Magnetic reconnection in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
Systematic analysis of numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence reveals the presence of a large number of X-type neutral points where magnetic reconnection occurs. We examine the statistical properties of this ensemble of reconnection events that are spontaneously gene...
| Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2009 |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Institution: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repository: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/60744 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/60744 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence Magnetic Reconnection https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| Summary: | Systematic analysis of numerical simulations of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence reveals the presence of a large number of X-type neutral points where magnetic reconnection occurs. We examine the statistical properties of this ensemble of reconnection events that are spontaneously generated by turbulence. The associated reconnection rates are distributed over a wide range of values and scales with the geometry of the diffusion region. Locally, these events can be described through a variant of the Sweet-Parker model, in which the parameters are externally controlled by turbulence. This new perspective on reconnection is relevant in space and astrophysical contexts, where plasma is generally in a fully turbulent regime. © 2009 The American Physical Society. |
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