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Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Magnetic reconnection in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
S Servidio1, W H Matthaeus, M A Shay
1Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 28, 2009
Summary
Turbulence in space plasmas spontaneously generates magnetic reconnection at numerous X-type neutral points. Reconnection rates vary widely, influenced by turbulent plasma conditions and diffusion region geometry.
Area of Science:
- Plasma Physics
- Astrophysics
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in plasma physics, crucial for energy release in various space and astrophysical phenomena.
- Understanding the statistical properties of reconnection events in turbulent environments is essential for accurate modeling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically analyze numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.
- To investigate the statistical properties of spontaneously generated magnetic reconnection events.
- To explore the scaling of reconnection rates with the diffusion region geometry.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence.
- Statistical analysis of X-type neutral points and associated magnetic reconnection events.
- Examination of reconnection rates and their dependence on local plasma parameters.
Main Results:
- Identified a large number of X-type neutral points where magnetic reconnection occurs within turbulent MHD simulations.
- Found that reconnection rates exhibit a wide range of values and scale with the diffusion region's geometry.
- Demonstrated that local reconnection can be described by a modified Sweet-Parker model with turbulence-controlled parameters.
Conclusions:
- Turbulence spontaneously generates numerous magnetic reconnection events in 2D MHD systems.
- The statistical properties and rates of these reconnection events are influenced by turbulent plasma conditions.
- This provides a new perspective on magnetic reconnection relevant to astrophysical plasmas in turbulent regimes.
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