Reconnection events in two-dimensional Hall magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

The statistical study of magnetic reconnection events in two-dimensional turbulence has been performed by comparing numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD). The analysis reveals that the Hall term plays an important role in turbulence, in which magnet...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Donato, Stella Maris, Servidio, S., Dmitruk, Pablo Ariel, Carbone, Verónica Andrea, Shay, M.A., Cassak, P.A., Matthaeus, W.H.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/56141
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/56141
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:magnetohydrodynamic
turbulence
reconnection
Hall
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:The statistical study of magnetic reconnection events in two-dimensional turbulence has been performed by comparing numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD). The analysis reveals that the Hall term plays an important role in turbulence, in which magnetic islands simultaneously reconnect in a complex way. In particular, an increase of the Hall parameter, the ratio of ion skin depth to system size, broadens the distribution of reconnection rates relative to the MHD case. Moreover, in HMHD the local geometry of the reconnection region changes, manifesting bifurcated current sheets and quadrupolar magnetic field structures in analogy to laminar studies, leading locally to faster reconnection processes in this case of reconnection embedded in turbulence. This study supports the idea that the global rate of energy dissipation is controlled by the large scale turbulence, but suggests that the distribution of the reconnection rates within the turbulent system is sensitive to the microphysics at the reconnection sites. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.