The collisionless coalescence instability with two-species and in-plane-current effects

DOI PDF 被引用文献1件
  • P. L. Pritchett
    Department of Physics and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547

抄録

<jats:p>The investigation by means of particle simulations of the process whereby magnetic island structures tend to merge into larger units is extended to include the effects of electron dynamics and the in-plane components of the currents. With the ions marginally unmagnetized (ρi/λ∼1, where ρi is the asymptotic ion gyroradius and λ is the current sheet half-thickness), the electrons reduce the linear growth rate by some 20%, but they do not alter the basic coalescence physics. During the nonlinear stage of the pairwise merging process, a quadrupole out-of-the-plane magnetic field structure with peak amplitude ∼0.1B0 is formed, but this field collapses after the merging is completed. In the parameter regime accessible to the simulations [flux bundle size L/(c/ωpi)≳3 and mass ratio Mi/me≤36], there is no indication of any significant change in the reconnection rate that could be associated with whistler-mediated reconnection. The sequential merging of 4 islands into one large island leads to the formation of a vacuum X point and substantial particle energization.</jats:p>

収録刊行物

被引用文献 (1)*注記

もっと見る

キーワード

詳細情報 詳細情報について

問題の指摘

ページトップへ