosonic speed, catches up with and takes over the MC. Due to the penetration of the fast shock, the MC is highly compressed and heated, with the temperature growth rate enhanced by a factor of about 10 and the velocity increased to about half of the shock speed. The magnetic reconnection with ambient magnetic field is also sped up by a factor of two to four in reconnection rate as a result of the enhanced density of the current sheet, which is squeezed by the forward motion of the shocked MC.

MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN NON-EQUILIBRIUM IONIZATION PLASMA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imada, S.; Shimizu, T.; Murakami, I.; Watanabe, T.; Hara, H.

2011-01-01

We have studied the effect of time-dependent ionization and the recombination processes on magnetic reconnection in the solar corona. Petschek-type steady reconnection, in which the magnetic energy is mainly converted at the slow-mode shocks, was assumed. We carried out the time-dependent ionization calculation in the magnetic reconnection structure. We only calculated the transient ionization of iron; the other species were assumed to be in ionization equilibrium. The intensity of line emissions at specific wavelengths was also calculated for comparison with Hinode or other observations in future. We found the following: (1) iron is mostly in non-equilibrium ionization in the reconnection region; (2) the intensity of line emission estimated by the time-dependent ionization calculation is significantly different from that determined from the ionization equilibrium assumption; (3) the effect of time-dependent ionization is sensitive to the electron density in the case where the electron density is less than 10 10 cm –3 ; (4) the effect of thermal conduction lessens the time-dependent ionization effect; and (5) the effect of radiative cooling is negligibly small even if we take into account time-dependent ionization.

Moving grids for magnetic reconnection via Newton-Krylov methods

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Xuefei; Jardin, Stephen C.; Keyes, David E.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a set of computationally efficient, adaptive grids for magnetic reconnection phenomenon where the current density can develop large gradients in the reconnection region. Four-field extended MagnetoHydroDynamics (MHD) equations

Reconnection in Solar Flares: Outstanding Questions Hiroaki Isobe ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Although the idea of magnetic reconnection for explaining the energy release in solar flares had been proposed many decades ago (Parker 1957; Sweet. 1958) it was after Yohkoh (Ogawara et al. 1991) observations that the reality of mag- netic reconnection occurring during solar flares was established. Examples of evi-.

A Family of Vortices to Study Axisymmetric Vortex Breakdown and Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Larry A.

2007-01-01

A new analytic model describing a family of vortices has been developed to study some of the axisymmetric vortex breakdown and reconnection fluid dynamic processes underlying body-vortex interactions that are frequently manifested in rotorcraft and propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft wakes. The family of vortices incorporates a wide range of prescribed initial vorticity distributions -- including single or dual-core vorticity distributions. The result is analytical solutions for the vorticity and velocities for each member of the family of vortices. This model is of sufficient generality to further illustrate the dependence of vortex reconnection and breakdown on initial vorticity distribution as was suggested by earlier analytical work. This family of vortices, though laminar in nature, is anticipated to provide valuable insight into the vortical evolution of large-scale rotor and propeller wakes.

Spacecraft observations of a Maxwell Demon coating the separatrix of asymmetric magnetic reconnection with crescent-shaped electron distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Egedal, J.; Le, A.; Daughton, W.; Wetherton, B.; Cassak, Pa; Chen, Lj; Lavraud, B.; Dorell, J.; Avanov, L.; Gershman, D.

2016-10-01

During asymmetric magnetic reconnection in the dayside magnetopause in situ spacecraft mea- surements show that electrons from the high density inflow penetrate some distance into the low density inflow. Supported by a kinetic simulation, we present a general derivation of an exclusion energy parameter, which provides a lower kinetic energy bound for an electron to jump across the reconnection region from one inflow region to the other. As by a Maxwell Demon, only high energy electrons are permitted to cross the inner reconnection region, strongly impacting the form of the electron distribution function observed along the low density side separatrix. The dynamics produce two distinct flavors of crescent-shaped electron distributions in a thin boundary layer along the separatrix between the magnetospheric inflow and the reconnection exhaust. The analytical model presented relates these salient details of the distribution function to the electron dynamics in the inner reconnection region.

FAN-SPINE TOPOLOGY FORMATION THROUGH TWO-STEP RECONNECTION DRIVEN BY TWISTED FLUX EMERGENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toeroek, T.; Aulanier, G.; Schmieder, B.; Reeves, K. K.; Golub, L.

2009-01-01

We address the formation of three-dimensional nullpoint topologies in the solar corona by combining Hinode/X-ray Telescope (XRT) observations of a small dynamic limb event, which occurred beside a non-erupting prominence cavity, with a three-dimensional (3D) zero-β magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation. To this end, we model the boundary-driven 'kinematic' emergence of a compact, intense, and uniformly twisted flux tube into a potential field arcade that overlies a weakly twisted coronal flux rope. The expansion of the emerging flux in the corona gives rise to the formation of a nullpoint at the interface of the emerging and the pre-existing fields. We unveil a two-step reconnection process at the nullpoint that eventually yields the formation of a broad 3D fan-spine configuration above the emerging bipole. The first reconnection involves emerging fields and a set of large-scale arcade field lines. It results in the launch of a torsional MHD wave that propagates along the arcades, and in the formation of a sheared loop system on one side of the emerging flux. The second reconnection occurs between these newly formed loops and remote arcade fields, and yields the formation of a second loop system on the opposite side of the emerging flux. The two loop systems collectively display an anenome pattern that is located below the fan surface. The flux that surrounds the inner spine field line of the nullpoint retains a fraction of the emerged twist, while the remaining twist is evacuated along the reconnected arcades. The nature and timing of the features which occur in the simulation do qualititatively reproduce those observed by XRT in the particular event studied in this paper. Moreover, the two-step reconnection process suggests a new consistent and generic model for the formation of anemone regions in the solar corona.

Hall current effects in dynamic magnetic reconnection solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, I.J.D.; Heerikhuisen, J.; Watson, P.G.

2003-01-01

The impact of Hall current contributions on flow driven planar magnetic merging solutions is discussed. The Hall current is important if the dimensionless Hall parameter (or normalized ion skin depth) satisfies c H >η, where η is the inverse Lundquist number for the plasma. A dynamic analysis of the problem shows, however, that the Hall current initially manifests itself, not by modifying the planar reconnection field, but by inducing a non-reconnecting perpendicular 'separator' component in the magnetic field. Only if the stronger condition c H 2 >η is satisfied can Hall currents be expected to affect the planar merging. These analytic predictions are then tested by performing a series of numerical experiments in periodic geometry, using the full system of planar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. The numerical results confirm that the nature of the merging changes dramatically when the Hall coupling satisfies c H 2 >η. In line with the analytic treatment of sheared reconnection, the coupling provided by the Hall term leads to the emergence of multiple current layers that can enhance the global Ohmic dissipation at the expense of the reconnection rate. However, the details of the dissipation depend critically on the symmetries of the simulation, and when the merging is 'head-on' (i.e., comprises fourfold symmetry) the reconnection rate can be enhanced

Review of recent experiments on magnetic reconnection in laboratory plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, M.

1995-02-01

The present paper reviews recent laboratory experiments on magnetic reconnection. Examples will be drawn from electron current sheet experiments, merging spheromaks, and from high temperature tokamak plasmas with the Lundquist numbers exceeding 10 7 . These recent laboratory experiments create an environment which satisfies the criteria for MHD plasma and in which the global boundary conditions can be controlled externally. Experiments with fully three dimensional reconnection are now possible. In the most recent TFTR tokamak discharges, Motional Stark effect (MSE) data have verified the existence of a partial reconnection. In the experiment of spheromak merging, a new plasma acceleration parallel to the neutral line has been indicated. Together with the relationship of these observations to the analysis of magnetic reconnection in space and in solar flares, important physics issues such as global boundary conditions, local plasma parameters, merging angle of the field lines, and the 3-D aspects of the reconnection are discussed

Role of magnetic reconnection phenomena in the reversed-field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, D.A.

1983-01-01

The reversed-field pinch (RFP), an axisymmetric toroidal magnetic confinement experiment, has physics rich in the area commonly called field line reconnection or merging. This paper reviews the topics where reconnection plays a vital role: (a) RFP formation and the phenomenon of self-reversal, (b) RFP sustainment in which the RFP configuration has been shown to be capable of maintaining itself for times much longer than earlier predictions from classical resistive MHD theory, (c) steady state current drive in which dynamo action and associated reconnection processes give rise to the possibility of sustaining the configuration indefinitely by means of low frequency ac modulation of the toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields, (d) the effects of reconnection on the formation and evolution of the magnetic surfaces which are intimately related to the plasma containment properties. It appears that all phases of the RFP operation are intimately related to the reconnection and field regeneration processes similar to those encountered in space and astrophysics

Tripolar electric field Structure in guide field magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Song; Huang, Shiyong; Zhou, Meng; Ni, Binbin; Deng, Xiaohua

2018-03-01

It has been shown that the guide field substantially modifies the structure of the reconnection layer. For instance, the Hall magnetic and electric fields are distorted in guide field reconnection compared to reconnection without guide fields (i.e., anti-parallel reconnection). In this paper, we performed 2.5-D electromagnetic full particle simulation to study the electric field structures in magnetic reconnection under different initial guide fields (Bg). Once the amplitude of a guide field exceeds 0.3 times the asymptotic magnetic field B0, the traditional bipolar Hall electric field is clearly replaced by a tripolar electric field, which consists of a newly emerged electric field and the bipolar Hall electric field. The newly emerged electric field is a convective electric field about one ion inertial length away from the neutral sheet. It arises from the disappearance of the Hall electric field due to the substantial modification of the magnetic field and electric current by the imposed guide field. The peak magnitude of this new electric field increases linearly with the increment of guide field strength. Possible applications of these results to space observations are also discussed.

Tripolar electric field Structure in guide field magnetic reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Fu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available It has been shown that the guide field substantially modifies the structure of the reconnection layer. For instance, the Hall magnetic and electric fields are distorted in guide field reconnection compared to reconnection without guide fields (i.e., anti-parallel reconnection. In this paper, we performed 2.5-D electromagnetic full particle simulation to study the electric field structures in magnetic reconnection under different initial guide fields (Bg. Once the amplitude of a guide field exceeds 0.3 times the asymptotic magnetic field B0, the traditional bipolar Hall electric field is clearly replaced by a tripolar electric field, which consists of a newly emerged electric field and the bipolar Hall electric field. The newly emerged electric field is a convective electric field about one ion inertial length away from the neutral sheet. It arises from the disappearance of the Hall electric field due to the substantial modification of the magnetic field and electric current by the imposed guide field. The peak magnitude of this new electric field increases linearly with the increment of guide field strength. Possible applications of these results to space observations are also discussed.

Hot magnetospheric O+ and cold ion behavior in magnetopause reconnection: Cluster observations

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C. G.; Liu, Y.; Genestreti, K. J.

2014-12-01

In reconnection, the presence of heavy ions like O+ increases the ion mass density reducing the fluid's Alfvén speed. In addition, it may modify the reconnection structure, which can also change the reconnection rate. However, because O+ ions have a larger Larmor radii than H+ ions at the same velocity, they may not be fully entrained in the reconnection flow and may have kinetic effects other than just increasing the mass density. In this study, for the first time, the ion velocity distribution functions of H+ and O+ from one magnetopause reconnection event with a strong guide field are analyzed to determine in detail the behavior of the different ion populations. We show that the hot magnetospheric O+ ions, along with the hot magnetospheric H+ ions almost fully participate in the reconnection exhaust flows. Finite Larmor radius effects are also apparent and control how far the ions extend on the magnetosheath side. Ion signatures consistent with heating after being picked up in the reconnection exhaust flow are observed in the H+ and O+ distribution functions. The dynamics of the cold magnetospheric ions depends on where they enter the reconnection region. If they enter the reconnection region at the downstream separatrix, they will be taken away by the magnetic field in an adiabatic way as analyzed by Drake et al. (2009a); if they enter close to the diffusion region, they behave as pick-up ions.

Acceleration mechanisms flares, magnetic reconnection and shock waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colgate, S.A.

1979-01-01

Several mechanisms are briefly discussed for the acceleration of particles in the astrophysical environment. Included are hydrodynamic acceleration, spherically convergent shocks, shock and a density gradient, coherent electromagnetic acceleration, the flux tube origin, symmetries and instabilities, reconnection, galactic flares, intergalactic acceleration, stochastic acceleration, and astrophysical shocks. It is noted that the supernova shock wave models still depend critically on the presupernova star structure and the assumption of highly compact presupernova models for type I supernovae. 37 references

Thick Escaping Magnetospheric Ion Layer in Magnetopause Reconnection with MMS Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Nagai, T.; Kitamura, N.; Hasagawa, H.; Shinohara, I.; Yokota, S.; Saito, Y.; Nakamura, R.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C.; Moore, T. E.;

Imaging Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in a Solar Eruptive Flare

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Y.; Ding, M. D.; Sun, X.; Qiu, J.; Priest, E. R.

2017-01-01

Solar flares are among the most energetic events in the solar atmosphere. It is widely accepted that flares are powered by magnetic reconnection in the corona. An eruptive flare is usually accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, both of which are probably driven by the eruption of a magnetic flux rope (MFR). Here we report an eruptive flare on 2016 March 23 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory . The extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations exhibit the clear rise and eruption of an MFR. In particular, the observations reveal solid evidence of magnetic reconnection from both the corona and chromosphere during the flare. Moreover, weak reconnection is observed before the start of the flare. We find that the preflare weak reconnection is of tether-cutting type and helps the MFR to rise slowly. Induced by a further rise of the MFR, strong reconnection occurs in the rise phases of the flare, which is temporally related to the MFR eruption. We also find that the magnetic reconnection is more of 3D-type in the early phase, as manifested in a strong-to-weak shear transition in flare loops, and becomes more 2D-like in the later phase, as shown by the apparent rising motion of an arcade of flare loops.

Imaging Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in a Solar Eruptive Flare

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Y.; Ding, M. D. [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Sun, X. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Qiu, J. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States); Priest, E. R., E-mail: yingli@nju.edu.cn [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, Scotland (United Kingdom)

2017-02-01

Solar flares are among the most energetic events in the solar atmosphere. It is widely accepted that flares are powered by magnetic reconnection in the corona. An eruptive flare is usually accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, both of which are probably driven by the eruption of a magnetic flux rope (MFR). Here we report an eruptive flare on 2016 March 23 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory . The extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations exhibit the clear rise and eruption of an MFR. In particular, the observations reveal solid evidence of magnetic reconnection from both the corona and chromosphere during the flare. Moreover, weak reconnection is observed before the start of the flare. We find that the preflare weak reconnection is of tether-cutting type and helps the MFR to rise slowly. Induced by a further rise of the MFR, strong reconnection occurs in the rise phases of the flare, which is temporally related to the MFR eruption. We also find that the magnetic reconnection is more of 3D-type in the early phase, as manifested in a strong-to-weak shear transition in flare loops, and becomes more 2D-like in the later phase, as shown by the apparent rising motion of an arcade of flare loops.

Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Heating Astrophysical Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Hammoud, M. M.; El Eid, M.; Darwish, M.; Dayeh, M. A.

2017-12-01

The description of plasma in the context of a fluid model reveals the important phenomenon of magnetic reconnection (MGR). This process is thought to be the cause of particle heating and acceleration in various astrophysical phenomena. Examples are geomagnetic storms, solar flares, or heating the solar corona, which is the focus of the present contribution. The magnetohydrodynamic approach (MHD) provides a basic description of MGR. However, the simulation of this process is rather challenging. Although it is not yet established whether waves or reconnection play the dominant role in heating the solar atmosphere, the present goal is to examine the tremendous increase of the temperature between the solar chromosphere and the corona in a very narrow transition region. Since we are dealing with very-high temperature plasma, the modeling of such heating process seems to require a two-fluid description consisting of ions and electrons. This treatment is an extension of the one-fluid model of resistive MHD that has been recently developed by [Hammoud et al., 2017] using the modern numerical openfoam toolbox. In this work, we outline the two-fluid approach using coronal conditions, show evidence of MGR in the two-fluid description, and investigate the temperature increase as a result of this MGR process.

Cluster Observations of reconnection along the dusk flank of the magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Escoubet, C.-Philippe; Grison, Benjamin; Berchem, Jean; Trattner, Karlheinz; Lavraud, Benoit; Pitout, Frederic; Soucek, Jan; Richard, Robert; Laakso, Harri; Masson, Arnaud; Dunlop, Malcolm; Dandouras, Iannis; Reme, Henri; Fazakerley, Andrew; Daly, Patrick

2015-04-01

Magnetic reconnection is generally accepted to be the main process that transfers particles and energy from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. The location of the reconnection site depends on the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the solar wind: on the dayside magnetosphere for an IMF southward, on the lobes for an IMF northward and on the flanks for an IMF in the East-West direction. Since most of observations of reconnection events have sampled a limited region of space simultaneously it is still not yet know if the reconnection line is extended over large regions of the magnetosphere or if is patchy and made of many reconnection lines. We report a Cluster crossing on 5 January 2002 near the exterior cusp on the southern dusk side where we observe multiple sources of reconnection/injections. The IMF was mainly azimuthal (IMF-By around -5 nT), the solar wind speed lower than usual around 280 km/s with the density of order 5 cm-3. The four Cluster spacecraft had an elongated configuration near the magnetopause. C4 was the first spacecraft to enter the cusp around 19:52:04 UT, followed by C2 at 19:52:35 UT, C1 at 19:54:24 UT and C3 at 20:13:15 UT. C4 and C1 observed two ion energy dispersions at 20:10 UT and 20:40 UT and C3 at 20:35 UT and 21:15 UT. Using the time of flight technique on the upgoing and downgoing ions, which leads to energy dispersions, we obtain distances of the ion sources between 14 and 20 RE from the spacecraft. The slope of the ion energy dispersions confirmed these distances. Using Tsyganenko model, we find that these sources are located on the dusk flank, past the terminator. The first injection by C3 is seen at approximately the same time as the 2nd injection on C1 but their sources at the magnetopause were separated by more than 7 RE. This would imply that two distinct sources were active at the same time on the dusk flank of the magnetosphere. In addition, a flow reversal was observed at the magnetopause on C4

Wave driven magnetic reconnection in the Taylor problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitzpatrick, Richard; Bhattacharjee, Amitava; Ma Zhiwei; Linde, Timur

2003-01-01

An improved Laplace transform theory is developed in order to investigate the initial response of a stable slab plasma equilibrium enclosed by conducting walls to a suddenly applied wall perturbation in the so-called Taylor problem. The novel feature of this theory is that it does not employ asymptotic matching. If the wall perturbation is switched on slowly compared to the Alfven time then the plasma response eventually asymptotes to that predicted by conventional asymptotic matching theory. However, at early times there is a compressible Alfven wave driven contribution to the magnetic reconnection rate which is not captured by asymptotic matching theory, and leads to a significant increase in the reconnection rate. If the wall perturbation is switched on rapidly compared to the Alfven time then strongly localized compressible Alfven wave-pulses are generated which bounce backward and forward between the walls many times. Each instance these wave-pulses cross the resonant surface they generate a transient surge in the reconnection rate. The maximum pulse driven reconnection rate can be much larger than that predicted by conventional asymptotic matching theory

How Does the Electron Dynamics Affect the Global Reconnection Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael

2012-01-01

The question of whether the microscale controls the macroscale or vice-versa remains one of the most challenging problems in plasmas. A particular topic of interest within this context is collisionless magnetic reconnection, where both points of views are espoused by different groups of researchers. This presentation will focus on this topic. We will begin by analyzing the properties of electron diffusion region dynamics both for guide field and anti-parallel reconnection, and how they can be scaled to different inflow conditions. As a next step, we will study typical temporal variations of the microscopic dynamics with the objective of understanding the potential for secular changes to the macroscopic system. The research will be based on a combination of analytical theory and numerical modeling.

Hamiltonian derivation of a gyrofluid model for collisionless magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tassi, E

2014-01-01

We consider a simple electromagnetic gyrokinetic model for collisionless plasmas and show that it possesses a Hamiltonian structure. Subsequently, from this model we derive a two-moment gyrofluid model by means of a procedure which guarantees that the resulting gyrofluid model is also Hamiltonian. The first step in the derivation consists of imposing a generic fluid closure in the Poisson bracket of the gyrokinetic model, after expressing such bracket in terms of the gyrofluid moments. The constraint of the Jacobi identity, which every Poisson bracket has to satisfy, selects then what closures can lead to a Hamiltonian gyrofluid system. For the case at hand, it turns out that the only closures (not involving integro/differential operators or an explicit dependence on the spatial coordinates) that lead to a valid Poisson bracket are those for which the second order parallel moment, independently for each species, is proportional to the zero order moment. In particular, if one chooses an isothermal closure based on the equilibrium temperatures and derives accordingly the Hamiltonian of the system from the Hamiltonian of the parent gyrokinetic model, one recovers a known Hamiltonian gyrofluid model for collisionless reconnection. The proposed procedure, in addition to yield a gyrofluid model which automatically conserves the total energy, provides also, through the resulting Poisson bracket, a way to derive further conservation laws of the gyrofluid model, associated with the so called Casimir invariants. We show that a relation exists between Casimir invariants of the gyrofluid model and those of the gyrokinetic parent model. The application of such Hamiltonian derivation procedure to this two-moment gyrofluid model is a first step toward its application to more realistic, higher-order fluid or gyrofluid models for tokamaks. It also extends to the electromagnetic gyrokinetic case, recent applications of the same procedure to Vlasov and drift- kinetic systems

Slipping magnetic reconnection during an X-class solar flare observed by SDO/AIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudík, J.; Del Zanna, G.; Mason, H. E. [DAMTP, CMS, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom); Janvier, M. [Department of Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (United Kingdom); Aulanier, G.; Schmieder, B. [LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, UMR 8109 (CNRS), F-92195 Meudon Principal Cedex (France); Karlický, M., E-mail: J.Dudik@damtp.cam.ac.uk, E-mail: mjanvier@maths.dundee.ac.uk [Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov (Czech Republic)

2014-04-01

We present SDO/AIA observations of an eruptive X-class flare of 2012 July 12, and compare its evolution with the predictions of a three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation. We focus on the dynamics of flare loops that are seen to undergo slipping reconnection during the flare. In the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 131 Å observations, lower parts of 10 MK flare loops exhibit an apparent motion with velocities of several tens of km s{sup –1} along the developing flare ribbons. In the early stages of the flare, flare ribbons consist of compact, localized bright transition-region emission from the footpoints of the flare loops. A differential emission measure analysis shows that the flare loops have temperatures up to the formation of Fe XXIV. A series of very long, S-shaped loops erupt, leading to a coronal mass ejection observed by STEREO. The observed dynamics are compared with the evolution of magnetic structures in the 'standard solar flare model in 3D.' This model matches the observations well, reproducing the apparently slipping flare loops, S-shaped erupting loops, and the evolution of flare ribbons. All of these processes are explained via 3D reconnection mechanisms resulting from the expansion of a torus-unstable flux rope. The AIA observations and the numerical model are complemented by radio observations showing a noise storm in the metric range. Dm-drifting pulsation structures occurring during the eruption indicate plasmoid ejection and enhancement of the reconnection rate. The bursty nature of radio emission shows that the slipping reconnection is still intermittent, although it is observed to persist for more than an hour.

Using observations of slipping velocities to test the hypothesis that reconnection heats the active region corona

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Kai; Longcope, Dana; Guo, Yang; Ding, Mingde

2017-08-01

Numerous proposed coronal heating mechanisms have invoked magnetic reconnection in some role. Testing such a mechanism requires a method of measuring magnetic reconnection coupled with a prediction of the heat delivered by reconnection at the observed rate. In the absence of coronal reconnection, field line footpoints move at the same velocity as the plasma they find themselves in. The rate of coronal reconnection is therefore related to any discrepancy observed between footpoint motion and that of the local plasma — so-called slipping motion. We propose a novel method to measure this velocity discrepancy by combining a sequence of non-linear force-free field extrapolations with maps of photospheric velocity. We obtain both from a sequence of vector magnetograms of an active region (AR). We then propose a method of computing the coronal heating produced under the assumption the observed slipping velocity was due entirely to coronal reconnection. This heating rate is used to predict density and temperature at points along an equilibrium loop. This, in turn, is used to synthesize emission in EUV and SXR bands. We perform this analysis using a sequence of HMI vector magnetograms of a particular AR and compare synthesized images to observations of the same AR made by SDO. We also compare differential emission measure inferred from those observations to that of the modeled corona.

Physical conditions in the reconnection layer in pulsar magnetospheres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uzdensky, Dmitri A. [Center for Integrated Plasma Studies, Physics Department, University of Colorado, UCB 390, Boulder, CO 80309-0390 (United States); Spitkovsky, Anatoly, E-mail: uzdensky@colorado.edu, E-mail: anatoly@astro.princeton.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2014-01-01

The magnetosphere of a rotating pulsar naturally develops a current sheet (CS) beyond the light cylinder (LC). Magnetic reconnection in this CS inevitably dissipates a nontrivial fraction of the pulsar spin-down power within a few LC radii. We develop a basic physical picture of reconnection in this environment and discuss its implications for the observed pulsed gamma-ray emission. We argue that reconnection proceeds in the plasmoid-dominated regime, via a hierarchical chain of multiple secondary islands/flux ropes. The inter-plasmoid reconnection layers are subject to strong synchrotron cooling, leading to significant plasma compression. Using the conditions of pressure balance across these current layers, the balance between the heating by magnetic energy dissipation and synchrotron cooling, and Ampere's law, we obtain simple estimates for key parameters of the layers—temperature, density, and layer thickness. In the comoving frame of the relativistic pulsar wind just outside of the equatorial CS, these basic parameters are uniquely determined by the strength of the reconnecting upstream magnetic field. For the case of the Crab pulsar, we find them to be of order 10 GeV, 10{sup 13} cm{sup –3}, and 10 cm, respectively. After accounting for the bulk Doppler boosting due to the pulsar wind, the synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission from the reconnecting CS can explain the observed pulsed high-energy (GeV) and very high energy (∼100 GeV) radiation, respectively. Also, we suggest that the rapid relative motions of the secondary plasmoids in the hierarchical chain may contribute to the production of the pulsar radio emission.

Plasmoid statistics in relativistic magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Petropoulou, M.; Christie, I. M.; Sironi, L.; Giannios, D.

2018-04-01

Plasmoids, overdense blobs of plasma containing magnetic fields and high-energy particles, are a self-consistent outcome of the reconnection process in the relativistic regime. Recent two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have shown that plasmoids can undergo a variety of processes (e.g. mergers, bulk acceleration, growth, and advection) within the reconnection layer. We developed a Monte Carlo code, benchmarked with the recent PIC simulations, to examine the effects of these processes on the steady-state size and momentum distributions of the plasmoid chain. The differential plasmoid size distribution is shown to be a power law, ranging from a few plasma skin depths to ˜0.1 of the reconnection layer's length. The power-law slope is shown to be linearly dependent upon the ratio of the plasmoid acceleration and growth rates, which slightly decreases with increasing plasma magnetization. We perform a detailed comparison of our results with those of recent PIC simulations and briefly discuss the astrophysical implications of our findings through the representative case of flaring events from blazar jets.

EVIDENCE FOR NEWLY INITIATED RECONNECTION IN THE SOLAR WIND AT 1 AU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Xiaojun; Ma, Yonghui; Wong, Hon-Cheng; Wang, Yi; Zuo, Pingbing; Wei, Fengsi; Feng, Xueshang; Zhou, Meng; Deng, Xiaohua

2015-01-01

We report the first evidence for a large-scale reconnection exhaust newly initiated in the solar wind using observations from three spacecraft: ACE, Wind, and ARTEMIS P2. We identified a well-structured X-line exhaust using measurements from ARTEMIS P2 in the downstream solar wind. However, in the upstream solar wind, ACE detected the same current sheet that corresponds to the exhaust identified by ARTEMIS P2 data without showing any reconnection signals. We cannot find any reconnection signals from Wind located between ACE and ARTEMIS P2. Within the exhaust, a magnetic island is identified, which is not consistent with the quasi-steady feature as previously reported and provides further evidence that the reconnection is newly initiated. Our observations show that the entering of energetic particles, probably from Earth's bow shock, makes the crucial difference between the non-reconnecting current sheet and the exhaust. Since no obvious driving factors are responsible for the reconnection initiation, we infer that these energetic particles probably play an important role in the reconnection initiation. Theoretical analysis also shows support for this potential mechanism

Magnetic Reconnection at a Three-dimensional Solar Null Point

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Jacob Trier; Baumann, Gisela; Galsgaard, Klaus

2012-01-01

Using a specific solar null point reconnection case studied by Masson et al (2009; ApJ 700, 559) we investigate the dependence of the reconnection rate on boundary driving speed, numerical resolution, type of resistivity (constant or numerical), and assumed stratification (constant density or sol...

Strategic Floodplain Reconnection Along the Lower Tisza and Lower Illinois Rivers: Identifying Opportunities, Tradeoffs, and Limitations

Science.gov (United States)

Guida, R.; Remo, J. W.; Secchi, S.; Swanson, T.; Kiss, T.

2015-12-01

During the late 19th and into the 20th Centuries, the Tisza and Illinois Rivers were highly altered through the construction of levees and dams to reclaim their floodplain-wetland systems for agriculture and to facilitate navigation. In recent decades, flood levels have continued to rise due to aggradation on the confined floodplains reducing flood-conveyance capacity. As a result, "Room for the River" proposals have gained more prominence. Our overarching hypothesis is that strategically reconnecting these rivers to their floodplains will reduce flood levels and increase ecological habitat while limiting socioeconomic impacts. In this study, we assessed several reconnection scenarios, including levee setbacks and removals, for the Lower Tisza River (LTR; Hungary) and the Lower Illinois River (LIR; Illinois, USA). To model water-surface elevations (WSELs) for the 5- through 500-year flood events, we employed HEC-RAS (1D) and SOBEK (1D/2D) hydraulic models. To determine socioeconomic tradeoffs using these modeled WSELs, we developed a corresponding suite of expected annual damages (EADs) using FEMA's Hazus-MH flood-loss modeling software for buildings and integrated geospatial and soil productivity indices to estimate agricultural losses. To assess ecosystem benefits of reconnection along the LTR, we used historic wetland extent as a proxy for increasing needed floodplain habitats. For the LIR, we performed habitat screening using Land Capability Potential Index and other assessment tools to estimate potential ecosystem benefits. Results indicate that levee removal and/or setbacks may reduce flood heights up to 1.6 m along the LTR and over 1.0 m along the LIR. While urban areas have the highest EADs, several lower-production agricultural areas show potential for reducing flood heights while minimizing damages. Strategic-floodplain reconnection benefits along the LTR and LIR include over half of historically-significant wetlands being reconnected and the creation of

A Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binary Model for Repeating Fast Radio Burst 121102

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Wei-Min; Dong, Yi-Ze; Liu, Tong; Ma, Renyi; Wang, Junfeng

2016-06-01

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche-lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.

A NEUTRON STAR–WHITE DWARF BINARY MODEL FOR REPEATING FAST RADIO BURST 121102

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Wei-Min; Dong, Yi-Ze; Liu, Tong; Ma, Renyi; Wang, Junfeng

2016-01-01

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche-lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.

A NEUTRON STAR–WHITE DWARF BINARY MODEL FOR REPEATING FAST RADIO BURST 121102

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu, Wei-Min; Dong, Yi-Ze; Liu, Tong; Ma, Renyi; Wang, Junfeng, E-mail: guwm@xmu.edu.cn [Department of Astronomy, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China)

2016-06-01

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche-lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.

On the Occurrence of Magnetic Reconnection Along the Dawn and Dusk Magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

Petrinec, S. M.; Burch, J. L.; Fuselier, S. A.; Trattner, K. J.; Gomez, R. G.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.

2017-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is recognized as the primary process by which bulk solar wind plasma is able to enter the magnetosphere. The amount of plasma and energy transport is affected by the reconnection rate along the reconnection line as well as the spatial extent of the reconnection line. These parameters are in turn influenced by parameters such as the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the dipole tilt angle of the Earth, and the local change in plasma beta between the magnetosheath and magnetosphere. Local variations of magnetosheath parameters are influenced by the character of the standing bow shock upstream of the observing location; i.e., there is greater variation downstream of the quasi-parallel shock than downstream of the quasi-perpendicular shock. Observations from the MMS mission are used to examine the occurrence of quasi-steady magnetic reconnection along the dawn and dusk regions of the magnetopause, and to determine the influence of local magnetosheath variations on the characteristics of the extended reconnection line.

Plasma and Energetic Particle Behaviors During Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection at the Magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S. H.; Zhang, H.; Zong, Q.-G.; Otto, A.; Sibeck, D. G.; Wang, Y.; Glassmeier, K.-H.; Daly, P.W.; Reme, H.

2014-01-01

The factors controlling asymmetric reconnection and the role of the cold plasma population in the reconnection process are two outstanding questions. We present a case study of multipoint Cluster observations demonstrating that the separatrix and flow boundary angles are greater on the magnetosheath than on the magnetospheric side of the magnetopause, probably due to the stronger density than magnetic field asymmetry at this boundary. The motion of cold plasmaspheric ions entering the reconnection region differs from that of warmer magnetosheath and magnetospheric ions. In contrast to the warmer ions, which are probably accelerated by reconnection in the diffusion region near the subsolar magnetopause, the colder ions are simply entrained by ??×?? drifts at high latitudes on the recently reconnected magnetic field lines. This indicates that plasmaspheric ions can sometimes play only a very limited role in asymmetric reconnection, in contrast to previous simulation studies. Three cold ion populations (probably H+, He+, and O+) appear in the energy spectrum, consistent with ion acceleration to a common velocity.

Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellites Observations of Parallel Electric Fields Associated with Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Ergun, R. E.; Goodrich, K. A.; Wilder, F. D.; Holmes, J. C.; Stawarz, J. E.; Eriksson, S.; Sturner, A. P.; Malaspina, D. M.; Usanova, M. E.; Torbert, R. B.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Burch, J. L.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L.; Hesse, M.; Chen, L. J.; Lapenta, G.; Goldman, M. V.; Newman, D. L.; Schwartz, S. J.; Eastwood, J. P.; Phan, T. D.; Mozer, F. S.; Drake, J.; Shay, M. A.; Cassak, P. A.; Nakamura, R.; Marklund, G.

2016-06-01

We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of parallel electric fields (E∥ ) associated with magnetic reconnection in the subsolar region of the Earth's magnetopause. E∥ events near the electron diffusion region have amplitudes on the order of 100 mV /m , which are significantly larger than those predicted for an antiparallel reconnection electric field. This Letter addresses specific types of E∥ events, which appear as large-amplitude, near unipolar spikes that are associated with tangled, reconnected magnetic fields. These E∥ events are primarily in or near a current layer near the separatrix and are interpreted to be double layers that may be responsible for secondary reconnection in tangled magnetic fields or flux ropes. These results are telling of the three-dimensional nature of magnetopause reconnection and indicate that magnetopause reconnection may be often patchy and/or drive turbulence along the separatrix that results in flux ropes and/or tangled magnetic fields.

Reconnection in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pare, V.K.

1983-01-01

Calculations with several different computer codes based on the resistive MHD equations have shown that (m = 1, n = 1) tearing modes in tokamak plasmas grow by magnetic reconnection. The observable behavior predicted by the codes has been confirmed in detail from the waveforms of signals from x-ray detectors and recently by x-ray tomographic imaging

FORMATION AND RECONNECTION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL CURRENT SHEETS IN THE SOLAR CORONA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edmondson, J. K.; Antiochos, S. K.; DeVore, C. R.; Zurbuchen, T. H.

2010-01-01

Current-sheet formation and magnetic reconnection are believed to be the basic physical processes responsible for much of the activity observed in astrophysical plasmas, such as the Sun's corona. We investigate these processes for a magnetic configuration consisting of a uniform background field and an embedded line dipole, a topology that is expected to be ubiquitous in the corona. This magnetic system is driven by a uniform horizontal flow applied at the line-tied photosphere. Although both the initial field and the driver are translationally symmetric, the resulting evolution is calculated using a fully three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic simulation with adaptive mesh refinement that resolves the current sheet and reconnection dynamics in detail. The advantage of our approach is that it allows us to directly apply the vast body of knowledge gained from the many studies of two-dimensional (2D) reconnection to the fully 3D case. We find that a current sheet forms in close analogy to the classic Syrovatskii 2D mechanism, but the resulting evolution is different than expected. The current sheet is globally stable, showing no evidence for a disruption or a secondary instability even for aspect ratios as high as 80:1. The global evolution generally follows the standard Sweet-Parker 2D reconnection model except for an accelerated reconnection rate at a very thin current sheet, due to the tearing instability and the formation of magnetic islands. An interesting conclusion is that despite the formation of fully 3D structures at small scales, the system remains close to 2D at global scales. We discuss the implications of our results for observations of the solar corona.

Progress in the theory of magnetic reconnection phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ottaviani, M.; Arcis, N.; Maget, P.; Zwingmann, W.; Grasso, D.; Militello, F.; Porcelli, F.

2004-01-01

Recent theoretical work on magnetic reconnection in hot plasma confinement devices is reviewed. The presentation highlights the common aspects of reconnection phenomena, and current research trends are emphasised. Progress in understanding the dynamics of slowly evolving modes of the tearing family, based on advanced analytic techniques and numerical simulation, as well as of faster modes that lead to internal disruptions, is reported. (authors)

Fire Hose Instability in the Multiple Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandrova, A.; Retino, A.; Divin, A. V.; Le Contel, O.; Matteini, L.; Breuillard, H.; Deca, J.; Catapano, F.; Cozzani, G.; Nakamura, R.; Panov, E. V.; Voros, Z.

2017-12-01

We present observations of multiple reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail. In particular, we observe an ion temperature anisotropy characterized by large temperature along the magnetic field, between the two active X-lines. The anisotropy is associated with right-hand polarized waves at frequencies lower than the ion cyclotron frequency and propagating obliquely to the background magnetic field. We show that the observed anisotropy and the wave properties are consistent with linear kinetic theory of fire hose instability. The observations are in agreement with the particle-in-cell simulations of multiple reconnection. The results suggest that the fire hose instability can develop during multiple reconnection as a consequence of the ion parallel anisotropy that is produced by counter-streaming ions trapped between the X-lines.

New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zenitani, Seiji; Hesse, Michael; Klimas, Alex; Kuznetsova, Masha

2011-01-01

A new measure to identify a small-scale dissipation region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is proposed. The energy transfer from the electromagnetic field to plasmas in the electron's rest frame is formulated as a Lorentz-invariant scalar quantity. The measure is tested by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in typical configurations: symmetric and asymmetric reconnection, with and without the guide field. The innermost region surrounding the reconnection site is accurately located in all cases. We further discuss implications for nonideal MHD dissipation.

Inertial-Range Reconnection in Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence and in the Solar Wind.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalescu, Cristian C; Shi, Yi-Kang; Eyink, Gregory L; Drivas, Theodore D; Vishniac, Ethan T; Lazarian, Alexander

2015-07-10

In situ spacecraft data on the solar wind show events identified as magnetic reconnection with wide outflows and extended "X lines," 10(3)-10(4) times ion scales. To understand the role of turbulence at these scales, we make a case study of an inertial-range reconnection event in a magnetohydrodynamic simulation. We observe stochastic wandering of field lines in space, breakdown of standard magnetic flux freezing due to Richardson dispersion, and a broadened reconnection zone containing many current sheets. The coarse-grain magnetic geometry is like large-scale reconnection in the solar wind, however, with a hyperbolic flux tube or apparent X line extending over integral length scales.

Proxy and in-situ studies of dayside magnetopause reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scurry, L.; Russell, C.T. [California Univ., Los Angeles, CA (United States). Inst. of Geophysics and Planetary Physics; Gosling, J.T. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

1992-12-01

The functional dependence of magnetic reconnection on solar wind parameters is examined utilizing the am geomagnetic index and satellite observations at the magnetopause. Several parameters in the solar wind are found to control geomagnetic activity. Reconnection is found to be most efficient when the interplanetary magnetic field is southward, although some activity remains when the IMF is horizontal and slightly northward. The reconnection efficiency increases with the solar wind dynamic pressure but decreases when the Mach number is greater than 7.5. These results are compared with the functional dependencies found by correlating solar wind and magnetosheath measurements with observations of accelerated tows at the magnetopause. Accelerated tows are found to occur most often when the interplanetary magnetic field is directed southward. However, accelerated flows do occur when the IMF is horizontal and northward. Accelerated flows are also affected by the magnetosheath beta such that higher beta inhibits their occurrence. The location of accelerated tows indicates that reconnection occurs mainly at the subsolar point.

Properties of Turbulence in the Reconnection Exhaust: Numerical Simulations Compared with Observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pucci, F.; Olshevsky, V.; Lapenta, G. [Center for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Department Wiskunde, KU Leuven, 200B Celestijnenlaan, Leuven, B-3001 (Belgium); Servidio, S.; Malara, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, I-87036 Cosenza (Italy); Sorriso-Valvo, L. [Nanotec-CNR, U.O.S. di Cosenza, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 31C, Arcavacata di Rende, I-87036 (Italy); Matthaeus, W. H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, 217 Sharp Lab, Newark, DE 19716 (United States); Goldman, M. V.; Newman, D. L., E-mail: francesco.pucci@kuleuven.be [University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

2017-05-20

The properties of the turbulence that develops in the outflows of magnetic reconnection have been investigated using self-consistent plasma simulations, in three dimensions. As commonly observed in space plasmas, magnetic reconnection is characterized by the presence of turbulence. Here we provide a direct comparison of our simulations with reported observations of reconnection events in the magnetotail, investigating the properties of the electromagnetic field and the energy conversion mechanisms. In particular, simulations show the development of a turbulent cascade consistent with spacecraft observations, statistics of the dissipation mechanisms in the turbulent outflows similar to the ones observed in reconnection jets in the magnetotail, and that the properties of turbulence vary as a function of the distance from the reconnecting X-line.

Multi-scale observations of magnetic reconnection: Cluster and MMS measurements of the reconnecting magnetopause at the subsolar region and dusk sector

Science.gov (United States)

Toledo Redondo, S.; Escoubet, C. P.; Lavraud, B.; Andre, M.; Coxon, J.; Fear, R. C.; Aunai, N.; Hwang, K. J.; Li, W.; Fuselier, S. A.; Giles, B. L.; Russell, C. T.; Burch, J. L.

2017-12-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that couples the shocked solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere, allowing the interchange of energy and mass. The X line of magnetic reconnection lies along the magnetopause but its extent and orientation are only partially understood, despite its importance for understanding global solar wind - magnetosphere coupling. We have identified a series of conjunctions between the MMS and Cluster missions where they crossed simultaneously the magnetopause at locations separated by several Earth radii: MMS spacecraft were in the subsolar region while Cluster were in the dusk flank. We identify signatures of reconnection at both spacecraft, allowing us to draw new conclusions about the extent, orientation and time variations of the X line along the magnetopause.

Particle-in-cell simulations of magnetically driven reconnection using laser-powered capacitor coils

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kai; Lu, Quanming; Gao, Lan; Ji, Hantao; Wang, Xueyi; Fan, Feibin

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose an experimental scheme to fulfill magnetically driven reconnections. Here, two laser beams are focused on a capacitor-coil target and then strong currents are wired in two parallel circular coils. Magnetic reconnection occurs between the two magnetic bubbles created by the currents in the two parallel circular coils. A two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation model in the cylindrical coordinate is used to investigate such a process, and the simulations are performed in the (r ,z ) plane. The results show that with the increase of the currents in the two coils, the associated magnetic bubbles expand and a current sheet is formed between the two bubbles. Magnetic reconnection occurs when the current sheet is sufficiently thin. A quadrupole structure of the magnetic field in the θ direction ( Bθ ) is generated in the diffusion region and a strong electron current along the r direction ( Je r ) is also formed due to the existence of the high-speed electron flow away from the X line in the center of the outflow region. Because the X line is a circle along the θ direction, the convergence of the plasma flow around r =0 will lead to the asymmetry of Je r and Bθ between the two outflow regions of magnetic reconnection.

Nonlinear simulation of magnetic reconnection with a drift kinetic electron model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwingmann, W.; Ottaviani, M.

2004-01-01

The process of reconnection allows for a change of magnetic topology inside a plasma. It is an important process for eruptive phenomena in astrophysical plasma, and the sawtooth relaxation in laboratory plasma close to thermonuclear conditions. The sawtooth relaxation is associated with the collisionless electron tearing instability, caused by the electron inertia. A thorough treatment therefore requires a kinetic model for the electron dynamics. In this contribution, we report on the numerical simulation of the electron tearing instability by solving the Vlasov equation directly. The results confirm results of an early paper on the same subject, and extends them to smaller values of the collision skin depth d e = 0.25. Our results suggest a faster than exponential growth in the early nonlinear phase of the instability. We observe as well an asymmetry of the resulting fields. It seems, however, that the field structure becomes closer to the fluid case for small values of d e

New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Zenitani, Seiji; Hesse, Michael; Klimas, Alex; Kuznetsova, Masha

2012-01-01

A new measure to identify a small-scale dissipation region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is proposed. The energy transfer from the electromagnetic field to plasmas in the electron s rest frame is formulated as a Lorentz-invariant scalar quantity. The measure is tested by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in typical configurations: symmetric and asymmetric reconnection, with and without the guide field. The innermost region surrounding the reconnection site is accurately located in all cases. We further discuss implications for nonideal MHD dissipation.

Test-electron analysis of the magnetic reconnection topology

Science.gov (United States)

Borgogno, D.; Perona, A.; Grasso, D.

2017-12-01

Three-dimensional (3D) investigations of the magnetic reconnection field topology in space and laboratory plasmas have identified the abidance of magnetic coherent structures in the stochastic region, which develop during the nonlinear stage of the reconnection process. Further analytical and numerical analyses highlighted the efficacy of some of these structures in limiting the magnetic transport. The question then arises as to what is the possible role played by these patterns in the dynamics of the plasma particles populating the chaotic region. In order to explore this aspect, we provide a detailed description of the nonlinear 3D magnetic field topology in a collisionless magnetic reconnection event with a strong guide field. In parallel, we study the evolution of a population of test electrons in the guiding-center approximation all along the reconnection process. In particular, we focus on the nonlinear spatial redistribution of the initially thermal electrons and show how the electron dynamics in the stochastic region depends on the sign and on the value of their velocities. While the particles with the highest positive speed populate the coherent current structures that survive in the chaotic sea, the presence of the manifolds calculated in the stochastic region defines the confinement area for the electrons with the largest negative velocity. These results stress the link between the magnetic topology and the electron motion and contribute to the overall picture of a non-stationary fluid magnetic reconnection description in a geometry proper to physical systems where the effects of the curvature can be neglected.

Exploratory development of the reconnection launcher 1986-1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, M.; Widner, M.M.; Cnare, E.C.; Duggin, B.W.; Kaye, R.J.; Freeman, J.R.

1991-01-01

This paper summarizes the exploratory development phase for the reconnection launcher. This is an induction launcher which features a contractless, solid armature with either flat-plate or cylindrical geometry. The strategy for successful design is discussed, emphasizing the way we resolve the issues of ohmic heating and high-voltage requirements for high velocity. The indispensable role of a fast-running, mesh-matrix code is stressed. The authors describe three multistage launchers. One of these achieved muzzle velocity of 1 km/s with a 150-gram flat-plate projectile. The other two have launched cylindrical projectiles at 335 m/s, one with relatively heavy projectiles of 5 kg, the other with relatively light ones of 10 grams. The cylindrical projectiles can be spin-stabilized prior to launch for improved flight. We outline the potential of this technology for earth-to-orbit launch of small satellites

Total magnetic reconnection during a tokamak major disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, J.A.; Dexter, R.N.; Prager, S.C.

1990-07-01

The safety factor within a tokamak plasma has been measured during a major disruption. During the disruption, the central safety factor jumps from below one to above one, while the total current is unchanged. This implies that total reconnection has occurred. This observation is in contract to the absence of total reconnection observed during a sawtooth oscillation in the same device. 11 refs., 6 figs

The dependence of cusp ion signatures on the reconnection rate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Morley

2003-04-01

Full Text Available The interpretation of structure in cusp ion dispersions is important for helping to understand the temporal and spatial structure of magnetopause reconnection. "Stepped" and "sawtooth" signatures have been shown to be caused by temporal variations in the reconnection rate under the same physical conditions for different satellite trajectories. The present paper shows that even for a single satellite path, a change in the amplitude of any reconnection pulses can alter the observed signature and even turn sawtooth into stepped forms and vice versa. On 20 August 1998, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP craft F-14 crossed the cusp just to the south of Longyearbyen, returning on the following orbit. The two passes by the DMSP F-14 satellites have very similar trajectories and the open-closed field line boundary (OCB crossings, as estimated from the SSJ/4 precipitating particle data and Polar UVI images, imply a similarly-shaped polar cap, yet the cusp ion dispersion signatures differ substantially. The cusp crossing at 08:54 UT displays a stepped ion dispersion previously considered to be typical of a meridional pass, whereas the crossing at 10:38 UT is a sawtooth form ion dispersion, previously considered typical of a satellite travelling longitudinally with respect to the OCB. It is shown that this change in dispersed ion signature is likely to be due to a change in the amplitude of the pulses in the reconnection rate, causing the stepped signature. Modelling of the low-energy ion cutoff under different conditions has reproduced the forms of signature observed.Key words. Ionosphere (particle precipitation Magnetospheric physics (energetic particles, precipitating, magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers

Electron Energization and Structure of the Diffusion Region During Asymmetric Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li-Jen; Hesse, Michael; Wang, Shan; Bessho, Naoki; Daughton, William

2016-01-01

Results from particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection with asymmetric upstream conditions are reported to elucidate electron energization and structure of the electron diffusion region (EDR). Acceleration of unmagnetized electrons results in discrete structures in the distribution functions and supports the intense current and perpendicular heating in the EDR. The accelerated electrons are cyclotron turned by the reconnected magnetic field to produce the outflow jets, and as such, the acceleration by the reconnection electric field is limited, leading to resistivity without particle-particle or particle-wave collisions. A map of electron distributions is constructed, and its spatial evolution is compared with quantities previously proposed to be EDR identifiers to enable effective identifications of the EDR in terrestrial magnetopause reconnection.

Magnetic Reconnection as Revealed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Moore, T. E.; Giles, B. L.; Phan, T.; Le Contel, O.; Webster, J.; Genestreti, K.; Ergun, R.; Chen, L. J.; Wang, S.; Dorelli, J.; Rager, A. C.; Graham, D.; Gershman, D. J.

2017-12-01

The NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has completed its prime mission observations and has now entered an extended mission phase. During the two-year prime mission MMS made fundamental advances in our understanding of magnetic reconnection as enabled by its unprecedentedly high-resolution plasma and field measurements, which were made from 4 identical spacecraft in tetrahedral formations ranging down to 7 km. The primary objective of MMS is to understand reconnection at the electron scale, and this objective was accomplished by detailed analysis of 32 electron diffusion regions at the dayside magnetopause and a significant number in the magnetotail, which are still being captured and analyzed. Significant interplay between theory and experiment has occurred throughout the mission leading to the discovery of agyrotropic "crescent-shaped" electron velocity-space distributions, which carry the out-of-plane current; the electron pressure tensor divergence, which produces the reconnection electric field; standing oblique whistler waves, which produce intense dissipation in sub-gyroscale regions near the X-line and electron stagnation point; beam-plasma interactions leading to whistler-mode and Langmuir waves; electromagnetic drift waves leading to corrugated magnetopause current sheets, and numerous other new reconnection-related phenomena. In this talk the many new aspects of reconnection discovered by MMS will be placed into context and used to evaluate our current level of understanding of this universally important space plasma phenomenon.

Solar Coronal Plumes and the Fast Solar Wind Bhola N. Dwivedi1 ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Is there any contribution of plume plasma to the fast SW streams at all? ..... but to a slow diminution of the reconnection activity, presumably with the effect ... might think, even if the thermal energy could be dumped at the base of the plume,.

Physics of the saturation of particle acceleration in relativistic magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Kagan, Daniel; Nakar, Ehud; Piran, Tsvi

2018-05-01

We investigate the saturation of particle acceleration in relativistic reconnection using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations at various magnetizations σ. We find that the particle energy spectrum produced in reconnection quickly saturates as a hard power law that cuts off at γ ≈ 4σ, confirming previous work. Using particle tracing, we find that particle acceleration by the reconnection electric field in X-points determines the shape of the particle energy spectrum. By analysing the current sheet structure, we show that physical cause of saturation is the spontaneous formation of secondary magnetic islands that can disrupt particle acceleration. By comparing the size of acceleration regions to the typical distance between disruptive islands, we show that the maximum Lorentz factor produced in reconnection is γ ≈ 5σ, which is very close to what we find in our particle energy spectra. We also show that the dynamic range in Lorentz factor of the power-law spectrum in reconnection is ≤40. The hardness of the power law combined with its narrow dynamic range implies that relativistic reconnection is capable of producing the hard narrow-band flares observed in the Crab nebula but has difficulty producing the softer broad-band prompt gamma-ray burst emission.

MMS Encounters with Reconnection Diffusion Regions in the Earth's Magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Argall, M. R.; Farrugia, C. J.; Alm, L.; Dors, I.; Payne, D.; Rogers, A. J.; Strangeway, R. J.; Phan, T.; Ergun, R.; Goodrich, K.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Giles, B. L.; Rager, A. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Kletzing, C.

2017-12-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) fleet of four spacecraft traversed the Earth's magnetotail in May through August of 2017 with an apogee of 25 Re, and encountered diffusion regions characteristic of symmetric reconnection. This presentation will describe in-situ measurements of large electric fields, strong electron cross-tail and Hall currents, and electron velocity distributions (frequently crescent-shaped) that are commonly observed in these regions. Positive electromagnetic energy conversion is also typical. The characteristics of symmetric reconnection observations will be contrasted with those of asymmetric reconnection that MMS observed previously at the dayside magnetopause.

Process of magnetic reconnection as a source of longitudinal currents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidneva, M.V.; Semenov, V.S.

1987-01-01

Variations in magnetic field and current system as applied to conditions in the Earth magnetospheric tail are calculated so as to show that three-dimensional reconnection leads inevitably to the appearance of a system of longitudinal currents. With reference to current layer of the magnetospheric tail the longitudinal currents appearing in the process of reconnection are directed to the Earth on the morning side and from Earth - on the evening side. The results presented suggest that magnetic reconnection can serve as a sourse of the Birkeland current loop of a substorm

Forced current sheet structure, formation and evolution: application to magnetic reconnection in the magnetosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Domrin

2004-07-01

Full Text Available By means of a simulation model, the earlier predicted nonlinear kinetic structure, a Forced Kinetic Current Sheet (FKCS, with extremely anisotropic ion distributions, is shown to appear as a result of a fast nonlinear process of transition from a previously existing equilibrium. This occurs under triggering action of a weak MHD disturbance that is applied at the boundary of the simulation box. In the FKCS, current is carried by initially cold ions which are brought into the CS by convection from both sides, and accelerated inside the CS. The process then appears to be spontaneously self-sustained, as a MHD disturbance of a rarefaction wave type propagates over the background plasma outside the CS. Comparable to the Alfvénic discontinuity in MHD, transformation of electromagnetic energy into the energy of plasma flows occurs at the FKCS. But unlike the MHD case, ``free" energy is produced here: dissipation should occur later, through particle interaction with turbulent waves generated by unstable ion distribution being formed by the FKCS action. In this way, an effect of magnetic field ``annihilation" appears, required for fast magnetic reconnection. Application of the theory to observations at the magnetopause and in the magnetotail is considered.

Calibrating MMS Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) Ambient Electron Flux Measurements and Characterizing 3D Electric Field Signatures of Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Shuster, J. R.; Torbert, R. B.; Vaith, H.; Argall, M. R.; Li, G.; Chen, L. J.; Ergun, R. E.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Marklund, G. T.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Russell, C. T.; Magnes, W.; Le Contel, O.; Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L.

2015-12-01

The electron drift instruments (EDIs) onboard each MMS spacecraft are designed with large geometric factors (~0.01cm2 str) to facilitate detection of weak (~100 nA) electron beams fired and received by the two gun-detector units (GDUs) when EDI is in its "electric field mode" to determine the local electric and magnetic fields. A consequence of the large geometric factor is that "ambient mode" electron flux measurements (500 eV electrons having 0°, 90°, or 180° pitch angle) can vary depending on the orientation of the EDI instrument with respect to the magnetic field, a nonphysical effect that requires a correction. Here, we present determinations of the θ- and ø-dependent correction factors for the eight EDI GDUs, where θ (ø) is the polar (azimuthal) angle between the GDU symmetry axis and the local magnetic field direction, and compare the corrected fluxes with those measured by the fast plasma instrument (FPI). Using these corrected, high time resolution (~1,000 samples per second) ambient electron fluxes, combined with the unprecedentedly high resolution 3D electric field measurements taken by the spin-plane and axial double probes (SDP and ADP), we are equipped to accurately detect electron-scale current layers and electric field waves associated with the non-Maxwellian (anisotropic and agyrotropic) particle distribution functions predicted to exist in the reconnection diffusion region. We compare initial observations of the diffusion region with distributions and wave analysis from PIC simulations of asymmetric reconnection applicable for modeling reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause, where MMS will begin Science Phase 1 as of September 1, 2015.

GENESIS OF INTERPLANETARY INTERMITTENT TURBULENCE: A CASE STUDY OF ROPE–ROPE MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chian, Abraham C.-L.; Loew, Murray H. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 (United States); Feng, Heng Q. [Institute of Space Physics, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang (China); Hu, Qiang [Department of Space Science and CSPAR, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Miranda, Rodrigo A. [UnB-Gama Campus, and Plasma Physics Laboratory, Institute of Physics, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Muñoz, Pablo R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of La Serena, Av. Juan Cisternas 1200, La Serena (Chile); Sibeck, David G. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Wu, De J., E-mail: abraham.chian@gmail.com [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)

2016-12-01

In a recent paper, the relation between current sheet, magnetic reconnection, and turbulence at the leading edge of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection was studied. We report here the observation of magnetic reconnection at the interface region of two interplanetary magnetic flux ropes. The front and rear boundary layers of three interplanetary magnetic flux ropes are identified, and the structures of magnetic flux ropes are reconstructed by the Grad–Shafranov method. A quantitative analysis of the reconnection condition and the degree of intermittency reveals that rope–rope magnetic reconnection is the most likely site for genesis of interplanetary intermittency turbulence in this event. The dynamic pressure pulse resulting from this reconnection triggers the onset of a geomagnetic storm.

Dynamics of Auroras Conjugate to the Dayside Reconnection Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Mende, S. B.; Frey, H. U.; Doolittle, J. H.

2006-12-01

During periods of northward IMF Bz, observations of the IMAGE satellite FUV instrument demonstrated the existence of an auroral footprint of the dayside lobe reconnection region. Under these conditions the dayside "reconnection spot" is a distinct feature being separated from the dayside auroral oval. In the IMAGE data, ~100 km spatial and 2 minutes temporal resolution, this feature appeared as a modest size, 200 to 500 km in diameter, diffuse spot which was present steadily while the IMF conditions lasted and the solar wind particle pressure was large enough to create a detectable signature. Based on this evidence, dayside reconnection observed with this resolution appears to be a steady state process. There have been several attempts to identify and study the "reconnection foot print aurora" with higher resolution from the ground. South Pole Station and the network of the US Automatic Geophysical Observatories (AGO-s) in Antarctica have all sky imagers that monitor the latitude region of interest (70 to 85 degrees geomagnetic) near midday during the Antarctic winter. In this paper we present sequences of auroral images that were taken during different conditions of Bz and therefore they are high spatial resolution detailed views of the auroras associated with reconnection. During negative Bz, auroras appear to be dynamic with poleward moving auroral forms that are clearly observed by ground based imagers with a ~few km spatial resolution. During positive Bz however the extremely high latitude aurora is much more stable and shows no preferential meridional motions. It should be noted that winter solstice conditions, needed for ground based observations, produce a dipole tilt in which reconnection is not expected to be symmetric and the auroral signatures might favor the opposite hemisphere.

The Response Time of the Magnetopause Reconnection Location to Changes in the Solar Wind: MMS Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Trattner, K. J.; Burch, J. L.; Ergun, R.; Fuselier, S. A.; Gomez, R. G.; Grimes, E. W.; Lewis, W. S.; Mauk, B.; Petrinec, S. M.; Pollock, C. J.

2016-01-01

Reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause is the mechanism by which magnetic fields in different regions change topology to create open magnetic field lines that allow energy, mass, and momentum to flow into the magnetosphere. It is the primary science goal of the recently launched MMS mission to unlock the mechanism of magnetic reconnection with a novel suite of plasma and field instruments. This study investigates several magnetopause crossings in the vicinity of the X-line on 19 September 2015 and compares the observed X-line location with predictions from the Maximum Magnetic Shear model. Rotations of the interplanetary magnetic field OMF) during the magnetopause crossings together with the close proximity of the four MMS satellites are used to determine the response time of the reconnection X-line location to changes in the IMF. The reconnection location exhibits a continuous motion during slow changes in the IMF but a delayed response to sudden changes in the IMF.

Limiting velocity of reconnection in a current layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podgornyj, A.N.; Syrovatskij, S.I.

1981-01-01

Formation of a plasma current layer from a strong perturbation wave with the Mach magnetic number Msub(a)=1 is investigated numerically within the framework of magnetic hydrodynamics. It is shown that velocity of plasma flowing into the layer is established as small one as compared with the Alfven velocity. At the current layer boundary the Mach magnetic number Msub(a, c)=0.14-0.2. A great decrease in plasma velocity to the current layer results from the counterpressure of a magnetic field, intensity of which near the layer increases due to the storage of magnetic force lines which do not yet reconnect. Calculational results demonstrate the existence of limiting velocity of magnetic reconnection constituting tenth shares of the Mach magnetic number. Influence of this phenomenon on a character of reconnection in the Earth magnetosphere is discussed

The heavy ion diffusion region in magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y. H.; Mouikis, C. G.; Kistler, L. M.; Wang, S.; Roytershteyn, V.; Karimabadi, H.

2015-05-01

While the plasma in the Earth's magnetotail predominantly consists of protons and electrons, there are times when a significant amount of oxygen is present. When magnetic reconnection occurs, the behavior of these heavy ions can be significantly different from that of the protons, due to their larger gyroradius. In this study, we investigate the heavy ion distribution functions in the reconnection ion diffusion region from a 2.5D three-species particle-in-cell numerical simulation and compare those with Cluster observations from the near-Earth magnetotail. From the simulation results, we find that the heavy ions are demagnetized and accelerated in a larger diffusion region, the heavy ion diffusion region. The ion velocity distribution functions show that, inside the heavy ion diffusion region, heavy ions appear as counterstreaming beams along z in the GSM x-z plane, while drifting in y, carrying cross-tail current. We compare this result with Cluster observations in the vicinity of reconnection regions in the near-Earth magnetotail and find that the simulation predictions are consistent with the observed ion distribution functions in the ion diffusion region, as well as the inflow, exhaust, and separatrix regions. Based on the simulation and observation results, the presence of a multiscale diffusion region model, for O+ abundant reconnection events in the Earth's magnetotail, is demonstrated. A test particle simulation shows that in the diffusion region, the H+ gains energy mainly through Ex, while the O+ energy gain comes equally from Ex and Ey.

Nonthermal Particle Acceleration in 3D Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in Pair Plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, Gregory R.; Uzdensky, Dmitri A., E-mail: Greg.Werner@colorado.edu [Center for Integrated Plasma Studies, Physics Department, University of Colorado, 390 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

2017-07-10

As a fundamental process converting magnetic to plasma energy in high-energy astrophysical plasmas, relativistic magnetic reconnection is a leading explanation for the acceleration of particles to the ultrarelativistic energies that are necessary to power nonthermal emission (especially X-rays and gamma-rays) in pulsar magnetospheres and pulsar wind nebulae, coronae and jets of accreting black holes, and gamma-ray bursts. An important objective of plasma astrophysics is therefore the characterization of nonthermal particle acceleration (NTPA) effected by reconnection. Reconnection-powered NTPA has been demonstrated over a wide range of physical conditions using large 2D kinetic simulations. However, its robustness in realistic 3D reconnection—in particular, whether the 3D relativistic drift-kink instability (RDKI) disrupts NTPA—has not been systematically investigated, although pioneering 3D simulations have observed NTPA in isolated cases. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of NTPA in 3D relativistic reconnection in collisionless electron–positron plasmas, characterizing NTPA as the strength of 3D effects is varied systematically via the length in the third dimension and the strength of the guide magnetic field. We find that, while the RDKI prominently perturbs 3D reconnecting current sheets, it does not suppress particle acceleration, even for zero guide field; fully 3D reconnection robustly and efficiently produces nonthermal power-law particle spectra closely resembling those obtained in 2D. This finding provides strong support for reconnection as the key mechanism powering high-energy flares in various astrophysical systems. We also show that strong guide fields significantly inhibit NTPA, slowing reconnection and limiting the energy available for plasma energization, yielding steeper and shorter power-law spectra.

Formation of hard power laws in the energetic particle spectra resulting from relativistic magnetic reconnection.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Fan; Li, Hui; Daughton, William; Liu, Yi-Hsin

2014-10-10

Using fully kinetic simulations, we demonstrate that magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasmas is highly efficient at accelerating particles through a first-order Fermi process resulting from the curvature drift of particles in the direction of the electric field induced by the relativistic flows. This mechanism gives rise to the formation of hard power-law spectra in parameter regimes where the energy density in the reconnecting field exceeds the rest mass energy density σ ≡ B(2)/(4πnm(e)c(2))>1 and when the system size is sufficiently large. In the limit σ ≫ 1, the spectral index approaches p = 1 and most of the available energy is converted into nonthermal particles. A simple analytic model is proposed which explains these key features and predicts a general condition under which hard power-law spectra will be generated from magnetic reconnection.

Observations of significant flux closure by dual lobe reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Imber

2007-07-01

Full Text Available We present an interval of dual lobe reconnection during which interplanetary magnetic field lines are captured by the magnetosphere by reconnecting at high latitudes in both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. This event was identified using measurements of the ionospheric convection flow and observations of the aurora using the SuperDARN radars and the IMAGE spacecraft. A cusp spot, characteristic of northward IMF, is clearly visible for a 30 min period enabling the ionospheric footprint of the Northern Hemisphere merging gap to be accurately determined. During the interval a strong burst of sunward flow across the dayside open/closed field line boundary (OCB is observed, which we interpret as the reconfiguration of the magnetosphere following a burst of reconnection. Noon-midnight and dawn-dusk keograms of the aurora show that the polar cap shrinks during the interval indicating that a large amount of flux was closed by the reconnection. Using the SuperDARN potential maps it is possible to calculate that the amount of flux closed during the interval is 0.13 GWb which represents approximately 10% of the pre-existing polar cap. The number of ions captured by the burst of dual lobe reconnection was calculated to be ~2.2×1031, more than sufficient to populate a cold, dense plasma sheet. That a dense plasma sheet was not subsequently observed is discussed in terms of subsequent changes in the IMF.

SPATIAL GROWTH OF CURRENT-DRIVEN INSTABILITY IN RELATIVISTIC ROTATING JETS AND THE SEARCH FOR MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Chandra B.; Pino, Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal [Department of Astronomy (IAG-USP), University of São Paulo, São Paulo (Brazil); Mizuno, Yosuke, E-mail: csingh@iag.usp.br, E-mail: dalpino@iag.usp.br, E-mail: mizuno@th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de [Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University, D-60438, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2016-06-10

Using the three-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic code RAISHIN, we investigated the influence of the radial density profile on the spatial development of the current-driven kink instability along magnetized rotating, relativistic jets. For the purposes of our study, we used a nonperiodic computational box, the jet flow is initially established across the computational grid, and a precessional perturbation at the inlet triggers the growth of the kink instability. We studied light and heavy jets with respect to the environment depending on the density profile. Different angular velocity amplitudes have been also tested. The results show the propagation of a helically kinked structure along the jet and a relatively stable configuration for the lighter jets. The jets appear to be collimated by the magnetic field, and the flow is accelerated owing to conversion of electromagnetic into kinetic energy. We also identify regions of high current density in filamentary current sheets, indicative of magnetic reconnection, which are associated with the kink-unstable regions and correlated with the decrease of the sigma parameter of the flow. We discuss the implications of our findings for Poynting-flux-dominated jets in connection with magnetic reconnection processes. We find that fast magnetic reconnection may be driven by the kink-instability turbulence and govern the transformation of magnetic into kinetic energy, thus providing an efficient way to power and accelerate particles in active galactic nucleus and gamma-ray-burst relativistic jets.

Collisionless Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and vortex-induced reconnection in the external region of the Earth magnetotail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pegoraro, F; Faganello, M; Califano, F

2008-01-01

In a magnetized plasma streaming with a non uniform velocity, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability plays a major role in mixing different plasma regions and in stretching the magnetic field lines leading to the formation of layers with a sheared magnetic field where magnetic field line reconnection can take place. A relevant example is provided by the formation of a mixing layer between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind at low latitudes during northward periods. In the considered configuration, in the presence of a magnetic field nearly perpendicular to the plane defined by the velocity field and its inhomogeneity direction, velocity shear drives a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability which advects and distorts the magnetic field configuration. If the Alfven velocity associated to the in-plane magnetic field is sufficiently weak with respect to the variation of the fluid velocity in the plasma, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability generates fully rolled-up vortices which advect the magnetic field lines into a complex configuration, causing the formation of current layers along the inversion curves of the in-plane magnetic field component. Pairing of the vortices generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is a well know phenomenon in two-dimensional hydrodynamics. Here we investigate the development of magnetic reconnection during the vortex pairing process and show that completely different magnetic structures are produced depending on how fast the reconnection process develops on the time scale set by the pairing process.

A Parallel Two-fluid Code for Global Magnetic Reconnection Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breslau, J.A.; Jardin, S.C.

2001-01-01

This paper describes a new algorithm for the computation of two-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and two-fluid studies of magnetic reconnection in plasmas. It has been implemented on several parallel platforms and shows good scalability up to 32 CPUs for reasonable problem sizes. A fixed, nonuniform rectangular mesh is used to resolve the different spatial scales in the reconnection problem. The resistive MHD version of the code uses an implicit/explicit hybrid method, while the two-fluid version uses an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) method. The technique has proven useful for comparing several different theories of collisional and collisionless reconnection

Observations of magnetic flux ropes during magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. L. Borg

2012-05-01

Full Text Available We present an investigation of magnetic flux ropes observed by the four Cluster spacecraft during periods of magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail. Using a list of 21 Cluster encounters with the reconnection process in the period 2001–2006 identified in Borg et al. (2012, we present the distribution and characteristics of the flux ropes. We find 27 flux ropes embedded in the reconnection outflows of only 11 of the 21 reconnection encounters. Reconnection processes associated with no flux rope observations were not distinguishable from those where flux ropes were observed. Only 7 of the 27 flux ropes show evidence of enhanced energetic electron flux above 50 keV, and there was no clear signature of the flux rope in the thermal particle measurements. We found no clear correlation between the flux rope core field and the prevailing IMF By direction.

Diffusion tensor tractography reveals muscle reconnection during axolotl limb regeneration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Han Wu

Full Text Available Axolotls have amazing ability to regenerate their lost limbs. Our previous works showed that after amputation the remnant muscle ends remained at their original location whilst sending satellite cells into the regenerating parts to develop into early muscle fibers in the late differentiation stage. The parental and the newly formed muscle fibers were not connected until very late stage. The present study used non-invasive diffusion tensor imaging (DTI to monitor weekly axolotl upper arm muscles after amputation of their upper arms. DTI tractography showed that the regenerating muscle fibers became visible at 9-wpa (weeks post amputation, but a gap was observed between the regenerating and parental muscles. The gap was filled at 10-wpa, indicating reconnection of the fibers of both muscles. This was confirmed by histology. The DTI results indicate that 23% of the muscle fibers were reconnected at 10-wpa. In conclusion, DTI can be used to visualize axolotls' skeletal muscles and the results of muscle reconnection were in accordance with our previous findings. This non-invasive technique will allow researchers to identify the timeframe in which muscle fiber reconnection takes place and thus enable the study of the mechanisms underlying this reconnection.

Interplay between electric fields generated by reconnection and by secondary processes

Science.gov (United States)

Lapenta, G.; Innocenti, M. E.; Pucci, F.; Cazzola, E.; Berchem, J.; Newman, D. L.; El-Alaoui, M.; Walker, R. J.; Goldman, M. V.; Ergun, R.

2017-12-01

Reconnection regions are surrounded by several sources of free energy that push reconnection towards a turbulent regime: beams can drive streaming instabilities, currents can drive tearing like secondary instabilities, velocity and density shears can drive Kelvin-Helmholtz or Rayleigh-Taylor type of instabilities. The interaction between these instabilities can be very complex. For instance, from a kinetic point of view, instabilities resulting from shears are intermixed with drift-type instabilities, such as drift-kink, kink driven by relative species drift, lower hybrid modes of the electrostatic or electromagnetic type. In addition, the interaction with reconnection is two ways: reconnection causes the conditions for those instabilities to develop while the instabilities alter the progress of reconnection. Although MMS has observed features that can be associated with such instabilities: strong localized parallel electric fields (monopolar and bipolar), fluctuations in the drift range (lower hybrid, whistler), it has been difficult to determine which ones operate and how they differ depending on the symmetric and asymmetric reconnection configurations observed in the magnetotail and at the magnetopause, respectively. We present a comparison between the results of kinetic simulations obtained for typical magnetotail and the magnetopause configurations, using for each of them both analytical equilibria and results of global MHD simulations to initialize the iPIC3D simulations. By selecting what drivers (e.g. shear/no shear) are present, we can identify what instabilities develop and determine their effects on the progression of reconnection in the magnetotail and at the magnetopause. We focus especially on the role of drift waves and whistler instabilities, and discuss our results by comparing them with MMS observations.

MMS observations of guide field reconnection at the interface between colliding reconnection jets inside flux rope-like structures at the magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

Oieroset, M.; Phan, T.; Haggerty, C. C.; Shay, M.; Eastwood, J. P.; Gershman, D. J.; Drake, J. F.; Fujimoto, M.; Ergun, R.; Mozer, F.; Oka, M.; Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Wang, S.; Chen, L. J.; Swisdak, M.; Pollock, C. J.; Dorelli, J.; Fuselier, S. A.; Lavraud, B.; Kacem, I.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Saito, Y.; Avanov, L. A.; Paterson, W. R.; Strangeway, R. J.; Schwartz, S. J.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Malakit, K.

2017-12-01

The formation and evolution of magnetic flux ropes is of critical importance for a number of collisionless plasma phenomena. At the dayside magnetopause flux rope-like structures can form between two X-lines. The two X-lines produce converging plasma jets. At the interface between the colliding jets a compressed current sheet can form, which in turn can undergo reconnection. We present MMS observations of the exhaust and diffusion region of such reconnection.

Electron Scale Structures and Magnetic Reconnection Signatures in the Turbulent Magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Yordanova, E.; Voros, Z.; Varsani, A.; Graham, D. B.; Norgren, C.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Vaivads, A.; Eriksson, E.; Nakamura, R.; Lindqvist, P.-A.;

Magnetic Reconnection in MHD and Kinetic Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Loureiro, Nuno; Boldyrev, Stanislav

2017-10-01

Recent works have revisited the current understanding of Alfvénic turbulence to account for the role of magnetic reconnection. Theoretical arguments suggest that reconnection inevitably becomes important in the inertial range, at the scale where it becomes faster than the eddy turnover time. This leads to a transition to a new sub-inertial interval, suggesting a route to energy dissipation that is fundamentally different from that envisioned in the usual Kolmogorov-like phenomenology. These concepts can be extended to collisionless plasmas, where reconnection is enabled by electron inertia rather than resistivity. Although several different cases must then be considered, a common result is that the energy spectrum exhibits a scaling with the perpendicular wave number that scales between k⊥- 8 / 3 and k⊥- 3 , in favourable agreement with many numerical results and observations. Work supported by NSF-DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering, Award No. DE-SC0016215, and by NSF CAREER Award No. 1654168 (NFL); and by NSF Grant NSF AGS- 1261659 and by the Vilas Associates Award of UWM (SB).

Collisionless magnetic reconnection associated with coalescence of flux bundles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Motohiko.

1994-11-01

The basic process of collisionless reconnection is studied in terms of coalescence of magnetized flux bundles using an implicit particle simulation of two-dimensions. The toroidal electric field that directly relates to magnetic reconnection is generated solenoidally in a region much broader than the current sheet whose width is a few electron skin depths. The reconnected flux increases linearly in time, but it is insensitive to finite Larmor radii of the ions in this Sweet-Parker regime. The toroidal electric field is controlled by a balance of transit acceleration of finite-mass electrons and their removal by sub-Alfvenic E x B drift outflow. The simulation results supports the collisionless Ohm's law E t ≅η eq J t with η eq the inertia resistivity. (author)

Near-Earth Reconnection Ejecta at Lunar Distances

Science.gov (United States)

Runov, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Artemyev, A.; Lu, S.; Zhou, X.-Z.

2018-04-01

Near-Earth magnetotail reconnection leads to formation of earthward and tailward directed plasma outflows with an increased north-south magnetic field strength(|Bz|) at their leading edges. We refer to these regions of enhanced |Bz| and magnetic flux transport Ey as reconnection ejecta. They are composed of what have been previously referred to as earthward dipolarizing flux bundles (DFBs) and tailward rapid flux transport (RFT) events. Using two-point observations of magnetic and electric fields and particle fluxes by the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun probes orbiting around Moon at geocentric distances R ˜ 60RE, we statistically studied plasma moments and particle energy spectra in RFTs and compared them with those observed within DFBs in the near-Earth plasma sheet by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms probes. We found that the ion average temperatures and spectral slopes in RFTs at R ˜ 60RE are close to those in DFBs observed at 15 balance, the average RFT ion temperature corresponds to a lobe field BL˜20 nT. This leads us to suggest that the ion population within the tailward ejecta originated in the midtail plasma sheet at 20≤R≤30RE and propagated to the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun location without undergoing any further energy gain. Conversely, electron temperatures in DFBs at 15 < R < 25RE are a factor of 2.5 higher than those in RFTs at R ˜ 60RE.

Global and local disturbances in the magnetotail during reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. V. Laitinen

2007-05-01

Full Text Available We examine Cluster observations of a reconnection event at x_GSM=−15.7 R_E in the magnetotail on 11 October 2001, when Cluster recorded the current sheet for an extended period including the entire duration of the reconnection event. The onset of reconnection is associated with a sudden orientation change of the ambient magnetic field, which is also observed simultaneously by Goes-8 at geostationary orbit. Current sheet oscillations are observed both before reconnection and during it. The speed of the flapping motions is found to increase when the current sheet undergoes the transition from quiet to active state, as suggested by an earlier statistical result and now confirmed within one single event. Within the diffusion region both the tailward and earthward parts of the quadrupolar magnetic Hall structure are recorded as an x-line passes Cluster. We report the first observations of the Hall structure conforming to the kinks in the current sheet. This results in relatively strong fluctuations in B_z, which are shown to be the Hall signature tilted in the yz plane with the current sheet.

Different FTE signatures generated by the bursty single X line reconnection and the multiple X line reconnection at the dayside magnetopause

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, D.Q.; Lee, L.C.; Ma, Z.W.

1991-01-01

Magnetic signatures associated with the time-dependent magnetic reconnection processes at the dayside magnetopause are studied based on two-dimensional compressible MHD simulations. In the simulations, magnetic and plasma signatures resemblant to the observed flux transfer events (FTEs) can be generated either by the magnetic bulges formed during the bursty single X line reconnection (BSXR) or by the magnetic islands (flux tubes) formed during the multiple X line reconnection (MXR). It is found that the FTE magnetic signatures are not exhibited on the magnetospheric side if the FTEs are due to the BSXR process and B m /B s ≥ 1.7, where B m and B s are the magnetic field strength in the magnetosheath and in the magnetosphere, respectively. On the other hand, the bipolar FTE signatures can be detected on both the magnetosphere and magnetosheath sides if the FTEs are caused by the MXR process and B m /B s ≤ 2.6. When B m /B s > 2.6, the bipolar FTE signatures in the magnetosphere site become too small to be detected even if magnetic islands are formed during the MXR process. Futhermore, for B m /B s > 1, the region for the detection of FTE signatures in the magnetospheric side is smaller than that in the magnetosheath side. Since at the dayside magnetopause the typical value of B m /B s is 1-3, the simulation results indicate that more FTE signatures can be detected in the magnetosheath side than in the magnetosphere. It is also found that the MXR process often generates a clear bipolar B n signature while the BSXR process tends to produce FTEs with a monopolar B n signature near the reconnection region and a highly asymmetric bipolar B n signature away from the reconnection region

Windsock memory COnditioned RAM (CO-RAM) pressure effect: Forced reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail

Science.gov (United States)

Vörös, Z.; Facskó, G.; Khodachenko, M.; Honkonen, I.; Janhunen, P.; Palmroth, M.

2014-08-01

Magnetic reconnection (MR) is a key physical concept explaining the addition of magnetic flux to the magnetotail and closed flux lines back-motion to the dayside magnetosphere. This scenario elaborated by Dungey (1963) can explain many aspects of solar wind-magnetosphere interaction processes, including substorms. However, neither the Dungey model nor its numerous modifications were able to explain fully the onset conditions for MR in the tail. In this paper, we introduce new onset conditions for forced MR in the tail. We call our scenario the "windsock memory conditioned ram pressure effect." Our nonflux transfer-associated forcing is introduced by a combination of the large-scale windsock motions exhibiting memory effects and solar wind dynamic pressure actions on the nightside magnetopause during northward oriented interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Using global MHD Grand Unified Magnetosphere Ionosphere Coupling Simulation version 4 simulation results, upstream data from Wind, magnetosheath data from Cluster 1 and distant tail data from the two-probe Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun mission, we show that the simultaneous occurrence of vertical windsock motions of the magnetotail and enhanced solar wind dynamic pressure introduces strong nightside disturbances, including enhanced electric fields and persistent vertical cross-tail shear flows. These perturbations, associated with a stream interaction region in the solar wind, drive MR in the tail during episodes of northward oriented interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We detect MR indirectly, observing plasmoids in the tail and ground-based signatures of earthward moving fast flows. We also consider the application to solar system planets and close-in exoplanets, where the proposed scenario can elucidate some new aspects of solar/stellar wind-magnetosphere interactions.

Reconnect on Facebook: The Role of Information Seeking Behavior and Individual- and Relationship-Level Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Artemio; Sumner, Erin M; Hayes, Jameson

2016-08-01

Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook function as both venues for reconnecting with associates from a user's past and sources of social information about them. Yet, little is known about what factors influence the initial decision to reconnect with a past associate. This oversight is significant given that SNSs and other platforms provide an abundance of social information that may be utilized for reaching such decisions. The present study investigated the links among relational reconnection, information seeking (IS) behavior, and individual- and relationship-level factors in user decisions to reconnect on Facebook. A national survey of 244 Facebook users reported on their most recent experience of receiving a friend request from someone with whom they had been out of contact for an extended period. Results indicated that uncertainty about the potential reconnection partner and forecast about the reconnection's potential reward level significantly predicted IS behavior (passive on both target and mutual friends' SNS pages as well as active). However, the emergence of their two-way interaction revealed that the forecasts moderated the IS-uncertainty link on three of the strategies (extractive, both passive approaches). Moreover, social anxiety, sociability, uncertainty about the partner, the forecast about the reconnection's reward level, and extractive and passive (target SNS pages) strategies significantly predicted user decisions to reconnect. Future directions for research on relational reconnection on SNSs are offered.

Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong

2014-06-01

Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines.

Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong

2014-01-01

Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines

Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong, E-mail: zxwang@dlut.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Beams of the Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China)

2014-06-15

Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines.

On the instability of a quasiequilibrium current sheet and the onset of impulsive bursty reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skender, Marina; Lapenta, Giovanni

2010-01-01

A two-dimensional reconnecting current sheet is studied numerically in the magnetohydrodynamic approach. Different simulation setups are employed in order to follow the evolution of the formed current sheet in diverse configurations: two types of initial equilibria, Harris and force-free, two types of boundary conditions, periodic and open, with uniform and nonuniform grid set, respectively. All the simulated cases are found to exhibit qualitatively the same behavior in which a current sheet evolves slowly through a series of quasiequilibria; eventually it fragments and enters a phase of fast impulsive bursty reconnection. In order to gain more insight on the nature and characteristics of the instability taking place, physical characteristics of the simulated current sheet are related to its geometrical properties. At the adopted Lundquist number of S=10 4 and Reynolds number R=10 4 , the ratio of the length to width (aspect ratio) of the formed current sheet is observed to increase slowly in time up to a maximum value at which it fragments. Moreover, additional turbulence applied to the system is shown to exhibit the same qualitative steps, but with the sooner onset of the fragmentation and at smaller aspect ratio.

Magnetic Reconnection Driven by Thermonuclear Burning

Science.gov (United States)

Gatto, R.; Coppi, B.

2017-10-01

Considering that fusion reaction products (e.g. α-particles) deposit their energy on the electrons, the relevant thermal energy balance equation is characterized by a fusion source term, a relatively large longitudinal thermal conductivity and an appropriate transverse thermal conductivity. Then, looking for modes that are radially localized around rational surfaces, reconnected field configurations are found that can be sustained by the electron thermal energy source due to fusion reactions. Then this process can be included in the category of endogenous reconnection processes and may be viewed as a form of the thermonuclear instability that can develop in an ignited inhomogeneous plasma. A complete analysis of the equations supporting the relevant theory is reported. Sponsored in part by the U.S. DoE.

Experimental Verification of the Hall Effect during Magnetic Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Ren; Masaaki Yamada; Stefan Gerhardt; Hantao Ji; Russell Kulsrud; Aleksey Kuritsyn

2005-01-01

In this letter we report a clear and unambiguous observation of the out-of-plane quadrupole magnetic field suggested by numerical simulations in the reconnecting current sheet in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). Measurements show that the Hall effect is large in collisionless regime and becomes small as the collisionality increases, indicating that the Hall effect plays an important role in collisionless reconnection

Non-Potential Magnetic Fields and Magnetic Reconnection In Low Collisional Plasmas-Discovery of Solar EUV Mini-Sigmoids and Development of Novel In-Space Propulsion Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chesny, David

Magnetic reconnection is the source of many of the most powerful explosions of astrophysical plasmas in the universe. Blazars, magnetars, stellar atmospheres, and planetary magnetic fields have all been shown to be primary sites of strong reconnection events. For studying the fundamental physics behind this process, the solar atmosphere is our most accessible laboratory setting. Magnetic reconnection resulting from non-potential fields leads to plasma heating and particle acceleration, often in the form of explosive activity, contributing to coronal heating and the solar wind. Large-scale non-potential (sigmoid) fields in the solar atmosphere are poorly understood due to their crowded neighborhoods. For the first time, small-scale, non-potential loop structures have been observed in quiet Sun EUV observations. Fourteen unique mini-sigmoid events and three diffuse non-potential loops have been discovered, suggesting a multi-scaled self-similarity in the sigmoid formation process. These events are on the order of 10 arcseconds in length and do not appear in X-ray emissions, where large-scale sigmoids are well documented. We have discovered the first evidence of sigmoidal structuring in EUV bright point phenomena, which are prolific events in the solar atmosphere. Observations of these mini-sigmoids suggest that they are being formed via tether-cutting reconnection, a process observed to occur at active region scales. Thus, tether-cutting is suggested to be ubiquitous throughout the solar atmosphere. These dynamics are shown to be a function of the free magnetic energy in the quiet Sun network. Recently, the reconnection process has been reproduced in Earth-based laboratory tokamaks. Easily achievable magnetic field configurations can induce reconnection and result in ion acceleration. Here, magnetic reconnection is utilized as the plasma acceleration mechanism for a theoretical propulsion system. The theory of torsional spine reconnection is shown to result in ion

Effect of magnetic reconnection in stellar plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Hammoud, M.; El Eid, M.; Darwish, M.

2017-06-01

An important phenomenon in Astrophysics is the process of magnetic reconnection (MGR), which is envisaged to understand the solar flares, coronal mass ejection, interaction of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetic field (so called geomagnetic storm) and other phenomena. In addition, it plays a role in the formation of stars. MGR involves topological change of a set of magnetic field lines leading to a new equilibrium configuration of lower magnetic energy. The MGR is basically described in the framework of the Maxwell’s equations linked to Navier-Stockes equations. Nevertheless, many details are still not understood. In this paper, we investigate the MGR process in the framework of the Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of a single conducting fluid using a modern powerful computational tool (OpenFOAM). We will show that the MGR process takes place only if resistivity exists. However, despite the high conductivity of the plasma, resistivity becomes effective in a very thin layer generating sharp gradients of the magnetic field, and thus accelerating the reconnection process. The net effect of MGR is that magnetic energy is converted into thermal and kinetic energies leading to heating and acceleration of charged particles. The Sun’s coronal ejection is an example of the MGR process.

On acceleration of plasmoids in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of magnetotail reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholer, M.; Hautz, R.

1991-01-01

The formation and acceleration of plasmoids is investigated by two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The initial equilibrium contains a plasma sheet with a northward magnetic field (B z ) component and a tailward pressure gradient. Reconnection is initiated by three different methods: Case A, a constant resistivity is applied everywhere and a tearing mode evolves, case B, a spatially localized resistivity is fixed in the near-Earth region, and case C, the resistivity is allowed to depend on the electrical current density. In case A, the authors obtain the same results as have been presented by Otto et al. (1990): the tearing instability releases the tension of the closed field lines so that the inherent pressure gradient of the two-dimensional system is not balanced anymore. The pressure gradient then sets the plasmoid into motion. Any sling-shot effect of open magnetic field lines is of minor importance. A completely different behavior has been found in cases B and C. In these cases the high-speed flow in the wedge-shaped region tailward of the near-Earth neutral line pushes against the detached plasmoid and drives it tailward. The ideal terms contributing to the acceleration are still only the pressure and the magnetic field term. However, in these cases the pressure is due to the dynamic pressure of the fast outflow from the reconnection region. The outflow in the wedge-shaped region on both sides of the neutral line is due to acceleration of plasma by tangential magnetic stresses at the slow mode shocks extending form the X line

Investigation of the viscous reconnection phenomenon of two vortex tubes through spectral simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Beardsell, Guillaume; Dufresne, Louis; Dumas, Guy

2016-09-01

This paper aims to shed further light on the viscous reconnection phenomenon. To this end, we propose a robust and efficient method in order to quantify the degree of reconnection of two vortex tubes. This method is used to compare the evolutions of two simple initial vortex configurations: orthogonal and antiparallel. For the antiparallel configuration, the proposed method is compared with alternative estimators and it is found to improve accuracy since it can account properly for the formation of looping structures inside the domain. This observation being new, the physical mechanism for the formation of those looping structures is discussed. For the orthogonal configuration, we report results from simulations that were performed at a much higher vortex Reynolds number (ReΓ ≡ circulation/viscosity = 104) and finer resolution (N3 = 10243) than previously presented in the literature. The incompressible Navier-stokes equations are solved directly (Direct Numerical Simulation or DNS) using a Fourier pseudospectral algorithm with triply periodic boundary conditions. The associated zero-circulation constraint is circumvented by solving the governing equations in a proper rotating frame of reference. Using ideas similar to those behind our method to compute the degree of reconnection, we split the vorticity field into its reconnected and non-reconnected parts, which allows to create insightful visualizations of the evolving vortex topology. It also allows to detect regions in the vorticity field that are neither reconnected nor non-reconnected and thus must be associated to internal looping structures. Finally, the Reynolds number dependence of the reconnection time scale Trec is investigated in the range 500 ≤ ReΓ ≤ 10 000. For both initial configurations, the scaling is generally found to vary continuously as ReΓ is increased from T rec ˜ R eΓ - 1 to T rec ˜ R eΓ - 1 / 2 , thus providing quantitative support for previous claims that the reconnection

Remote Sensing of the Reconnection Electric Field From In Situ Multipoint Observations of the Separatrix Boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, T. K. M.; Nakamura, R.; Varsani, A.; Genestreti, K. J.; Baumjohann, W.; Liu, Y.-H.

2018-05-01

A remote sensing technique to infer the local reconnection electric field based on in situ multipoint spacecraft observation at the reconnection separatrix is proposed. In this technique, the increment of the reconnected magnetic flux is estimated by integrating the in-plane magnetic field during the sequential observation of the separatrix boundary by multipoint measurements. We tested this technique by applying it to virtual observations in a two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulation of magnetic reconnection without a guide field and confirmed that the estimated reconnection electric field indeed agrees well with the exact value computed at the X-line. We then applied this technique to an event observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission when crossing an energetic plasma sheet boundary layer during an intense substorm. The estimated reconnection electric field for this event is nearly 1 order of magnitude higher than a typical value of magnetotail reconnection.

Estimates of magnetotail reconnection rate based on IMAGE FUV and EISCAT measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Østgaard

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Dayside merging between the interplanetary and terrestrial magnetic fields couples the solar wind electric field to the Earth's magnetosphere, increases the magnetospheric convection and results in efficient transport of solar wind energy into the magnetosphere. Subsequent reconnection of the lobe magnetic field in the magnetotail transports energy into the closed magnetic field region. Combining global imaging and ground-based radar measurements, we estimate the reconnection rate in the magnetotail during two days of an EISCAT campaign in November-December 2000. Global images from the IMAGE FUV system guide us to identify ionospheric signatures of the open-closed field line boundary observed by the two EISCAT radars in Tromsø (VHF and on Svalbard (ESR. Continuous radar and optical monitoring of the open-closed field line boundary is used to determine the location, orientation and velocity of the open-closed boundary and the ion flow velocity perpendicular to this boundary. The magnetotail reconnection electric field is found to be a bursty process that oscillates between 0mV/m and 1mV/m with ~10-15min periods. These ULF oscillations are mainly due to the motion of the open-closed boundary. In situ measurements earthward of the reconnection site in the magnetotail by Geotail show similar oscillations in the duskward electric field. We also find that bursts of increased magnetotail reconnection do not necessarily have any associated auroral signatures. Finally, we find that the reconnection rate correlates poorly with the solar wind electric field. This indicates that the magnetotail reconnection is not directly driven, but is an internal magnetospheric process. Estimates of a coupling efficiency between the solar wind electric field and magnetotail reconnection only seem to be relevant as averages over long time intervals. The oscillation mode at 1mHz corresponds to the internal cavity mode with additional lower frequencies, 0.5 and 0.8m

The auroral and ionospheric flow signatures of dual lobe reconnection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Imber

2006-11-01

Full Text Available We present the first substantial evidence for the occurrence of dual lobe reconnection from ionospheric flows and auroral signatures. The process of dual lobe reconnection refers to an interplanetary magnetic field line reconnecting with lobe field lines in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Two bursts of sunward plasma flow across the noon portion of the open/closed field line boundary (OCB, indicating magnetic flux closure at the dayside, were observed in SuperDARN radar data during a period of strongly northward IMF. The OCB is identified from spacecraft, radar backscatter, and auroral observations. In order for dual lobe reconnection to take place, we estimate that the interplanetary magnetic field clock angle must be within ±10° of zero (North. The total flux crossing the OCB during each burst is small (1.8% and 0.6% of the flux contained within the polar cap for the two flows. A brightening of the noon portion of the northern auroral oval was observed as the clock angle passed through zero, and is thought to be due to enhanced precipitating particle fluxes due to the occurrence of reconnection at two locations along the field line. The number of solar wind protons captured by the flux closure process was estimated to be ~2.5×1030 (4 tonnes by mass, sufficient to populate the cold, dense plasma sheet observed following this interval.

Magnetic reconnection and current sheet formation in 3D magnetic configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, A.G.

1999-01-01

The problem of magnetic reconnection in three-dimensional (3D) magnetic configurations has been studied experimentally. The research has concentrated on the possibilities of formation of current sheets, which represent crucial objects for a realization of magnetic reconnection phenomena. Different types of 3D magnetic configurations were examined, including configurations with singular lines of the X-type, non-uniform fields containing isolated magnetic null-points and without null-points. It was revealed that formation of quasi-one-dimensional current sheets is the universal process for plasma dynamics in 3D magnetic fields both with null-points and without. At the same time the peculiarities of current sheets, plasma dynamics and magnetic reconnection processes depend essentially on characteristics of 3D magnetic configurations. The result of principal significance obtained was that magnetic reconnection phenomena can take place in a wide range of 3D magnetic configurations as a consequence of their ability to form current sheets. (author)

OBSERVATION OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION AT A 3D NULL POINT ASSOCIATED WITH A SOLAR ERUPTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, J. Q.; Yang, K.; Cheng, X.; Ding, M. D.; Zhang, J.

2016-01-01

Magnetic null has long been recognized as a special structure serving as a preferential site for magnetic reconnection (MR). However, the direct observational study of MR at null-points is largely lacking. Here, we show the observations of MR around a magnetic null associated with an eruption that resulted in an M1.7 flare and a coronal mass ejection. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites X-ray profile of the flare exhibited two peaks at ∼02:23 UT and ∼02:40 UT on 2012 November 8, respectively. Based on the imaging observations, we find that the first and also primary X-ray peak was originated from MR in the current sheet (CS) underneath the erupting magnetic flux rope (MFR). On the other hand, the second and also weaker X-ray peak was caused by MR around a null point located above the pre-eruption MFR. The interaction of the null point and the erupting MFR can be described as a two-step process. During the first step, the erupting and fast expanding MFR passed through the null point, resulting in a significant displacement of the magnetic field surrounding the null. During the second step, the displaced magnetic field started to move back, resulting in a converging inflow and subsequently the MR around the null. The null-point reconnection is a different process from the current sheet reconnection in this flare; the latter is the cause of the main peak of the flare, while the former is the cause of the secondary peak of the flare and the conspicuous high-lying cusp structure.

Turbulent transport in 2D collisionless guide field reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, P. A.; Büchner, J.; Kilian, P.

2017-02-01

Transport in hot and dilute, i.e., collisionless, astrophysical and space, plasmas is called "anomalous." This transport is due to the interaction between the particles and the self-generated turbulence by their collective interactions. The anomalous transport has very different and not well known properties compared to the transport due to binary collisions, dominant in colder and denser plasmas. Because of its relevance for astrophysical and space plasmas, we explore the excitation of turbulence in current sheets prone to component- or guide-field reconnection, a process not well understood yet. This configuration is typical for stellar coronae, and it is created in the laboratory for which a 2.5D geometry applies. In our analysis, in addition to the immediate vicinity of the X-line, we also include regions outside and near the separatrices. We analyze the anomalous transport properties by using 2.5D Particle-in-Cell code simulations. We split off the mean slow variation (in contrast to the fast turbulent fluctuations) of the macroscopic observables and determine the main transport terms of the generalized Ohm's law. We verify our findings by comparing with the independently determined slowing-down rate of the macroscopic currents (due to a net momentum transfer from particles to waves) and with the transport terms obtained by the first order correlations of the turbulent fluctuations. We find that the turbulence is most intense in the "low density" separatrix region of guide-field reconnection. It is excited by streaming instabilities, is mainly electrostatic and "patchy" in space, and so is the associated anomalous transport. Parts of the energy exchange between turbulence and particles are reversible and quasi-periodic. The remaining irreversible anomalous resistivity can be parametrized by an effective collision rate ranging from the local ion-cyclotron to the lower-hybrid frequency. The contributions to the parallel and the perpendicular (to the magnetic

Reconnecting to the biosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Folke, Carl; Jansson, Asa; Rockström, Johan; Olsson, Per; Carpenter, Stephen R; Chapin, F Stuart; Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Daily, Gretchen; Danell, Kjell; Ebbesson, Jonas; Elmqvist, Thomas; Galaz, Victor; Moberg, Fredrik; Nilsson, Måns; Osterblom, Henrik; Ostrom, Elinor; Persson, Asa; Peterson, Garry; Polasky, Stephen; Steffen, Will; Walker, Brian; Westley, Frances

2011-11-01

Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere, with a significant imprint on the Earth System, challenging social-ecological resilience. This new situation calls for a fundamental shift in perspectives, world views, and institutions. Human development and progress must be reconnected to the capacity of the biosphere and essential ecosystem services to be sustained. Governance challenges include a highly interconnected and faster world, cascading social-ecological interactions and planetary boundaries that create vulnerabilities but also opportunities for social-ecological change and transformation. Tipping points and thresholds highlight the importance of understanding and managing resilience. New modes of flexible governance are emerging. A central challenge is to reconnect these efforts to the changing preconditions for societal development as active stewards of the Earth System. We suggest that the Millennium Development Goals need to be reframed in such a planetary stewardship context combined with a call for a new social contract on global sustainability. The ongoing mind shift in human relations with Earth and its boundaries provides exciting opportunities for societal development in collaboration with the biosphere--a global sustainability agenda for humanity.

Global reconnection topology as inferred from plasma observations inside Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. B. Bavassano Cattaneo

2010-04-01

Full Text Available During a long lasting period of northward interplanetary magnetic field and high solar wind speed (above 700 km/s, the Cluster spacecraft go across a number of very large rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH vortices at the dusk magnetopause, close to the terminator. The peculiarity of the present event is a particular sequence of ions and electrons distribution functions observed repeatedly inside each vortex. In particular, whenever Cluster crosses the current layer inside the vortices, multiple field-aligned ion populations appear, suggesting the occurrence of reconnection. In addition, the ion data display a clear velocity filter effect both at the leading and at the trailing edge of each vortex. This effect is not present in the simultaneous electron data. Unlike other KH studies reported in the literature in which reconnection occurs within the vortices, in the present event the observations are not compatible with local reconnection, but are accounted for by lobe reconnection occurring along an extended X-line at the terminator in the Southern Hemisphere. The reconnected field lines "sink" across the magnetopause and then convect tailward-duskward where they become embedded in the vortices. Another observational evidence is the detected presence of solar wind plasma on the magnetospheric side of the vortices, which confirms unambiguously the occurrence of mass transport across the magnetopause already reported in the literature. The proposed reconnection scenario accounts for all the observational aspects, regarding both the transport process and the kinetic signatures.

General connected and reconnected fields in plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Mahajan, Swadesh M.; Asenjo, Felipe A.

2018-02-01

For plasma dynamics, more encompassing than the magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) approximation, the foundational concepts of "magnetic reconnection" may require deep revisions because, in the larger dynamics, magnetic field is no longer connected to the fluid lines; it is replaced by more general fields (one for each plasma specie) that are weighted combination of the electromagnetic and the thermal-vortical fields. We study the two-fluid plasma dynamics plasma expressed in two different sets of variables: the two-fluid (2F) description in terms of individual fluid velocities, and the one-fluid (1F) variables comprising the plasma bulk motion and plasma current. In the 2F description, a Connection Theorem is readily established; we show that, for each specie, there exists a Generalized (Magnetofluid/Electro-Vortic) field that is frozen-in the fluid and consequently remains, forever, connected to the flow. This field is an expression of the unification of the electromagnetic, and fluid forces (kinematic and thermal) for each specie. Since the magnetic field, by itself, is not connected in the first place, its reconnection is never forbidden and does not require any external agency (like resistivity). In fact, a magnetic field reconnection (local destruction) must be interpreted simply as a consequence of the preservation of the dynamical structure of the unified field. In the 1F plasma description, however, it is shown that there is no exact physically meaningful Connection Theorem; a general and exact field does not exist, which remains connected to the bulk plasma flow. It is also shown that the helicity conservation and the existence of a Connected field follow from the same dynamical structure; the dynamics must be expressible as an ideal Ohm's law with a physical velocity. This new perspective, emerging from the analysis of the post MHD physics, must force us to reexamine the meaning as well as our understanding of magnetic reconnection.

Evidence for magnetic field reconnection at the earth's magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

Sonnerup, B. U. O.; Paschmann, G.; Papamastorakis, I.; Sckopke, N.; Haerendel, G.; Bame, S. J.; Asbridge, J. R.; Gosling, J. T.; Russell, C. T.

1981-01-01

Eleven Northern Hemisphere crossings of the dayside magnetopause by the ISEE spacecraft are examined to test the hypothesis that the large plasma flow speeds observed in the magnetopause and boundary layer are the result of the plasma acceleration intrinsic to the magnetic field reconnection process. In several cases energetic magnetospheric particles with the proper flow anisotropy, and in one case, reflected magnetosheath particles, were observed outside the magnetopause but adjacent to it. All results support the reconnection hypothesis. The energetic particles were also used to identify the outer separatrix surface, in one case of which is was possible to conclude from its location relative to the magnetopause that the reconnection site was in the vicinity of the equatorial plane rather than in the cusp. The electric field tangential to the magnetopause is inferred to be in the 0.4-2.8 mV/m range.

THE EFFECT OF COOLING ON PARTICLE TRAJECTORIES AND ACCELERATION IN RELATIVISTIC MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kagan, Daniel; Nakar, Ehud [Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Piran, Tsvi, E-mail: daniel.kagan@mail.huji.ac.il [Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)

2016-12-20

The maximum synchrotron burnoff limit of 160 MeV represents a fundamental limit to radiation resulting from electromagnetic particle acceleration in one-zone ideal plasmas. In magnetic reconnection, however, particle acceleration and radiation are decoupled because the electric field is larger than the magnetic field in the diffusion region. We carry out two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to determine the extent to which magnetic reconnection can produce synchrotron radiation above the burnoff limit. We use the test particle comparison (TPC) method to isolate the effects of cooling by comparing the trajectories and acceleration efficiencies of test particles incident on such a reconnection region with and without cooling them. We find that the cooled and uncooled particle trajectories are typically similar during acceleration in the reconnection region, and derive an effective limit on particle acceleration that is inversely proportional to the average magnetic field experienced by the particle during acceleration. Using the calculated distribution of this average magnetic field as a function of uncooled final particle energy, we find analytically that cooling does not affect power-law particle energy spectra except at energies far above the synchrotron burnoff limit. Finally, we compare fully cooled and uncooled simulations of reconnection, confirming that the synchrotron burnoff limit does not produce a cutoff in the particle energy spectrum. Our results indicate that the TPC method accurately predicts the effects of cooling on particle acceleration in relativistic reconnection, and that, even far above the burnoff limit, the synchrotron energy of radiation produced in reconnection is not limited by cooling.

THE EFFECT OF COOLING ON PARTICLE TRAJECTORIES AND ACCELERATION IN RELATIVISTIC MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kagan, Daniel; Nakar, Ehud; Piran, Tsvi

2016-01-01

The maximum synchrotron burnoff limit of 160 MeV represents a fundamental limit to radiation resulting from electromagnetic particle acceleration in one-zone ideal plasmas. In magnetic reconnection, however, particle acceleration and radiation are decoupled because the electric field is larger than the magnetic field in the diffusion region. We carry out two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to determine the extent to which magnetic reconnection can produce synchrotron radiation above the burnoff limit. We use the test particle comparison (TPC) method to isolate the effects of cooling by comparing the trajectories and acceleration efficiencies of test particles incident on such a reconnection region with and without cooling them. We find that the cooled and uncooled particle trajectories are typically similar during acceleration in the reconnection region, and derive an effective limit on particle acceleration that is inversely proportional to the average magnetic field experienced by the particle during acceleration. Using the calculated distribution of this average magnetic field as a function of uncooled final particle energy, we find analytically that cooling does not affect power-law particle energy spectra except at energies far above the synchrotron burnoff limit. Finally, we compare fully cooled and uncooled simulations of reconnection, confirming that the synchrotron burnoff limit does not produce a cutoff in the particle energy spectrum. Our results indicate that the TPC method accurately predicts the effects of cooling on particle acceleration in relativistic reconnection, and that, even far above the burnoff limit, the synchrotron energy of radiation produced in reconnection is not limited by cooling.

The Properties of Reconnection Current Sheets in GRMHD Simulations of Radiatively Inefficient Accretion Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, David; Özel, Feryal; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Chan, Chi-Kwan; Sironi, Lorenzo

2018-02-01

Non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects may play a significant role in determining the dynamics, thermal properties, and observational signatures of radiatively inefficient accretion flows onto black holes. In particular, particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection events may influence black hole spectra and flaring properties. We use representative general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of black hole accretion flows to identify and explore the structures and properties of current sheets as potential sites of magnetic reconnection. In the case of standard and normal evolution (SANE) disks, we find that in the reconnection sites, the plasma beta ranges from 0.1 to 1000, the magnetization ranges from 10‑4 to 1, and the guide fields are weak compared with the reconnecting fields. In magnetically arrested (MAD) disks, we find typical values for plasma beta from 10‑2 to 103, magnetizations from 10‑3 to 10, and typically stronger guide fields, with strengths comparable to or greater than the reconnecting fields. These are critical parameters that govern the electron energy distribution resulting from magnetic reconnection and can be used in the context of plasma simulations to provide microphysics inputs to global simulations. We also find that ample magnetic energy is available in the reconnection regions to power the fluence of bright X-ray flares observed from the black hole in the center of the Milky Way.

Super-Alfvénic Propagation and Damping of Reconnection Onset Signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma Pyakurel, P.; Shay, M. A.; Haggerty, C. C.; Parashar, T. N.; Drake, J. F.; Cassak, P. A.; Gary, S. Peter

2018-01-01

The quadrupolar out-of-plane Hall magnetic field generated during collisionless reconnection propagates away from the x line as a kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW). While it has been shown that this KAW carries substantial Poynting flux and propagates super-Alfvenically, how this KAW damps as it propagates away from the x line is not well understood. In this study, this damping is examined using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of antiparallel symmetric magnetic reconnection in a one-dimensional current sheet equilibrium. In the reconnection simulations, the KAW wave vector has a typical magnitude comparable to an inverse fluid Larmor radius (effectively an inverse ion Larmor radius) and a direction of 85-89° relative to the local magnetic field. We find that the damping of the reconnection KAW is consistent with linear Landau damping results from a numerical Vlasov dispersion solver. This knowledge allows us to generalize our damping predictions to regions in the magnetotail and solar corona where the magnetic geometry can be approximated as a current sheet. For the magnetotail, the KAW from reconnection will not damp away before propagating the approximately 20 Earth radii associated with global magnetotail distances. For the solar corona, on the other hand, these KAWs will completely damp before reaching the distances comparable to the flare loop length.

MESSENGER Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in Mercury's Magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Slavin. James A.

2009-01-01

During MESSENGER'S second flyby of Mercury on October 6,2008, very intense reconnection was observed between the planet's magnetic field and a steady southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The dawn magnetopause was threaded by a strong magnetic field normal to its surface, approx.14 nT, that implies a rate of reconnection approx.10 times the typical rate at Earth and a cross-magnetospheric electric potential drop of approx.30 kV. The highest magnetic field observed during this second flyby, approx.160 nT, was found at the core of a large dayside flux transfer event (FTE). This FTE is estimated to contain magnetic flux equal to approx.5% that of Mercury's magnetic tail or approximately one order of magnitude higher fraction of the tail flux than is typically found for FTEs at Earth. Plasmoid and traveling compression region (TCR) signatures were observed throughout MESSENGER'S traversal of Mercury's magnetotail with a repetition rate comparable to the Dungey cycle time of approx.2 min. The TCR signatures changed from south-north, indicating tailward motion, to north-south, indicating sunward motion, at a distance approx.2.6 RM (where RM is Mercury's radius) behind the terminator indicating that the near-Mercury magnetotail neutral line was crossed at that point. Overall, these new MESSENGER observations suggest that magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause is very intense relative to what is found at Earth and other planets, while reconnection in Mercury's tail is similar to that in other planetary magnetospheres, but with a very short Dungey cycle time.

Magnetotail Reconnection and Flux Circulation: Jupiter and Saturn Compared

Science.gov (United States)

Jackman, C. M.; Vogt, M. F.; Slavin, J. A.; Cowley, S. W. H.; Boardsen, S. A.

2011-01-01

The Jovian magnetosphere has been visited by eight spacecraft, and the magnetometer data have been used to identify dozens of plasmoids and 250 field dipolarizations associated with magnetic reconnection in the tail [e.g. Vogt et al., 2010]. Since the arrival of the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn in 2004, the magnetometer instrument has also been used to identify reconnection signatures. The deepest magnetotail orbits were in 2006, and during this time 34 signatures of plasmoids were identified. In this study we compare the statistical properties of plasmoids at Jupiter and Saturn such as duration, size, location, and recurrence period. Such parameters can be influenced by many factors, including the different Dungey cycle timescales and cross-magnetospheric potential drops at the two planets. We present superposed epoch analyses of plasmoids at the two planets to determine their average properties and to infer their role in the reconfiguration of the nightside of the magnetosphere. We examine the contributions of plasmoids to the magnetic flux transfer cycle at both planets. At Jupiter, there is evidence of an extended interval after reconnection where the field remains northward (analogous to the terrestrial post-plasmoid plasma sheet). At Saturn we see a similar feature, and calculate the amount of flux closed on average in reconnection events, leading us to an estimation of the recurrence rate of plasmoid release.

The Onset of Magnetic Reconnection in Tail-Like Equilibria

Science.gov (United States)

Hesse, Michael; Birn, Joachim; Kuznetsova, Masha

1999-01-01

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental mode of dynamics in the magnetotail, and is recognized as the basic mechanisms converting stored magnetic energy into kinetic energy of plasma particles. The effects of the reconnection process are well documented by spacecraft observations of plasmoids in the distant magnetotail, or bursty bulk flows, and magnetic field dipolarizations in the near Earth region. Theoretical and numerical analyses have, in recent years, shed new light on the way reconnection operates, and, in particular, which microscopic mechanism supports the dissipative electric field in the associated diffusion region. Despite this progress, however. the question of how magnetic reconnection initiates in a tail-like magnetic field with finite flux threading the current i.sheet remains unanswered. Instead, theoretical studies supported by numerical simulations support the point-of-view that such plasma and current sheets are stable with respect to collisionless tearing mode. In this paper, we will further investigate this conclusion, with emphasis on the question whether it remains valid in plasma sheets with embedded thin current sheets. For this purpose, we perform particle-in-cell simulations of the driven formation of thin current sheets, and their subsequent evolution either to equilibrium or to instability of a tearing-type mode. In the latter case we will pay particular attention to the nature of the electric field contribution which unmagnetizes the electrons.

Radio Emissions from Magnetopause Reconnection Events

Science.gov (United States)

Fung, S. F.; Kunze, J.

2017-12-01

A new terrestrial radio emission has recently been identified and attributed to a source connected to the magnetopause magnetic reconnection process [Fung et al., 2013]. Known as the terrestrial myriametric radio burst (TMRB), the new emission was observed by both the IMAGE and Geotail spacecraft during a period of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF Bz >0) as a temporal and isolated burst of emission with perhaps well-defined or directed emission cones. Spectral and spin-modulation analyses showed that both the intensity and source direction of the emission are sensitive to the variability of the IMF. The strong control of the emission by the IMF suggests that the emission is connected to the magnetopause reconnection process. A number of potential TMRB events have now been identified by surveying all the dynamic spectrogram data obtained by the IMAGE, Geotail, Cluster, and Wind spacecraft in 5/2000-12/2005. This paper will present our analyses of how the spectral signatures and beaming characteristics of the emissions might depend on the IMF orientations, and thus their likelihood of being TMRBs. Special emphasis will be on events associated with northward and southward IMF in order to determine if TMRBs might be generally produced from magnetopause reconnection processes. Fung, S. F., K. Hashimoto, H. Kojima, S. A. Boardsen, L. N. Garcia, H. Matsumoto, J. L. Green, and B. W. Reinisch (2013), Terrestrial myriametric radio burst observed by IMAGE and Geotail satellites, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 118, doi:10.1002/jgra.50149.

Energetic Particles of keV–MeV Energies Observed near Reconnecting Current Sheets at 1 au

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khabarova, Olga V. [Heliophysical Laboratory, Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IZMIRAN), Moscow (Russian Federation); Zank, Gary P. [Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States)

2017-07-01

We provide evidence for particle acceleration up to ∼5 MeV at reconnecting current sheets in the solar wind based on both case studies and a statistical analysis of the energetic ion and electron flux data from the five Advanced Composition Explorer Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (EPAM) detectors. The case study of a typical reconnection exhaust event reveals (i) a small-scale peak of the energetic ion flux observed in the vicinity of the reconnection exhaust and (ii) a long-timescale atypical energetic particle event (AEPE) encompassing the reconnection exhaust. AEPEs associated with reconnecting strong current sheets last for many hours, even days, as confirmed by statistical studies. The case study shows that time-intensity profiles of the ion flux may vary significantly from one EPAM detector to another partially because of the local topology of magnetic fields, but mainly because of the impact of upstream magnetospheric events; therefore, the occurrence of particle acceleration can be hidden. The finding of significant particle energization within a time interval of ±30 hr around reconnection exhausts is supported by a superposed epoch analysis of 126 reconnection exhaust events. We suggest that energetic particles initially accelerated via prolonged magnetic reconnection are trapped and reaccelerated in small- or medium-scale magnetic islands surrounding the reconnecting current sheet, as predicted by the transport theory of Zank et al. Other mechanisms of initial particle acceleration can contribute also.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL ASYMMETRIC RECONNECTION AND APPLICATION TO A PHYSICAL MECHANISM OF PENUMBRAL MICROJETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Naoki; Shibata, Kazunari; Isobe, Hiroaki

2012-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) component reconnection, where reconnecting field lines are not perfectly anti-parallel, is studied with a 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation. In particular, we consider the asymmetry of the field strength of the reconnecting field lines. As the asymmetry increases, the generated reconnection jet tends to be parallel to stronger field lines. This is because weaker field lines have higher gas pressure in the initial equilibrium, and hence the gas pressure gradient along the reconnected field lines is generated, which accelerates the field-aligned plasma flow. This mechanism may explain penumbral microjets and other types of jets that are parallel to magnetic field lines.

RECONNECTION PROPERTIES OF LARGE-SCALE CURRENT SHEETS DURING CORONAL MASS EJECTION ERUPTIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lynch, B. J.; Kazachenko, M. D. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Edmondson, J. K. [Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Guidoni, S. E. [Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2016-07-20

We present a detailed analysis of the properties of magnetic reconnection at large-scale current sheets (CSs) in a high cadence version of the Lynch and Edmondson 2.5D MHD simulation of sympathetic magnetic breakout eruptions from a pseudostreamer source region. We examine the resistive tearing and break-up of the three main CSs into chains of X- and O-type null points and follow the dynamics of magnetic island growth, their merging, transit, and ejection with the reconnection exhaust. For each CS, we quantify the evolution of the length-to-width aspect ratio (up to ∼100:1), Lundquist number (∼10{sup 3}), and reconnection rate (inflow-to-outflow ratios reaching ∼0.40). We examine the statistical and spectral properties of the fluctuations in the CSs resulting from the plasmoid instability, including the distribution of magnetic island area, mass, and flux content. We show that the temporal evolution of the spectral index of the reconnection-generated magnetic energy density fluctuations appear to reflect global properties of the CS evolution. Our results are in excellent agreement with recent, high-resolution reconnection-in-a-box simulations even though our CSs’ formation, growth, and dynamics are intrinsically coupled to the global evolution of sequential sympathetic coronal mass ejection eruptions.

Development of Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection in a Magnetic Island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Can; Lu, Quanming; Wang, Rongsheng; Wu, Mingyu; Lu, San; Wang, Shui; Guo, Fan

2017-01-01

In this paper, with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we report that the electron Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is unstable in the current layer associated with a large-scale magnetic island, which is formed in multiple X-line guide field reconnections. The current sheet is fragmented into many small current sheets with widths down to the order of the electron inertial length. Secondary magnetic reconnection then occurs in these fragmented current sheets, which leads to a turbulent state. The electrons are highly energized in such a process.

Breakout Reconnection Observed by the TESIS EUV Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Reva, A. A.; Ulyanov, A. S.; Shestov, S. V.; Kuzin, S. V.

2016-01-01

We present experimental evidence of the coronal mass ejection (CME) breakout reconnection, observed by the TESIS EUV telescope. The telescope could observe solar corona up to 2 R⊙ from the Sun center in the Fe 171 Å line. Starting from 2009 April 8, TESIS observed an active region (AR) that had a quadrupolar structure with an X-point 0.5 R⊙ above photosphere. A magnetic field reconstructed from the Michelson Doppler Imager data also has a multipolar structure with an X-point above the AR. At 21:45 UT on April 9, the loops near the X-point started to move away from each other with a velocity of ≈7 km s-1. At 01:15 UT on April 10, a bright stripe appeared between the loops, and the flux in the GOES 0.5-4 Å channel increased. We interpret the loops’ sideways motion and the bright stripe as evidence of the breakout reconnection. At 01:45 UT, the loops below the X-point started to slowly move up. At 15:10 UT, the CME started to accelerate impulsively, while at the same time a flare arcade formed below the CME. After 15:50 UT, the CME moved with constant velocity. The CME evolution precisely followed the breakout model scenario.

Assessing the Time Dependence of Reconnection With Poynting's Theorem: MMS Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Genestreti, K. J.; Cassak, P. A.; Varsani, A.; Burch, J. L.; Nakamura, R.; Wang, S.

2018-04-01

We investigate the time dependence of electromagnetic-field-to-plasma energy conversion in the electron diffusion region of asymmetric magnetic reconnection. To do so, we consider the terms in Poynting's theorem. In a steady state there is a perfect balance between the divergence of the electromagnetic energy flux ∇·S→ and the conversion between electromagnetic field and particle energy J→·E→. This energy balance is demonstrated with a particle-in-cell simulation of reconnection. We also evaluate each of the terms in Poynting's theorem during an observation of a magnetopause reconnection region by Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS). We take the equivalence of both sides of Poynting's theorem as an indication that the errors associated with the approximation of each term with MMS data are small. We find that, for this event, balance between J→·E→=-∇·S→ is only achieved for a small fraction of the energy conversion region at/near the X-point. Magnetic energy was rapidly accumulating on either side of the current sheet at roughly 3 times the predicted energy conversion rate. Furthermore, we find that while J→·E→>0 and ∇·S→J→·E→. We note that due to the assumptions necessary to do this calculation, the accurate evaluation of ∇·S→ may not be possible for every MMS-observed reconnection event; but, if possible, this is a simple approach to determine if reconnection is or is not in a steady state.

MR-2016 US-Japan Workshop on Magentic Reconnection Travel Support

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forest, Cary [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

2017-06-12

The US-Japan workshop on Magnetic Reconnection (MR2016), was held in Napa California from March 7th through 11th, 2016. Details about the program, including invited speakers can be found here: (http://www.magneticreconnection.org/mr2016). Background: The MR Workshop is an international meeting that began in 2000 with its original focus on magnetic reconnection serving as a link between the research groups in US and Japan. Since then, the meeting has grown and is now recognized as one of the primary international workshops on magnetic reconnection. In its format, researchers from both the laboratory community and from the space research community have held 12 workshops bringing together the diverse researchers from the space and laboratory experimental fields. Plasma physics is the common language that ties together all scientists who study the waves, particle acceleration and heating, magnetic reconnection, dynamos, global and micro-stability of plasmas, magnetic turbulence and plasma’s transport problems. The meeting received $9,575 from the U.S. Dept. of Energy funding. This support was used to cover the registration fees ($575 per person) and accommodations for ten junior colleagues (graduate students and postdocs). Applications were solicited and then reviewed by the program committee based on recommendations from the applicants’ advisers.

A fully magnetohydrodynamic simulation of three-dimensional non-null reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pontin, D.I.; Galsgaard, K.; Hornig, G.; Priest, E.R.

2005-01-01

A knowledge of the nature of fully three-dimensional magnetic reconnection is crucial in understanding a great many processes in plasmas. It has been previously shown that in the kinematic regime the evolution of magnetic flux in three-dimensional reconnection is very different from two dimensions. In this paper a numerical fully magnetohydrodynamic simulation is described, in which this evolution is investigated. The reconnection takes place in the absence of a magnetic null point, and the nonideal region is localized in the center of the domain. The effect of differently prescribed resistivities is considered. The magnetic field is stressed by shear boundary motions, and a current concentration grows within the volume. A stagnation-point flow develops, with strong outflow jets emanating from the reconnection region. The behavior of the magnetic flux matches closely that discovered in the kinematic regime. In particular, it is found that no unique field line velocity exists, and that as a result field lines change their connections continually and continuously throughout the nonideal region. In order to describe the motion of magnetic flux within the domain, it is therefore necessary to use two different field line velocities. The importance of a component of the electric field parallel to the magnetic field is also demonstrated

Energy transfer by magnetopause reconnection and the substorm parameter epsilon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Alarcon, W.D.; Gonzalez, A.L.C. de.

1983-01-01

An expression for the magnetopause reconnection power based on the dawn-dusk component of the reconnection electric field, that reduces to the substorm parameter epsilon for the limit that involves equal geomagnetic (B sub(G)) and magnetosheath (B sub(M)) magnetic field amplitudes at the magnetopause, is contrasted with the expression based on the whole reconnection electric field vector obtained by Gonzalez. The correlation examples of this report show that this (more general) expression for the reconnection power seems to correlate with the empirical dissipation parameter U sub(T) from Akasofu, with slightly better correlation coefficients than those obtained from similar correlations between the parameter epsilon and U sub(T). Thus, these (better) correlations show up for the more familiar values of the ratio B sub(G) / B sub(M) > 1. Nevertheless, the (expected) relatively small difference that seems to exist between these correlation coefficients suggests that, for practical purposes, the parameter epsilon could be used as well (instead of the more general expression) in similar correlation studies due to its impler format. On the other hand, studies that refer mainly to the difference in the magnitudes of epsilon and of the more general expression are expected to give results with less negligible differences. (Author) [pt

Cluster observations of continuous reconnection at the magnetopause under steady interplanetary magnetic field conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. D. Phan

2004-07-01

inconsequential for the deHoffmann-Teller and Walén analyses, (4 flows in an isolated flux transfer event (FTE are directed in the same direction as the MP jets and satisfy the Walén relation, suggesting that this FTE is also generated by reconnection. Finally, the present event cannot be used to evaluate the validity of component or anti-parallel merging models because, although the magnetic shear at the local MP was ~100°(≪180°, the X-line may be located more than 9RE away (in the opposite hemisphere, where the shear could be substantially different.

ISEE observations of the magnetopause: Reconnection and the energy balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschmann, G.; Papamastorakis, I.; Sckopke, N.; Sonnerup, B.U.O.; Bame, S.J.; Russell, C.T.

1985-01-01

According to the usual magnetopause reconnection model, plasma flows across the magnetopause current sheet, which is a rotational discontinuity with a nonzero normal magnetic field component B/sub n/, from the magnetosheath into the magnetospheric boundary layer. As the plasma crosses the sheet, which has net current I, it is accelerated by the I x B/sub n/ force and flows toward the poles with speeds up to twice the Alfven speed

Analytical model for fast-shock ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghasemi, S. A.; Farahbod, A. H.; Sobhanian, S.

2014-01-01

A model and its improvements are introduced for a recently proposed approach to inertial confinement fusion, called fast-shock ignition (FSI). The analysis is based upon the gain models of fast ignition, shock ignition and considerations for the fast electrons penetration into the pre-compressed fuel to examine the formation of an effective central hot spot. Calculations of fast electrons penetration into the dense fuel show that if the initial electron kinetic energy is of the order ∼4.5 MeV, the electrons effectively reach the central part of the fuel. To evaluate more realistically the performance of FSI approach, we have used a quasi-two temperature electron energy distribution function of Strozzi (2012) and fast ignitor energy formula of Bellei (2013) that are consistent with 3D PIC simulations for different values of fast ignitor laser wavelength and coupling efficiency. The general advantages of fast-shock ignition in comparison with the shock ignition can be estimated to be better than 1.3 and it is seen that the best results can be obtained for the fuel mass around 1.5 mg, fast ignitor laser wavelength ∼0.3  micron and the shock ignitor energy weight factor about 0.25

Bulk ion acceleration and particle heating during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Jongsoo; Yamada, Masaaki; Ji, Hantao; Jara-Almonte, Jonathan; Myers, Clayton E. [Center for Magnetic Self-Organization, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2014-05-15

Bulk ion acceleration and particle heating during magnetic reconnection are studied in the collisionless plasma of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). The plasma is in the two-fluid regime, where the motion of the ions is decoupled from that of the electrons within the ion diffusion region. The reconnection process studied here is quasi-symmetric since plasma parameters such as the magnitude of the reconnecting magnetic field, the plasma density, and temperature are compatible on each side of the current sheet. Our experimental data show that the in-plane (Hall) electric field plays a key role in ion heating and acceleration. The electrostatic potential that produces the in-plane electric field is established by electrons that are accelerated near the electron diffusion region. The in-plane profile of this electrostatic potential shows a “well” structure along the direction normal to the reconnection current sheet. This well becomes deeper and wider downstream as its boundary expands along the separatrices where the in-plane electric field is strongest. Since the in-plane electric field is 3–4 times larger than the out-of-plane reconnection electric field, it is the primary source of energy for the unmagnetized ions. With regard to ion acceleration, the Hall electric field causes ions near separatrices to be ballistically accelerated toward the outflow direction. Ion heating occurs as the accelerated ions travel into the high pressure downstream region. This downstream ion heating cannot be explained by classical, unmagnetized transport theory; instead, we conclude that ions are heated by re-magnetization of ions in the reconnection exhaust and collisions. Two-dimensional (2-D) simulations with the global geometry similar to MRX demonstrate downstream ion thermalization by the above mechanisms. Electrons are also significantly heated during reconnection. The electron temperature sharply increases across the separatrices and peaks just outside of the

Simulation experiment on magnetic field reconnection processes in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiwamoto, Y.

1982-01-01

Two experimental studies on magnetic field line reconnection processes relevant to tokamak physics are going on in Japan. In Yokohama National University, reconnection of poloidal magnetic field lines is studied by the author when reversing the toroidal current of a small toroidal plasma in a short period (typically less than 4 μsec). Interaction of two current carrying plasma (linear) columns is being studied by Kawashima and his coleagues in Institute of Space and Aeronautical Sciences. Mutual attraction and merging of the plasma columns and resulting plasma heating are reported. (author)

Structure of Exhausts in Magnetic Reconnection with an X-line of Finite Extent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shepherd, L. S.; Cassak, P. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Drake, J. F. [Department of Physics and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology and the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Gosling, J. T. [Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303 (United States); Phan, T.-D. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Shay, M. A. [Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

2017-10-20

We present quantitative predictions of the structure of reconnection exhausts in three-dimensional magnetic reconnection with an X-line of finite extent in the out-of-plane direction. Sasunov et al. showed that they have a tilted ribbon-like shape bounded by rotational discontinuities and tangential discontinuities. We show analytically and numerically that this prediction is largely correct. When there is an out-of-plane (guide) magnetic field, the presence of the upstream field that does not reconnect acts as a boundary condition in the normal direction, which forces the normal magnetic field to be zero outside the exhaust. This condition constrains the normal magnetic field inside the exhaust to be small. Thus, rather than the ribbon tilting in the inflow direction, the exhaust remains collimated in the normal direction and is forced to expand nearly completely in the out-of-plane direction. This exhaust structure is in stark contrast to the two-dimensional picture of reconnection, where reconnected flux expands in the normal direction. We present analytical predictions for the structure of the exhausts in terms of upstream conditions. The predictions are confirmed using three-dimensional resistive-magnetohydrodynamic simulations with a finite-length X-line achieved using a localized (anomalous) resistivity. Implications to reconnection in the solar wind are discussed. In particular, the results can be used to estimate a lower bound for the extent of the X-line in the out-of-plane direction solely using single-spacecraft data taken downstream in the exhausts.

Structure of Exhausts in Magnetic Reconnection with an X-line of Finite Extent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shepherd, L. S.; Cassak, P. A.; Drake, J. F.; Gosling, J. T.; Phan, T.-D.; Shay, M. A.

2017-01-01

We present quantitative predictions of the structure of reconnection exhausts in three-dimensional magnetic reconnection with an X-line of finite extent in the out-of-plane direction. Sasunov et al. showed that they have a tilted ribbon-like shape bounded by rotational discontinuities and tangential discontinuities. We show analytically and numerically that this prediction is largely correct. When there is an out-of-plane (guide) magnetic field, the presence of the upstream field that does not reconnect acts as a boundary condition in the normal direction, which forces the normal magnetic field to be zero outside the exhaust. This condition constrains the normal magnetic field inside the exhaust to be small. Thus, rather than the ribbon tilting in the inflow direction, the exhaust remains collimated in the normal direction and is forced to expand nearly completely in the out-of-plane direction. This exhaust structure is in stark contrast to the two-dimensional picture of reconnection, where reconnected flux expands in the normal direction. We present analytical predictions for the structure of the exhausts in terms of upstream conditions. The predictions are confirmed using three-dimensional resistive-magnetohydrodynamic simulations with a finite-length X-line achieved using a localized (anomalous) resistivity. Implications to reconnection in the solar wind are discussed. In particular, the results can be used to estimate a lower bound for the extent of the X-line in the out-of-plane direction solely using single-spacecraft data taken downstream in the exhausts.

Fast-slow asymptotics for a Markov chain model of fast sodium current

Science.gov (United States)

Starý, Tomáš; Biktashev, Vadim N.

2017-09-01

We explore the feasibility of using fast-slow asymptotics to eliminate the computational stiffness of discrete-state, continuous-time deterministic Markov chain models of ionic channels underlying cardiac excitability. We focus on a Markov chain model of fast sodium current, and investigate its asymptotic behaviour with respect to small parameters identified in different ways.

DIFFUSION OF MAGNETIC FIELD AND REMOVAL OF MAGNETIC FLUX FROM CLOUDS VIA TURBULENT RECONNECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos-Lima, R.; De Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; Lazarian, A.; Cho, J.

2010-01-01

The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence reassures that the magnetic field behavior in computer simulations and turbulent astrophysical environments is similar, as far as magnetic reconnection is concerned. This makes it meaningful to perform MHD simulations of turbulent flows in order to understand the diffusion of magnetic field in astrophysical environments. Our studies of magnetic field diffusion in turbulent medium reveal interesting new phenomena. First of all, our three-dimensional MHD simulations initiated with anti-correlating magnetic field and gaseous density exhibit at later times a de-correlation of the magnetic field and density, which corresponds well to the observations of the interstellar media. While earlier studies stressed the role of either ambipolar diffusion or time-dependent turbulent fluctuations for de-correlating magnetic field and density, we get the effect of permanent de-correlation with one fluid code, i.e., without invoking ambipolar diffusion. In addition, in the presence of gravity and turbulence, our three-dimensional simulations show the decrease of the magnetic flux-to-mass ratio as the gaseous density at the center of the gravitational potential increases. We observe this effect both in the situations when we start with equilibrium distributions of gas and magnetic field and when we follow the evolution of collapsing dynamically unstable configurations. Thus, the process of turbulent magnetic field removal should be applicable both to quasi-static subcritical molecular clouds and cores and violently collapsing supercritical entities. The increase of the gravitational potential as well as the magnetization of the gas increases the segregation of the mass and magnetic flux in the

Particle-in-cell simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection with a non-uniform guide field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, F.; Neukirch, T.; Harrison, M. G.; Hesse, M.; Stark, C. R.

2016-01-01

Results are presented of a first study of collisionless magnetic reconnection starting from a recently found exact nonlinear force-free Vlasov–Maxwell equilibrium. The initial state has a Harris sheet magnetic field profile in one direction and a non-uniform guide field in a second direction, resulting in a spatially constant magnetic field strength as well as a constant initial plasma density and plasma pressure. It is found that the reconnection process initially resembles guide field reconnection, but that a gradual transition to anti-parallel reconnection happens as the system evolves. The time evolution of a number of plasma parameters is investigated, and the results are compared with simulations starting from a Harris sheet equilibrium and a Harris sheet plus constant guide field equilibrium.

A study of different colour reconnection settings for Pythia8 generator using underlying event observables

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

A study of the performance of various colour reconnection models included in the Pythia8 Monte Carlo event generator is performed using leading charged-particle underlying event data in three centre-of-mass energies from Run 1 and Run 2, measured in ATLAS. Each model can be tuned to describe the data reasonably well.

Introduction to Plasma Dynamo, Reconnection and Shocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Intrator, Thomas P. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-08-30

In our plasma universe, most of what we can observe is composed of ionized gas, or plasma. This plasma is a conducting fluid, which advects magnetic fields when it flows. Magnetic structure occurs from the smallest planetary to the largest cosmic scales. We introduce at a basic level some interesting features of non linear magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). For example, in our plasma universe, dynamo creates magnetic fields from gravitationally driven flow energy in an electrically conducting medium, and conversely magnetic reconnection annihilates magnetic field and accelerates particles. Shocks occur when flows move faster than the local velocity (sonic or Alfven speed) for the propagation of information. Both reconnection and shocks can accelerate particles, perhaps to gigantic energies, for example as observed with 10{sup 20} eV cosmic rays.

Identification of Y-shaped and O-shaped diffusion regions during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Masaaki; Ji, H.; Hsu, S.; Carter, T.; Kulsrud, R.; Ono, Yasushi; Perkins, F.

1997-01-01

Two strikingly different shapes of diffusion regions are identified during magnetic reconnection in a magnetohydrodynamic laboratory plasma. The shapes depend on the third vector component of the reconnecting magnetic fields. Without the third component (anti-parallel or null-helicity reconnection), a thin double-Y shaped diffusion region is identified. In this case, the neutral sheet current profile is accurately measured to be as narrow as the order of the ion gyro-radius. In the presence of an appreciable third component (co-helicity reconnection), an O-shaped diffusion region appears and grows into a spheromak configuration

CT-TRX1, a triggered-reconnection compact toroid experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, A.L.

1980-05-01

A new compact toroid experiment, CT-TRX1, based on the field reversed theta pinch is under construction. The unique feature of this experiment is the incorporation of several quasi-steady and pulsed magnets to carefully control the reconnection process. The motivation for this emphasis is to duplicate and extend the results reported by Kurtmullaev, et al., where delayed reconnection produced efficient axial shock heating and resulted in large diameter compact toroids which exhibited complete MHD stability for the 100 μsec decay time of their pulsed magnets. CT-TRX1 incorporates moderate E/sub theta/ radial shock heating, along with the triggered reconnection capability, to investigate the full range of conditions between the USSR experiments and the radial shock heated experiments at LASL, where m = 2 rotational instabilities occur. An additional feature of CT-TRX1 is the incorporation of a compound magnet which will provide long magnetic field decay times. The requirements for both high field quasi-steady outer magnets, and several high voltage, individually triggered pulsed inner magnets, present unique engineering design problems which are discussed

Reconnection of SN-216 to U-D Valve Pit Design Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

REED, R.W.

1999-01-01

The design for the reconnection of SN-216 to U-D valve pit was reviewed on May 24, 1999. All Review Comment Record comments were resolved and closed at this meeting. The review concluded that the reconnection of SN-216 to U-D valve pit was acceptable. The design was approved with the incorporated comments as recorded on the RCR's. No outstanding comments remain

Magnetic reconnection during eruptive magnetic flux ropes

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Z. X.; Keppens, R.; Roussev, I. I.; Lin, J.

2017-08-01

Aims: We perform a three-dimensional (3D) high resolution numerical simulation in isothermal magnetohydrodynamics to study the magnetic reconnection process in a current sheet (CS) formed during an eruption of a twisted magnetic flux rope (MFR). Because the twist distribution violates the Kruskal-Shafranov condition, the kink instability occurs, and the MFR is distorted. The centre part of the MFR loses its equilibrium and erupts upward, which leads to the formation of a 3D CS underneath it. Methods: In order to study the magnetic reconnection inside the CS in detail, mesh refinement has been used to reduce the numerical diffusion and we estimate a Lundquist number S = 104 in the vicinity of the CS. Results: The refined mesh allows us to resolve fine structures inside the 3D CS: a bifurcating sheet structure signaling the 3D generalization of Petschek slow shocks, some distorted-cylindrical substructures due to the tearing mode instabilities, and two turbulence regions near the upper and the lower tips of the CS. The topological characteristics of the MFR depend sensitively on the observer's viewing angle: it presents as a sigmoid structure, an outwardly expanding MFR with helical distortion, or a flare-CS-coronal mass ejection symbiosis as in 2D flux-rope models when observed from the top, the front, or the side. The movie associated to Fig. 2 is available at http://www.aanda.org

Orientation of X Lines in Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection-Mass Ratio Dependency

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yi-Hsin; Hesse, M.; Kuznetsova, M.

2015-01-01

Using fully kinetic simulations, we study the X line orientation of magnetic reconnection in an asymmetric configuration. A spatially localized perturbation is employed to induce a single X line, which has sufficient freedom to choose its orientation in three-dimensional systems. The effect of ion to electron mass ratio is investigated, and the X line appears to bisect the magnetic shear angle across the current sheet in the large mass ratio limit. The orientation can generally be deduced by scanning through the corresponding 2-D simulations to find the reconnection plane that maximizes the peak reconnection electric field. The deviation from the bisection angle in the lower mass ratio limit is consistent with the orientation shift of the most unstable linear tearing mode in an electron-scale current sheet.

Anomalous heating and plasmoid formation in pulsed power driven magnetic reconnection experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Hare, Jack

2017-10-01

Magnetic reconnection is an important process occurring in various plasma environments, including high energy density plasmas. In this talk we will present results from a recently developed magnetic reconnection platform driven by the MAGPIE pulsed power generator (1 MA, 250 ns) at Imperial College London. In these experiments, supersonic, sub-Alfvénic plasma flows collide, bringing anti-parallel magnetic fields into contact and producing a well-defined, elongated reconnection layer. This layer is long-lasting (>200 ns, > 10 hydrodynamic flow times) and is diagnosed using a suite of high resolution, spatially and temporally resolved diagnostics which include laser interferometry, Thomson scattering and Faraday rotation imaging. We observe significant heating of the electrons and ions inside the reconnection layer, and calculate that the heating must occur on time-scales far faster than can be explained by classical mechanisms. Possible anomalous mechanisms include in-plane electric fields caused by two-fluid effects, and enhanced resistivity and viscosity caused by kinetic turbulence. We also observe the repeated formation of plasmoids in the reconnection layer, which are ejected outwards along the layer at super-Alfvénic velocities. The O-point magnetic field structure of these plasmoids is determined using in situ magnetic probes, and these plasmoids could also play a role in the anomalous heating of the electrons and ions. In addition, we present further modifications to this experimental platform which enable us to study asymmetric reconnection or measure the out-of-plane magnetic field inside the plasmoids. This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant No. EP/N013379/1, and by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Awards No. DE-F03-02NA00057 and No. DE-SC-0001063.

MMS Observations of Vorticity Near Sites of Magnetic Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Paterson, W. R.; Giles, B. L.; Avanov, L. A.; Boardsen, S. A.; Dorelli, J.; Gershman, D. J.; Mackler, D. A.; Moore, T. E.; Pollock, C. J.; Schiff, C.; Shuster, J. R.; Viñas, A. F.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.

2017-12-01

With highly capable plasma instruments on four spacecraft flown in tetrahedral formation, it is possible for MMS investigators to approximate spatial derivatives of the plasma parameters observed. Here, we examine vorticity of the electron and ion components of the plasma computed from the curl of velocity as measured by the Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI). Vorticity of magnetospheric plasma has not previously been studied on scales of tens-of-km to less than 10 km, which are the typical inter-spacecraft separations for MMS. Nor has it been explored on time scales of 30 ms for electrons and 150 ms for ions, which are the burst data rates for the FPI spectrometers. Review of observations from the magnetopause and magnetotail phases of the mission finds increases in vorticity associated with near encounters with the electron diffusion region, with nearby regions of measurable current, and with elevated electron and ion temperatures. These are suggestive of a possible role for turbulence in magnetic reconnection. In this presentation we provide an assessment of the quality of these measurements and discuss their potential significance.

Particle acceleration and reconnection in the solar wind

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zank, G. P.; Hunana, P.; Mostafavi, P.; Le Roux, J. A.; Webb, G. M. [Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Department of Space Science, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States); Khabarova, O. [Heliophysical Laboratory, IZMIRAN, Troitsk, Moscow 142190 (Russian Federation); Cummings, A. C.; Stone, E. C. [California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 290-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Decker, R. B. [Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Lab., Laurel, MD 20723-6099 (United States)

2016-03-25

An emerging paradigm for the dissipation of magnetic turbulence in the supersonic solar wind is via localized quasi-2D small-scale magnetic island reconnection processes. An advection-diffusion transport equation for a nearly isotropic particle distribution describes particle transport and energization in a region of interacting magnetic islands [1; 2]. The dominant charged particle energization processes are 1) the electric field induced by quasi-2D magnetic island merging, and 2) magnetic island contraction. The acceleration of charged particles in a “sea of magnetic islands” in a super-Alfvénic flow, and the energization of particles by combined diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) and downstream magnetic island reconnection processes are discussed.

Small-Scale Dayside Magnetic Reconnection Analysis via MMS

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchard, K. R.; Burch, J. L.; Fuselier, S. A.; Webster, J.; Genestreti, K.; Torbert, R. B.; Rager, A. C.; Phan, T.; Argall, M. R.; Le Contel, O.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Giles, B. L.

2017-12-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has the primary objective of understanding the physics of the reconnection electron diffusion region (EDR), where magnetic energy is transformed into particle energy. In this poster, we present data from an EDR encounter that occurred in late December 2016 at approximately 11:00 MLT with a moderate guide field. The spacecraft were in a tetrahedral formation with an average inter-spacecraft distance of approximately 7 kilometers. During this event electron crescent-shaped distributions were observed in the electron stagnation region as is typical for asymmetric reconnection. Based on the observed ion velocity jets, the spacecraft traveled just south of the EDR. Because of the close spacecraft separation, fairly accurate computation of the Hall, electron pressure divergence, and electron inertia components of the reconnection electric field could be made. In the region of the crescent distributions good agreement was observed, with the strongest component being the normal electric field and the most significant sources being electron pressure divergence and the Hall electric field. While the strongest currents were in the out-of-plane direction, the dissipation was strongest in the normal direction because of the larger magnitude of the normal electric field component. These results are discussed in light of recent 3D PIC simulations performed by other groups.

Magnetic reconnection processes induced by a CME expansion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bemporad

2008-10-01

Full Text Available On 10–11 December 2005 a slow CME occurred in the Western Hemisphere in between two coronal streamers. SOHO/MDI magnetograms show a multipolar magnetic configuration at the photosphere: a complex of active regions located at the CME source and two bipoles at the base of the lateral coronal streamers. White light observations reveal that the CME expansion affects both of them and induces the release of plasma within or close to the nearby streamers. These transient phenomena are possibly due to magnetic reconnections induced by the CME expansion and occurring inside the streamer current sheet or between the CME flanks and the streamer. These events have been observed by the SOHO/UVCS with the spectrometer slit centered at 1.8 R⊙ over about a full day. In this work we focus on the interaction between the CME and the streamer: the UVCS spectral interval included UV lines from ions at different temperatures of maximum formation such as O VI, Si XIII and Al Xi. These data gave us the opportunity to infer the evolution of plasma temperature and density at the reconnection site and adjacent regions. These are relevant to characterize secondary reconnection processes occurring during a CME development.

Modeling properties of chromospheric evaporation driven by thermal conduction fronts from reconnection shocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brannon, Sean; Longcope, Dana [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)

2014-09-01

Magnetic reconnection in the corona results in contracting flare loops, releasing energy into plasma heating and shocks. The hydrodynamic shocks produced in this manner drive thermal conduction fronts (TCFs) which transport energy into the chromosphere and drive upflows (evaporation) and downflows (condensation) in the cooler, denser footpoint plasma. Observations have revealed that certain properties of the transition point between evaporation and condensation (the 'flow reversal point' or FRP), such as temperature and velocity-temperature derivative at the FRP, vary between different flares. These properties may provide a diagnostic tool to determine parameters of the coronal energy release mechanism and the loop atmosphere. In this study, we develop a one-dimensional hydrodynamical flare loop model with a simplified three-region atmosphere (chromosphere/transition region/corona), with TCFs initiated by shocks introduced in the corona. We investigate the effect of two different flare loop parameters (post-shock temperature and transition region temperature ratio) on the FRP properties. We find that both of the evaporation characteristics have scaling-law relationships to the varied flare parameters, and we report the scaling exponents for our model. This provides a means of using spectroscopic observations of the chromosphere as quantitative diagnostics of flare energy release in the corona.

Comment on Lockwood and Davis, "On the longitudinal extent of magnetopause reconnection pulses"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. J. Heikkila

1999-02-01

Full Text Available Lockwood and Davis (1996 present a concise description of magnetopause reconnection pulses, with the claimed support of three types of observations: (1 flux transfer events (FTE, (2 poleward-moving auroral forms on the dayside, and (3 steps in cusp ion dispersion characteristics. However, there are a number of errors and misconceptions in the paper that make their conclusions untenable. They do not properly take account of the fact that the relevant processes operate in the presence of a plasma. They fail to notice that the source of energy (a dynamo with E · J<0 must be close to the region of dissipation (the electrical load with E · J>0 in transient phenomena, since energy (or information cannot travel faster than the group velocity of waves in the medium (here the Alfvén velocity VA. In short, Lockwood and Davis use the wrong contour in their attempt to evaluate the electromotive force (emf. This criticism goes beyond their article: a dynamo is not included in the usual definition of reconnection, only the reconnection load. Without an explicit source of energy in the assumed model, the idea of magnetic reconnection is improperly posed. Recent research has carried out a superposed epoch analysis of conditions near the dayside magnetopause and has found the dynamo and the load, both within the magnetopause current sheet. Since the magnetopause current is from dawn to dusk, the sign of E · J reflects the sign of the electric field. The electric field reverses, within the magnetopause; this can be discovered by an application of Lenz's law using the concept of erosion of the magnetopause. The net result is plasma transfer across the magnetopause to feed the low latitude boundary layer, at least partly on closed field lines, and viscous interaction as the mechanism by which solar wind plasma couples to the magnetosphere.

Simulation of small-scale coronal explosives due to magnetic reconnections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan Quanlin; Feng Xueshang; Xiang Changqing; Zhong Dingkun

2003-01-01

The dynamics of small-scale explosive phenomena in the lower corona have been simulated by solving the compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations. Numerical results show that the magnetic reconnections in a long coronal current sheet consist of a series of discrete small reconnection events, coalescence of magnetic islands, and plasmoid ejections, corresponding to the explosive events occurring intermittently and as bursts in a mentioned observational case. The generation of magnetic islands via multiple-X-point reconnection and their coalescence processes, to some extent, are qualitatively similar to the sequence of brightenings in the active region NOAA 8668. The strong ejections are possibly related to the recorded extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emitting structures. Morphological comparison and quantitative check of the plasma parameters support this candidate mechanism, and the idea that explosive events that appear to last long may not be single events, but a succession of explosive events either resolved or unresolved. The temporal energy conversion process is also examined

2D numerical simulation of the resistive reconnection layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uzdensky, D. A.; Kulsrud, R. M.

2000-01-01

In this paper the authors present a two-dimensional numerical simulation of a reconnection current layer in incompressible resistive magnetohydrodynamics with uniform resistivity in the limit of very large Lundquist numbers. They use realistic boundary conditions derived consistently from the outside magnetic field, and they also take into account the effect of the backpressure from flow into the separatrix region. They find that within a few Alfven times the system reaches a steady state consistent with the Sweet-Parker model, even if the initial state is Petschek-like

BREAKOUT RECONNECTION OBSERVED BY THE TESIS EUV TELESCOPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reva, A. A.; Ulyanov, A. S.; Shestov, S. V.; Kuzin, S. V., E-mail: reva.antoine@gmail.com [Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Federation)

2016-01-10

We present experimental evidence of the coronal mass ejection (CME) breakout reconnection, observed by the TESIS EUV telescope. The telescope could observe solar corona up to 2 R{sub ⊙} from the Sun center in the Fe 171 Å line. Starting from 2009 April 8, TESIS observed an active region (AR) that had a quadrupolar structure with an X-point 0.5 R{sub ⊙} above photosphere. A magnetic field reconstructed from the Michelson Doppler Imager data also has a multipolar structure with an X-point above the AR. At 21:45 UT on April 9, the loops near the X-point started to move away from each other with a velocity of ≈7 km s{sup −1}. At 01:15 UT on April 10, a bright stripe appeared between the loops, and the flux in the GOES 0.5–4 Å channel increased. We interpret the loops’ sideways motion and the bright stripe as evidence of the breakout reconnection. At 01:45 UT, the loops below the X-point started to slowly move up. At 15:10 UT, the CME started to accelerate impulsively, while at the same time a flare arcade formed below the CME. After 15:50 UT, the CME moved with constant velocity. The CME evolution precisely followed the breakout model scenario.

BREAKOUT RECONNECTION OBSERVED BY THE TESIS EUV TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reva, A. A.; Ulyanov, A. S.; Shestov, S. V.; Kuzin, S. V.

2016-01-01

We present experimental evidence of the coronal mass ejection (CME) breakout reconnection, observed by the TESIS EUV telescope. The telescope could observe solar corona up to 2 R ⊙ from the Sun center in the Fe 171 Å line. Starting from 2009 April 8, TESIS observed an active region (AR) that had a quadrupolar structure with an X-point 0.5 R ⊙ above photosphere. A magnetic field reconstructed from the Michelson Doppler Imager data also has a multipolar structure with an X-point above the AR. At 21:45 UT on April 9, the loops near the X-point started to move away from each other with a velocity of ≈7 km s −1 . At 01:15 UT on April 10, a bright stripe appeared between the loops, and the flux in the GOES 0.5–4 Å channel increased. We interpret the loops’ sideways motion and the bright stripe as evidence of the breakout reconnection. At 01:45 UT, the loops below the X-point started to slowly move up. At 15:10 UT, the CME started to accelerate impulsively, while at the same time a flare arcade formed below the CME. After 15:50 UT, the CME moved with constant velocity. The CME evolution precisely followed the breakout model scenario

SLIPPING MAGNETIC RECONNECTION, CHROMOSPHERIC EVAPORATION, IMPLOSION, AND PRECURSORS IN THE 2014 SEPTEMBER 10 X1.6-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudík, Jaroslav; Karlický, Marian; Dzifčáková, Elena [Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov (Czech Republic); Polito, Vanessa; Mulay, Sargam M.; Zanna, Giulio Del; Mason, Helen E. [Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, CMS, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom); Janvier, Miho [Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Centre Universitaire d’Orsay, Bt 120121, F-91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Aulanier, Guillaume; Schmieder, Brigitte, E-mail: dudik@asu.cas.cz [LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universits, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cit, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon (France)

2016-05-20

We investigate the occurrence of slipping magnetic reconnection, chromospheric evaporation, and coronal loop dynamics in the 2014 September 10 X-class flare. Slipping reconnection is found to be present throughout the flare from its early phase. Flare loops are seen to slip in opposite directions toward both ends of the ribbons. Velocities of 20–40 km s{sup −1} are found within time windows where the slipping is well resolved. The warm coronal loops exhibit expanding and contracting motions that are interpreted as displacements due to the growing flux rope that subsequently erupts. This flux rope existed and erupted before the onset of apparent coronal implosion. This indicates that the energy release proceeds by slipping reconnection and not via coronal implosion. The slipping reconnection leads to changes in the geometry of the observed structures at the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph slit position, from flare loop top to the footpoints in the ribbons. This results in variations of the observed velocities of chromospheric evaporation in the early flare phase. Finally, it is found that the precursor signatures, including localized EUV brightenings as well as nonthermal X-ray emission, are signatures of the flare itself, progressing from the early phase toward the impulsive phase, with the tether-cutting being provided by the slipping reconnection. The dynamics of both the flare and outlying coronal loops is found to be consistent with the predictions of the standard solar flare model in three dimensions.

Jagiellonian University Colour Reconnections in Quark and Gluon Jets in Herwig 7

CERN Document Server

Reichelt, Daniel; Siódmok, Andrzej

2017-01-01

Major event generators deviate significantly in their description of quark and gluon initiated jets. The modelling of these is particularly sensitive to the colour reconnection model used in the cluster hadronization model in the event generator Herwig. However, up to now, observables sensitive to the light flavour of jets have not been widely used in the construction and tuning of event generators. The scheme used in Herwig and changes within it are investigated using observables in $e^+ e^−$ and pp collisions, which are expected to discriminate quark and gluon jets.

Is the Near-Earth Current Sheet Prior to Reconnection Unstable to Tearing Mode?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xin-Hua, Wei; Jin-Bin, Cao; Guo-Cheng, Zhou; Hui-Shan, Fu

2010-01-01

The tearing mode instability plays a key role in the triggering process of reconnection. The triggering collisionless tearing mode instability has been theoretically and numerically analyzed by many researchers. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining the observational wave number, it is still unknown whether the tearing mode instability can be excited in an actual plasma sheet prior to reconnection onset. Using the data from four Cluster satellites prior to a magnetospheric reconnection event on 13 September 2002, we utilized the wave telescope technique to obtain the wave number which corresponds to the peak of power spectral density. The wavelength is about 18R E and is consistent with previous theoretic and numerical results. After substituting the wave vector and other necessary parameters of the observed current sheet into the triggering condition of tearing mode instability, we find that the near-Earth current sheet prior to reconnection is unstable to tearing mode. (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

Reconnection, Particle Acceleration, and Hard X-ray Emission in Eruptive Solar Flares

Science.gov (United States)

Martens, Petrus C.

1998-11-01

The frequent occurrence of Hard X-ray emission from the top of flaring loops was one of the discoveries by the Hard X-ray telescope on board the Japanese Yohkoh satellite. I will show how the combined effect of magnetic field convergence and pitch- angle scattering of non-thermal electrons injected at the top of the loop results in the generation of looptop sources with properties akin to those observed by Yohkoh. In addition it is shown that the injection of proton beams in the loop legs, expected from theory, reproduces the observed high temperature ``ridges" in the loop legs by mirroring and energy loss through collisions. I will interpret these numerical results as supporting the now widely accepted model of an erupting magnetic flux tube generating a reconnecting current sheet in its wake, where most of the energy release takes place. The strong similarity with the reconnection observed in the MRX experiment in Princeton will be analyzed in detail.

Enhanced Model for Fast Ignition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, Rodney J. [Research Applications Corporation, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2010-10-12

Laser Fusion is a prime candidate for alternate energy production, capable of serving a major portion of the nation's energy needs, once fusion fuel can be readily ignited. Fast Ignition may well speed achievement of this goal, by reducing net demands on laser pulse energy and timing precision. However, Fast Ignition has presented a major challenge to modeling. This project has enhanced the computer code ePLAS for the simulation of the many specialized phenomena, which arise with Fast Ignition. The improved code has helped researchers to understand better the consequences of laser absorption, energy transport, and laser target hydrodynamics. ePLAS uses efficient implicit methods to acquire solutions for the electromagnetic fields that govern the accelerations of electrons and ions in targets. In many cases, the code implements fluid modeling for these components. These combined features, "implicitness and fluid modeling," can greatly facilitate calculations, permitting the rapid scoping and evaluation of experiments. ePLAS can be used on PCs, Macs and Linux machines, providing researchers and students with rapid results. This project has improved the treatment of electromagnetics, hydrodynamics, and atomic physics in the code. It has simplified output graphics, and provided new input that avoids the need for source code access by users. The improved code can now aid university, business and national laboratory users in pursuit of an early path to success with Fast Ignition.

Colour Reconnection at LEP2

CERN Document Server

Nandakumar, Raja

2001-01-01

Colour reconnection is the final state interaction between quarks from different sources. It is not yet fully understood and is a source of systematic error for W-boson mass and width measurements in hadronic \\WW decays at LEP2. The methods of measuring this effect and the results of the 4 LEP experiments at $183\\gev\\leq\\rts\\leq 202\\gev$ will be presented.

Energy Dissipation and Dynamics in Large Guide Field Turbulence Driven Reconnection at the Magnetopause

Science.gov (United States)

TenBarge, J. M.; Shay, M. A.; Sharma, P.; Juno, J.; Haggerty, C. C.; Drake, J. F.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Hakim, A.

2017-12-01

Turbulence and magnetic reconnection are the primary mechanisms responsible for the conversion of stored magnetic energy into particle energy in many space and astrophysical plasmas. The magnetospheric multiscale mission (MMS) has given us unprecedented access to high cadence particle and field data of turbulence and magnetic reconnection at earth's magnetopause. The observations include large guide field reconnection events generated within the turbulent magnetopause. Motivated by these observations, we present a study of large guide reconnection using the fully kinetic Eulerian Vlasov-Maxwell component of the Gkeyll simulation framework, and we also employ and compare with gyrokinetics to explore the asymptotically large guide field limit. In addition to studying the configuration space dynamics, we leverage the recently developed field-particle correlations to diagnose the dominant sources of dissipation and compare the results of the field-particle correlation to other energy dissipation measures.

The Fast Theater Model (FATHM)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brown, Gerald G; Washburn, Alan R

2002-01-01

The Fast Theater Model (FATHM) is an aggregated joint theater combat model that fuses Air Force Air-to-Ground attack sortie optimization with Ground-to-Ground deterministic Lanchester fire-exchange battles using attrition rates...

The role of electron heat flux in guide-field magnetic reconnection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesse, Michael; Kuznetsova, Masha; Birn, Joachim

2004-01-01

A combination of analytical theory and particle-in-cell simulations are employed in order to investigate the electron dynamics near and at the site of guide field magnetic reconnection. A detailed analysis of the contributions to the reconnection electric field shows that both bulk inertia and pressure-based quasiviscous processes are important for the electrons. Analytic scaling demonstrates that conventional approximations for the electron pressure tensor behavior in the dissipation region fail, and that heat flux contributions need to be accounted for. Based on the evolution equation of the heat flux three tensor, which is derived in this paper, an approximate form of the relevant heat flux contributions to the pressure tensor is developed, which reproduces the numerical modeling result reasonably well. Based on this approximation, it is possible to develop a scaling of the electron current layer in the central dissipation region. It is shown that the pressure tensor contributions become important at the scale length defined by the electron Larmor radius in the guide magnetic field

A simulation of driven reconnection by a high precision MHD code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusano, Kanya; Ouchi, Yasuo; Hayashi, Takaya; Horiuchi, Ritoku; Watanabe, Kunihiko; Sato, Tetsuya.

1988-01-01

A high precision MHD code, which has the fourth-order accuracy for both the spatial and time steps, is developed, and is applied to the simulation studies of two dimensional driven reconnection. It is confirm that the numerical dissipation of this new scheme is much less than that of two-step Lax-Wendroff scheme. The effect of the plasma compressibility on the reconnection dynamics is investigated by means of this high precision code. (author)

The double layers in the plasma sheet boundary layer during magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, J.; Yu, B.

2014-11-01

We studied the evolutions of double layers which appear after the magnetic reconnection through two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation results show that the double layers are formed in the plasma sheet boundary layer after magnetic reconnection. At first, the double layers which have unipolar structures are formed. And then the double layers turn into bipolar structures, which will couple with another new weak bipolar structure. Thus a new double layer or tripolar structure comes into being. The double layers found in our work are about several ten Debye lengths, which accords with the observation results. It is suggested that the electron beam formed during the magnetic reconnection is responsible for the production of the double layers.

The Importance of Reconnection at Sector Boundaries: Another Space Weather Hazard?

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Y.; Lai, H.; Russell, C. T.

2017-12-01

Sector Boundaries are interfaces between nearly oppositely directed magnetic flux in the solar wind. When the leading solar wind stream is moving more slowly than the following stream a high-pressure ridge appears at the interface, that compresses the plasma sometimes leading to a forward and reverse shock pair that slows the fast stream and accelerate the slow stream. If reconnection at the interface between the streams occurs part of the magnetic flux will be annihilated but the plasma once associated with that magnetic flux remains near the interface causing a sometimes significant short-lived dynamic pressure increase. The declining phase of solar cycle 24 exhibits several examples of the phenomenon with densities reaching over 80 protons cm-3 at speed of about 400 km sec-1. We examine the solar wind context of the phenomenon and the consequences at the magnetosphere using space-based and ground-based observations and comment on their possible generation of geomagnetically-induced currents.

Endogenous magnetic reconnection and associated high energy plasma processes

Science.gov (United States)

Coppi, B.; Basu, B.

2018-02-01

An endogenous reconnection process involves a driving factor that lays inside the layer where a drastic change of magnetic field topology occurs. A process of this kind is shown to take place when an electron temperature gradient is present in a magnetically confined plasma and the evolving electron temperature fluctuations are anisotropic. The width of the reconnecting layer remains significant even when large macroscopic distances are considered. In view of the fact that there are plasmas in the Universe with considerable electron thermal energy contents this feature can be relied upon in order to produce generation or conversion of magnetic energy, high energy particle populations and momentum and angular momentum transport.

Magnetic Reconnection at the Earliest Stage of Solar Flux Emergence

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Hui; Zhu, Xiaoshuai; Peter, Hardi; Zhao, Jie; Samanta, Tanmoy; Chen, Yajie

2018-02-01

On 2016 September 20, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph observed an active region during its earliest emerging phase for almost 7 hr. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory observed continuous emergence of small-scale magnetic bipoles with a rate of ∼1016 Mx s‑1. The emergence of magnetic fluxes and interactions between different polarities lead to the frequent occurrence of ultraviolet (UV) bursts, which exhibit as intense transient brightenings in the 1400 Å images. In the meantime, discrete small patches with the same magnetic polarity tend to move together and merge, leading to the enhancement of the magnetic fields and thus the formation of pores (small sunspots) at some locations. The spectra of these UV bursts are characterized by the superposition of several chromospheric absorption lines on the greatly broadened profiles of some emission lines formed at typical transition region temperatures, suggesting heating of the local materials to a few tens of thousands of kelvin in the lower atmosphere by magnetic reconnection. Some bursts reveal blue- and redshifts of ∼100 km s‑1 at neighboring pixels, indicating the spatially resolved bidirectional reconnection outflows. Many such bursts appear to be associated with the cancellation of magnetic fluxes with a rate of the order of ∼1015 Mx s‑1. We also investigate the three-dimensional magnetic field topology through a magnetohydrostatic model and find that a small fraction of the bursts are associated with bald patches (magnetic dips). Finally, we find that almost all bursts are located in regions of large squashing factor at the height of ∼1 Mm, reinforcing our conclusion that these bursts are produced through reconnection in the lower atmosphere.