The role of intermediate shocks in magnetic reconnection

Journal Article · Fri Feb 07 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91GL03008· OSTI ID:5440008

Lin, Y; Lee, L C; Kennel, C F ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks (United States)

The structure of discontinuity layers associated with magnetic reconnection is studied by numerically solving the Riemann problem for the evolution of an initial current sheet, which separates two plasma regions with anti-parallel magnetic field components in the z direction and a common guide magnetic field in the y direction. In the presence of a non-zero normal component of magnetic field, B{sub x}, the initial current sheet evolves into a system of MHD discontinuities. For the initial current sheet with a zero guide field (B{sub y} = 0), steady intermediate shocks, slow shocks, slow expansion waves, or contact discontinuity are observed to develop. However, for the current sheet with a non-zero guide field (B{sub y} {ne} 0), time-dependent intermediate shocks (TDIS), instead of steady intermediate shocks, are observed to bound the reconnection layer. The magnetic field across the TDIS are non-coplanar and the width of the TDIS expands self-similarly as {radical}t. The TDIS gradually evolves toward a rotational discontinuity.

• OSTI ID: 5440008
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States) Vol. 19:3; ISSN 0094-8276; ISSN GPRLA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CURRENTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MAGNETOTAIL
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
SHOCK WAVES
TIME DEPENDENCE