Two-fluid regimes of the resistive and collisionless tearing instability
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom)
- Institute of Material Research, University of Salford, Salford (United Kingdom)
The two-fluid (electrons and ions) plasma description is used to investigate spontaneous magnetic reconnection (tearing instability) in a sheared force-free magnetic configuration. The study includes both collisional (resistive) and collisionless (electron inertia) reconnection mechanisms. Together with the Hall effect, this yields various instability regimes, which can be identified by the magnitude of the four nondimensional parameters: Lundquist number S>>1, electron/ion mass ratio {mu}{identical_to}m{sub e}/m{sub i}<<1, plasma {beta}, and the scaled ion inertial skin-depth d{sub i}=c/({omega}{sub pi}l), with l being the shear length of the magnetic field. The role of the electron gyroviscosity in the collisionless case is also clarified.
- OSTI ID:
- 21272446
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 16; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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