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...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Servidio, S., Matthaeus, W.H., Shay, M.A., Cassak, P.A., Dmitruk, Pablo Ariel
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:Argentina
Recursos:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/60744
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/60744
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Magnetohydrodynamic
Turbulence
Magnetic Reconnection
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descrição
Resumo: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.