Magnetic reconnection as an element of turbulence

In this work, recent advances on the study of reconnection in turbulence are reviewed. Using direct numerical simulations of decaying incompressible two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), it was found that in fully developed turbulence complex processes of reconnection locally occur (Servidio e...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Servidio, S., Dmitruk, Pablo Ariel, Greco, A., Wan, M., Donato, S., Cassak, P.A., Shay, M.A., Carbone, V., Matthaeus, W.H.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/56582
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/56582
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC
TURBULENCE
RECONNECTION
PLASMAS
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:In this work, recent advances on the study of reconnection in turbulence are reviewed. Using direct numerical simulations of decaying incompressible two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), it was found that in fully developed turbulence complex processes of reconnection locally occur (Servidio et al., 2009, 2010a). In this complex scenario, reconnection is spontaneous but locally driven by the fields, with the boundary conditions provided by the turbulence. Matching classical turbulence analysis with a generalized Sweet-Parker theory, the statistical features of these multiple-reconnection events have been identified. A discussion on the accuracy of our algorithms is provided, highlighting the necessity of adequate spatial resolution. Applications to the study of solar wind discontinuities are reviewed, comparing simulations to spacecraft observations. New results are shown, studying the time evolution of these local reconnection events. A preliminary study on the comparison between MHD and Hall MHD is reported. Our new approach to the study of reconnection as an element of turbulence has broad applications to space plasmas, shedding a new light on the study of magnetic reconnection in nature. © 2011 Author(s).