Particle-in-cell simulation study of the scaling of asymmetric magnetic reconnection with in-plane flow shear
| Autor: | Marc Swisdak, C. E. Doss, Paul Cassak |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Convection 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences FOS: Physical sciences Magnetic reconnection Plasma Mechanics Condensed Matter Physics 01 natural sciences Space Physics (physics.space-ph) Physics - Plasma Physics 010305 fluids & plasmas Magnetic field Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) Solar wind Physics - Space Physics Physics::Plasma Physics Physics::Space Physics 0103 physical sciences Magnetopause Particle-in-cell Shear flow 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Physics of Plasmas. 23:082107 |
| ISSN: | 1089-7674 1070-664X |
| Popis: | We investigate magnetic reconnection in systems simultaneously containing asymmetric (anti-parallel) magnetic fields, asymmetric plasma densities and temperatures, and arbitrary in-plane bulk flow of plasma in the upstream regions. Such configurations are common in the high-latitudes of Earth's magnetopause and in tokamaks. We investigate the convection speed of the X-line, the scaling of the reconnection rate, and the condition for which the flow suppresses reconnection as a function of upstream flow speeds. We use two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to capture the mixing of plasma in the outflow regions better than is possible in fluid modeling. We perform simulations with asymmetric magnetic fields, simulations with asymmetric densities, and simulations with magnetopause-like parameters where both are asymmetric. For flow speeds below the predicted cutoff velocity, we find good scaling agreement with the theory presented in Doss et al., J.~Geophys.~Res., 120, 7748 (2015). Applications to planetary magnetospheres, tokamaks, and the solar wind are discussed. 17 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physics of Plasmas |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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