Plasma heating by collisionless magnetic reconnection: Analysis and computation

Journal Article · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/92JA02267· OSTI ID:6873243

Moses, R W; Ling, K M ^[1]; Finn, J M ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
2. Univ. of Maryland, College Park (United States)

This paper presents analytic and numerical results on particle acceleration in two-dimensional collisionless magnetic reconnection. The magnetic field is taken to be a vacuum quadrupole field in the x-y plane with no variation in the z direction. The electric field is uniform and in the z direction. Plasma particles are introduced with their guiding centers on a magnetic flux surface. Particles then execute E [times] B drift motion under which their guiding centers approach the separatrix. In the numerical simulations and in the analytic modeling presented, the particles are followed until they reach an outgoing flux surface at the same distance from the origin as the starting surface. The magnetic moment is not conserved for particles passing through the unmagnetized region around the X line at the origin. Other particles cross the separatrix without passing near the X line. The magnetic moment of the first class of outgoing particles is randomized, whereas it can be conserved for the second class. By following the evolution of monoenergetic components of the input distribution function, it is possible to describe analytically this plasma thermalization process. The analytic model is based upon the observation of the final kinetic energy as a function of the initial conditions. Analytic results are shown which predict a Maxwellian tail for the distribution function in the perpendicular kinetic energy K[sub [perpendicular]] with K[sub [perpendicular]] [much gt] K[parallel], the parallel kinetic energy. Numerical results are also presented, showing that the predicted tail temperature agrees with the numerically computed temperature to within 10% over 4 orders of magnitude in the electric field. These results provide a detailed understanding of particle acceleration and heating produced by collisionless magnetic reconnection. 67 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.

• OSTI ID: 6873243
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 98:A3; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
PLASMA HEATING
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
ANALYTICAL SOLUTION
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
ACCELERATION
DISTRIBUTION
GUIDING-CENTER APPROXIMATION
KINETIC ENERGY
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC FLUX
MOTION
PARTICLES
PLASMA
SCATTERING
THERMALIZATION
TRAJECTORIES
ENERGY
HEATING
MATHEMATICS
SLOWING-DOWN
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