Coalescence of magnetic flux ropes in the ion diffusion region of magnetic reconnection

Wang, Rongsheng; Lu, Quanming; Nakamura, R.; Huang, Can; Du, Aimin; Guo, Fan; Teh, W.‐L.; Wu, Mingyu; Lu, San; Wang, Shui

doi:10.1038/nphys3578

Cited by 127 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The widely existing null points have been seen in the simulation results [9,10]. At a late stage in the reconnection process, the null clusters and magnetic flux ropes can govern the reconnection region and lead to a turbulent-like state [9,10,14,15,26]. The event in this study may be in this There are five nulls in this region.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…The previous simulation [14] and observation results [15] show that the formation, coalescence, and interaction of flux ropes can lead to turbulent evolution. In this study, we find that the turbulent signature can also be caused by the rapid evolution of multiple null points, which suggests a more complex feature than a 2D island.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…At a later stage, the generation of small flux ropes and null pairs in the diffusion region can lead to turbulent behavior [9,10,14], and the electron dynamics becomes dominant in the turbulent-like regions. Moreover, the coalescence of flux ropes in the ion diffusion region is observed in the magnetotail, and the interaction of the flux ropes can also lead to turbulence [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of clustered magnetic nulls in a turbulent-like reconnection region in the magnetotail

Guo

et al. 2016

Science Bulletin

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of clustered magnetic nulls in a turbulent-like reconnection region in the magnetotail

Guo

et al. 2016

Science Bulletin

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“…They include solar flares Bárta et al 2011b,a;Li et al 2015;Shibata & Takasao 2016;Janvier 2017), coronal mass ejections (Milligan et al 2010;Karpen et al 2012;Ni et al 2012;Mei et al 2012;Lin et al 2015), chromospheric jets (Shibata et al 2007;Ni et al 2015Ni et al , 2017, blazar emissions (Giannios 2013;Sironi et al 2015;Petropoulou et al 2016;Beloborodov 2017), gamma-ray bursts (Giannios 2010;McKinney & Uzdensky 2012;Kumar & Zhang 2015) and non-thermal signatures of pulsar wind nebulae (Sironi & Spitkovsky 2014;Guo et al 2015;Werner et al 2016;Sironi et al 2016;Guo et al 2016). Plasmoid formation can also produce self-generated turbulent reconnection Oishi et al 2015;Wang et al 2016;Kowal et al 2016), implying that large scale current sheets are likely to become turbulent during the advanced stages of the reconnection process (del Valle et al 2016). Given the importance of nonlinear plasmoids in the reconnection process, several studies have also been devoted to the understanding of their statistical properties (Fermo et al 2010;Uzdensky et al 2010;Guo et al 2013;Shen et al 2013;Janvier et al 2014;Sironi et al 2016;Lynch et al 2016;Jara-Almonte et al 2016;Lingam e...…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasmoid Instability in Forming Current Sheets

Comisso

Lingam

Huang

et al. 2017

ApJ

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The plasmoid instability has revolutionized our understanding of magnetic reconnection in astrophysical environments. By preventing the formation of highly elongated reconnection layers, it is crucial in enabling the rapid energy conversion rates that are characteristic of many astrophysical phenomena. Most of the previous studies have focused on Sweet-Parker current sheets, which, however, are unattainable in typical astrophysical systems. Here, we derive a general set of scaling laws for the plasmoid instability in resistive and visco-resistive current sheets that evolve over time. Our method relies on a principle of least time that enables us to determine the properties of the reconnecting current sheet (aspect ratio and elapsed time) and the plasmoid instability (growth rate, wavenumber, inner layer width) at the end of the linear phase. After this phase the reconnecting current sheet is disrupted and fast reconnection can occur. The scaling laws of the plasmoid instability are not simple power laws, and depend on the Lundquist number (S), the magnetic Prandtl number (P m ), the noise of the system (ψ 0 ), the characteristic rate of current sheet evolution (1/τ ), as well as the thinning process. We also demonstrate that previous scalings are inapplicable to the vast majority of the astrophysical systems. We explore the implications of the new scaling relations in astrophysical systems such as the solar corona and the interstellar medium. In both these systems, we show that our scaling laws yield values for the growth rate, wavenumber, and aspect ratio that are much smaller than the Sweet-Parker based scalings.

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“…In fact, a chain of plasmoids and flux ropes has often been observed in association with reconnection and accompanied by energetic particles and intense wave activities, including whistlers (Chen et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2016;Zhao et al, 2016). In this paper, a new generation mechanism for whistler waves is proposed in association with plasmoid collision through the use of large-scale PIC simulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bursty emission of whistler waves in association with plasmoid collision

Fujimoto

2017

Ann. Geophys.

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Abstract.A new mechanism to generate whistler waves in the course of collisionless magnetic reconnection is proposed. It is found that intense whistler emissions occur in association with plasmoid collisions. The key processes are strong perpendicular heating of the electrons through a secondary magnetic reconnection during plasmoid collision and the subsequent compression of the ambient magnetic field, leading to whistler instability due to the electron temperature anisotropy. The emissions have a bursty nature, completing in a short time within the ion timescales, as has often been observed in the Earth's magnetosphere. The whistler waves can accelerate the electrons in the parallel direction, contributing to the generation of high-energy electrons. The present study suggests that the bursty emission of whistler waves could be an indicator of plasmoid collisions and the associated particle energization during collisionless magnetic reconnection.

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Coalescence of magnetic flux ropes in the ion diffusion region of magnetic reconnection

Cited by 127 publications

References 28 publications

Evolution of clustered magnetic nulls in a turbulent-like reconnection region in the magnetotail

Evolution of clustered magnetic nulls in a turbulent-like reconnection region in the magnetotail

Plasmoid Instability in Forming Current Sheets

Bursty emission of whistler waves in association with plasmoid collision

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