Development of Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection in a Magnetic Island

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/835/2/245· OSTI ID:22663914

Huang, Can; Lu, Quanming; Wang, Rongsheng; Wu, Mingyu; Lu, San; Wang, Shui ^[1]; Guo, Fan ^[2]

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1. CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)
2. Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

In this paper, with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we report that the electron Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is unstable in the current layer associated with a large-scale magnetic island, which is formed in multiple X-line guide field reconnections. The current sheet is fragmented into many small current sheets with widths down to the order of the electron inertial length. Secondary magnetic reconnection then occurs in these fragmented current sheets, which leads to a turbulent state. The electrons are highly energized in such a process.

• OSTI ID: 22663914
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 835, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCELERATION
ELECTRONS
HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY
LAYERS
MAGNETIC ISLANDS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
SIMULATION
SUN
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS