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Title: Onset of fast magnetic reconnection and particle energization in laboratory and space plasmas

Journal Article · · Journal of Plasma Physics
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [9]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Inst. of Natural Sciences (NINS), Tokyo (Japan)
  2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  3. Kyoto Univ. (Japan)
  4. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
  5. Centro Ricerche ENEA di Frascati (Italy)
  6. National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome (Italy); Sapienza Univ. of Rome (Italy)
  7. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  8. National Inst. of Natural Sciences (NINS), Tokyo (Japan)
  9. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

The onset of magnetic reconnection in space, astrophysical and laboratory plasmas is reviewed discussing results from theory, numerical simulations and observations. After a brief introduction on magnetic reconnection and approach to the question of onset, in this paper we first discuss recent theoretical models and numerical simulations, followed by observations of reconnection and its effects in space and astrophysical plasmas from satellites and ground-based detectors, as well as measurements of reconnection in laboratory plasma experiments. Mechanisms allowing reconnection spanning from collisional resistivity to kinetic effects as well as partial ionization are described, providing a description valid over a wide range of plasma parameters, and therefore applicable in principle to many different astrophysical and laboratory environments. Finally, we summarize the implications of reconnection onset physics for plasma dynamics throughout the Universe and illustrate how capturing the dynamics correctly is important to understanding particle acceleration. The goal of this review is to give a view on the present status of this topic and future interesting investigations, offering a unified approach.

Research Organization:
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); ASI-INAF
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-09CH11466; 1619611; PHY-1748958; NNX15AF34G; 2017-14-H.0
OSTI ID:
1814485
Journal Information:
Journal of Plasma Physics, Vol. 86, Issue 6; ISSN 0022-3778
Publisher:
Cambridge University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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