Turbulence in Magnetic Reconnection Jets from Injection to Sub-Ion Scales

Richard, Louis; Sorriso-Valvo, Luca; Yordanova, Emiliya; Graham, Daniel B.; Khotyaintsev, Yuri V.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.132.105201

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 104 publications

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“…Moreover, kinetic simulations (Adhikari et al 2020(Adhikari et al , 2024) and observations of magnetic reconnection events at the Earth's magnetosphere show the presence of turbulence that develops at the reconnection jets (Eastwood et al 2009;Richard et al 2024). Additionally, the presence of turbulent fluctuations can provide the conditions for the tearing instability (Galeev & Zelenyi 1976;Drake & Lee 1977) to grow in the magnetotail (Esarey & Molvig 1987;Liu et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Effect of Driving Turbulent-like Fluctuations on a Harris Current Sheet Configuration and the Formation of Plasmoids

Agudelo Rueda,

Liu,

Germaschewski

et al. 2024

ApJ

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Energy dissipation in collisionless plasmas is one of the most outstanding open questions in plasma physics. Magnetic reconnection and turbulence are two phenomena that can produce the conditions for energy dissipation. These two phenomena are closely related to each other in a wide range of plasmas. Turbulent fluctuations can emerge in critical regions of reconnection events, and magnetic reconnection can occur as a product of the turbulent cascade. In this study, we perform 2D particle-in-cell simulations of a reconnecting Harris current sheet in the presence of turbulent fluctuations to explore the effect of turbulence on the reconnection process in collisionless nonrelativistic pair plasmas. We find that the presence of a turbulent field can affect the onset and evolution of magnetic reconnection. Moreover, we observe the existence of a scale-dependent amplitude of magnetic field fluctuations above which these fluctuations are able to disrupt the growing of magnetic islands. These fluctuations provide thermal energy to the particles within the current sheet and preferential perpendicular thermal energy to the background population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Effect of Driving Turbulent-like Fluctuations on a Harris Current Sheet Configuration and the Formation of Plasmoids

Agudelo Rueda,

Liu,

Germaschewski

et al. 2024

ApJ

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The Interplay Between Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection and Turbulence

Stawarz,

Muñoz,

Bessho

et al. 2024

Space Sci Rev

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Alongside magnetic reconnection, turbulence is another fundamental nonlinear plasma phenomenon that plays a key role in energy transport and conversion in space and astrophysical plasmas. From a numerical, theoretical, and observational point of view there is a long history of exploring the interplay between these two phenomena in space plasma environments; however, recent high-resolution, multi-spacecraft observations have ushered in a new era of understanding this complex topic. The interplay between reconnection and turbulence is both complex and multifaceted, and can be viewed through a number of different interrelated lenses - including turbulence acting to generate current sheets that undergo magnetic reconnection (turbulence-driven reconnection), magnetic reconnection driving turbulent dynamics in an environment (reconnection-driven turbulence) or acting as an intermediate step in the excitation of turbulence, and the random diffusive/dispersive nature of the magnetic field lines embedded in turbulent fluctuations enabling so-called stochastic reconnection. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge on these different facets of the interplay between turbulence and reconnection in the context of collisionless plasmas, such as those found in many near-Earth astrophysical environments, from a theoretical, numerical, and observational perspective. Particular focus is given to several key regions in Earth’s magnetosphere – namely, Earth’s magnetosheath, magnetotail, and Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices on the magnetopause flanks – where NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission has been providing new insights into the topic.

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Derivation of a generalized Kappa distribution from the scaling properties of solar wind magnetic field fluctuations at kinetic scales

Belardinelli,

Benella,

Stumpo

et al. 2024

A&A

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Context. Kinetic-scale dynamics in weakly collisional space plasmas usually exhibits a self-similar statistics of magnetic field fluctuations. This implies the existence of an invariant probability density function (master curve). Aims. We provide an analytical derivation of the master curve by assuming that perpendicular fluctuations can be modeled through a scale-dependent Langevin equation. Methods. In our model, magnetic field fluctuations are the stochastic variable, and their scale-to-scale evolution is assumed to be a Langevin process. We propose a formal derivation of the master curve describing the statistics of the fluctuations at kinetic scales. The model predictions were tested on independent data samples of the fast solar wind measured near the Sun by Parker Solar Probe and near the Earth by Cluster. Results. The master curve is a generalization of the Kappa distribution with two parameters: One parameter regulates the tails, and the other controls the asymmetry. The model predictions match the spacecraft observations up to 5σ and even beyond in the case of perpendicular magnetic field fluctuations.

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Turbulence in Magnetic Reconnection Jets from Injection to Sub-Ion Scales

Cited by 4 publications

References 104 publications

On the Effect of Driving Turbulent-like Fluctuations on a Harris Current Sheet Configuration and the Formation of Plasmoids

On the Effect of Driving Turbulent-like Fluctuations on a Harris Current Sheet Configuration and the Formation of Plasmoids

The Interplay Between Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection and Turbulence

Derivation of a generalized Kappa distribution from the scaling properties of solar wind magnetic field fluctuations at kinetic scales

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