Electrodynamics in a very thin current sheet leading to magnetic reconnection

Abstract. We study the formation of a very thin current sheet (CS) and associated plasma electrodynamics using three-dimensional (3-D) particle-in-cell simulations with ion to electron mass ratio M/m=1836. The CS is driven by imposed anti-parallel magnetic fields. The noteworthy features of the temporal evolution of the CS are the following: (i) Steepening of the magnetic field profile Bx(z) in the central part of the CS, (ii) Generation of three-peak current distribution with the largest peak in the CS center as Bx(z) steepens, (iii) Generation of converging electric fields forming a potential well in the CS center in which ions are accelerated. (iv) Electron and ion heating in the central part of the CS by current-driven instabilities (CDI). (v) Re-broadening of the CS due to increased kinetic plasma pressure in the CS center. (vi) Generation of electron temperature anisotropy with temperature perpendicular to the magnetic field being larger than the parallel one. (vii) Current disruption by electron trapping in an explosively growing electrostatic instability (EGEI) and electron tearing instability (ETI). (viii)The onset of EGEI coincides with an increase in the electron temperature above the temperature of the initially hot ions as well as the appearance of new shear in the electron drift velocity. (ix) Bifurcation of the central CS by the current disruption. (x) Magnetic reconnection (MR) beginning near the null in Bx and spreading outward. (xi) Generation of highly energized electrons reaching relativistic speeds and having isotropic pitch-angle distribution in the region of reconnected magnetic fields. We compare some of these features of the current sheet with results from laboratory and space experiments.

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Instabilities in a thin current sheet and their consequences

Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics ◽

10.5194/npg-11-153-2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 153-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

N. Singh

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Current Sheet ◽

Drift Velocity ◽

Early Stage ◽

Field Configuration ◽

Central Plane ◽

Current Disruption ◽

Electrons And Ions ◽

Thin Current Sheet ◽

Electrostatic Fluctuations

Abstract. Using a fully 3-D particle in-cell simulation, we studied the electrodynamics of a thin current sheet (CS). Starting with a uniform plasma and anti-parallel magnetic field, Harris equilibrium is achieved during the early stage of the simulation. In the processes of reaching the equilibrium, both electrons and ions in the newly formed CS are energized and develop pitch-angle anisotropies. We find two distinct stages of primarily electrostatic instabilities; in the first stage the relative drift between electrons and ions drives the instability in the central regions of the CS. The electrostatic fluctuations scatter electrons causing current disruption in the central region. The associated reduction in the average drift velocity of the current-carrying electrons generates sheared flow. The second stage of the instability begins when the drift velocity develops a minimum in the central plane. Then the shear and the growing electrostatic fluctuations under the condition of the maintained anti-parallel driving magnetic field configuration feed each other making the instability explosive. The growing fluctuations create plasma clumps as the electrons and ions are progressively trapped in the large-amplitude waves. The density clumping also generates clumps in the current. The non-uniform current distribution causes magnetic reconnection, accompanied by heating of electrons and ion at a fast rate and nearly complete bifurcation of the current sheet. Anomalous resistivity during different stages of the evolution of the CS is calculated and compared against theory.

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Nonlinear equilibrium structure of thin currents sheets: influence of electron pressure anisotropy

Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics ◽

10.5194/npg-11-579-2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 11 (5/6) ◽

pp. 579-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

L. M. Zelenyi ◽

H. V. Malova ◽

V. Yu. Popov ◽

D. Delcourt ◽

A. S. Sharma

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Current Sheet ◽

Magnetic Energy ◽

Plasma Pressure ◽

Quasi Equilibrium ◽

Electrostatic Effects ◽

Current Sheets ◽

Thin Current Sheet ◽

Field Lines ◽

The Magnetic Field

Abstract. Thin current sheets represent important and puzzling sites of magnetic energy storage and subsequent fast release. Such structures are observed in planetary magnetospheres, solar atmosphere and are expected to be widespread in nature. The thin current sheet structure resembles a collapsing MHD solution with a plane singularity. Being potential sites of effective energy accumulation, these structures have received a good deal of attention during the last decade, especially after the launch of the multiprobe CLUSTER mission which is capable of resolving their 3D features. Many theoretical models of thin current sheet dynamics, including the well-known current sheet bifurcation, have been developed recently. A self-consistent 1D analytical model of thin current sheets in which the tension of the magnetic field lines is balanced by the ion inertia rather than by the plasma pressure gradients was developed earlier. The influence of the anisotropic electron population and of the corresponding electrostatic field that acts to restore quasi-neutrality of the plasma is taken into account. It is assumed that the electron motion is fluid-like in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and fast enough to support quasi-equilibrium Boltzmann distribution along the field lines. Electrostatic effects lead to an interesting feature of the current density profile inside the current sheet, i.e. a narrow sharp peak of electron current in the very center of the sheet due to fast curvature drift of the particles in this region. The corresponding magnetic field profile becomes much steeper near the neutral plane although the total cross-tail current is in all cases dominated by the ion contribution. The dependence of electrostatic effects on the ion to electron temperature ratio, the curvature of the magnetic field lines, and the average electron magnetic moment is also analyzed. The implications of these effects on the fine structure of thin current sheets and their potential impact on substorm dynamics are presented.

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Concerning the occurrence pattern of flux transfer events on the dayside magnetopause

Annales Geophysicae ◽

10.5194/angeo-27-895-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 895-903 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

D. G. Sibeck

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Magnetic Reconnection ◽

Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽

Flux Transfer Events ◽

Dayside Magnetopause ◽

Two Factors ◽

Flux Transfer ◽

Occurrence Pattern ◽

The Magnetic Field

Abstract. We present an analytical model for the magnetic field perturbations associated with flux transfer events (FTEs) on the dayside magnetopause as a function of the shear between the magnetosheath and magnetospheric magnetic fields and the ratio of their strengths. We assume that the events are produced by component reconnection along subsolar reconnection lines with tilts that depend upon the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and show that the amplitudes of the perturbations generated during southward IMF greatly exceed those during northward IMF. As a result, even if the distributions of magnetic reconnection burst durations/event dimensions are identical during periods of northward and southward IMF orientation, events occurring for southward IMF orientations must predominate in surveys of dayside events. Two factors may restore the balance between events occurring for northward and southward IMF orientations on the flanks of the magnetosphere. Events generated on the dayside magnetopause during periods of southward IMF move poleward, while those generated during periods of northward IMF slip dawnward or duskward towards the flanks. Due to differing event and magnetospheric magnetic field orientations, events that produce weak signatures on the dayside magnetopause during intervals of northward IMF orientation may produce strong signatures on the flanks.

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Numerical investigation of a plasma beam entering transverse magnetic fields

Journal of Plasma Physics ◽

10.1017/s0022377800014203 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 91-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. Koga ◽

J. L. Geary ◽

T. Fujinami ◽

B. S. Newberger ◽

T. Tajima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Transverse Magnetic ◽

Beam Momentum ◽

Injection Velocity ◽

Electron Mass ◽

Particle In Cell ◽

Plasma Beam ◽

Beam Injection ◽

The Magnetic Field

We study plasma-beam injection into transverse magnetic fields using both electrostatic and electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. In the case of small beam momentum or energy (low drift kinetic β) we study both large- and small-ion-gyroradius beams. Large-ion-gyroradius beams with a large dielectric constant ε ≫ (M/m)½ are found to propagate across the magnetic field via E × B drifts at nearly the initial injection velocity, where and M/m is the ion-to-electron mass ratio. Beam degradation and undulations are observed, in agreement with previous experimental and analytical results. When ε is of order (M/m)½ the plasma beam propagates across field lines at only half its initial velocity and loses its coherent structure. When ε is much less than (M/m)½ the beam particles decouple at the magnetic field boundary, scattering the electrons and slightly deflecting the ions. For small-ion-gyroradius beam injection a flute-type instability is observed at the beam-magnetic-field interface. In the case of large beam momentum or energy (high drift kinetic β) we observe good penetration of a plasma beam by shielding the magnetic field from the interior of the beam (diamagnetism). However, we observe anomalously fast penetration of the magnetic field into the beam and find that the diffusion rate depends on the electron gyroradius of the beam.

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Electron Acceleration by Strong DC Electric Fields in Extragalactic Jets

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900163065 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 195 ◽

pp. 311-312

Author(s):

Y. E. Litvinenko

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Electric Field ◽

Magnetic Reconnection ◽

Current Sheet ◽

Electric Fields ◽

Electron Acceleration ◽

Acceleration Time ◽

Extragalactic Jets ◽

Dc Electric Field ◽

The Magnetic Field

Fast magnetic reconnection in extragalactic jets leads to electron acceleration by the DC electric field in the reconnecting current sheet. The maximum electron energy (γ > 106) and the acceleration time (< 106 s) are determined by the magnetic field dynamics in the sheet.

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Tearing instability inside a 2D current sheet with a normal magnetic field

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13282 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chen Shi ◽

Anton Artemyev ◽

Marco Velli ◽

Anna Tenerani

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Reconnection ◽

Current Sheet ◽

Normal Component ◽

Field Energy ◽

Tearing Mode ◽

Magnetic Field Energy ◽

Tearing Instability ◽

The Magnetic Field ◽

Normal Magnetic Field

<p>Magnetic reconnection converts the magnetic field energy into thermal and kinetic energies of the plasma. This process usually happens at extremely fast speed and is therefore believed to be a fundamental mechanism to explain various explosive phenomena such as coronal mass ejections and planetary magnetospheric storms. How magnetic reconnection is triggered from the large magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scales remains an open question, with some theoretical and numerical studies showing the tearing instability to be involved. Observations in the Earth&#8217;s magnetotail and near the magnetopause show that a finite normal magnetic field is usually present inside the reconnecting current sheet. Besides, such a normal field may also exist in the solar corona. However, how this normal magnetic field modifies the tearing instability is not thoroughly studied. Here we discuss the linear tearing instability inside a two-dimensional current sheet with a normal component of magnetic field where the magnetic tension force is balanced by ion flows parallel and anti-parallel to the magnetic field. We solve the dispersion relation of the tearing mode with wave vector parallel to the reconnecting magnetic field. Our results confirm that the finite normal magnetic field stabilizes the tearing mode and makes the mode oscillatory instead of purely growing.</p>

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Emergence of Twisted Magnetic Flux Related Sigmoidal Brightening

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100064630 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 179 ◽

pp. 263-264

Author(s):

K. Sundara Raman ◽

K. B. Ramesh ◽

R. Selvendran ◽

P. S. M. Aleem ◽

K. M. Hiremath

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Magnetic Flux ◽

Ultra Violet ◽

Active Regions ◽

Morphological Properties ◽

Energy Storage And Conversion ◽

The Sun ◽

X Rays ◽

The Magnetic Field

Extended AbstractWe have examined the morphological properties of a sigmoid associated with an SXR (soft X-ray) flare. The sigmoid is cospatial with the EUV (extreme ultra violet) images and in the optical part lies along an S-shaped Hαfilament. The photoheliogram shows flux emergence within an existingδtype sunspot which has caused the rotation of the umbrae giving rise to the sigmoidal brightening.It is now widely accepted that flares derive their energy from the magnetic fields of the active regions and coronal levels are considered to be the flare sites. But still a satisfactory understanding of the flare processes has not been achieved because of the difficulties encountered to predict and estimate the probability of flare eruptions. The convection flows and vortices below the photosphere transport and concentrate magnetic field, which subsequently appear as active regions in the photosphere (Rust & Kumar 1994 and the references therein). Successive emergence of magnetic flux, twist the field, creating flare productive magnetic shear and has been studied by many authors (Sundara Ramanet al.1998 and the references therein). Hence, it is considered that the flare is powered by the energy stored in the twisted magnetic flux tubes (Kurokawa 1996 and the references therein). Rust & Kumar (1996) named the S-shaped bright coronal loops that appear in soft X-rays as ‘Sigmoids’ and concluded that this S-shaped distortion is due to the twist developed in the magnetic field lines. These transient sigmoidal features tell a great deal about unstable coronal magnetic fields, as these regions are more likely to be eruptive (Canfieldet al.1999). As the magnetic fields of the active regions are deep rooted in the Sun, the twist developed in the subphotospheric flux tube penetrates the photosphere and extends in to the corona. Thus, it is essentially favourable for the subphotospheric twist to unwind the twist and transmit it through the photosphere to the corona. Therefore, it becomes essential to make complete observational descriptions of a flare from the magnetic field changes that are taking place in different atmospheric levels of the Sun, to pin down the energy storage and conversion process that trigger the flare phenomena.

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An 84-μG Magnetic Field in a Galaxy at Z=0.692?

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921308027439 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 4 (S254) ◽

pp. 95-96

Author(s):

Arthur M. Wolfe ◽

Regina A. Jorgenson ◽

Timothy Robishaw ◽

Carl Heiles ◽

Jason X. Prochaska

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Faraday Rotation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Dynamo Model ◽

Magnetic Field Generation ◽

Interstellar Gas ◽

Splitting Technique ◽

Average Value ◽

The Magnetic Field

AbstractThe magnetic field pervading our Galaxy is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium: it mediates the dynamics of interstellar clouds, the energy density of cosmic rays, and the formation of stars (Beck 2005). The field associated with ionized interstellar gas has been determined through observations of pulsars in our Galaxy. Radio-frequency measurements of pulse dispersion and the rotation of the plane of linear polarization, i.e., Faraday rotation, yield an average value B ≈ 3 μG (Han et al. 2006). The possible detection of Faraday rotation of linearly polarized photons emitted by high-redshift quasars (Kronberg et al. 2008) suggests similar magnetic fields are present in foreground galaxies with redshifts z > 1. As Faraday rotation alone, however, determines neither the magnitude nor the redshift of the magnetic field, the strength of galactic magnetic fields at redshifts z > 0 remains uncertain.Here we report a measurement of a magnetic field of B ≈ 84 μG in a galaxy at z =0.692, using the same Zeeman-splitting technique that revealed an average value of B = 6 μG in the neutral interstellar gas of our Galaxy (Heiles et al. 2004). This is unexpected, as the leading theory of magnetic field generation, the mean-field dynamo model, predicts large-scale magnetic fields to be weaker in the past, rather than stronger (Parker 1970).The full text of this paper was published in Nature (Wolfe et al. 2008).

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Magnetic Field Spectroheliograms from the San Fernando Observatory

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900022774 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 329-339 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Dale Vrabec

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Spiral Structure ◽

Longitudinal Component ◽

Solar Telescope ◽

Solar Magnetic Fields ◽

San Fernando ◽

Field Lines ◽

The Magnetic Field ◽

Field Network

Zeeman spectroheliograms of photospheric magnetic fields (longitudinal component) in the CaI 6102.7 Å line are being obtained with the new 61-cm vacuum solar telescope and spectroheliograph, using the Leighton technique. The structure of the magnetic field network appears identical to the bright photospheric network visible in the cores of many Fraunhofer lines and in CN spectroheliograms, with the exception that polarities are distinguished. This supports the evolving concept that solar magnetic fields outside of sunspots exist in small concentrations of essentially vertically oriented field, roughly clumped to form a network imbedded in the otherwise field-free photosphere. A timelapse spectroheliogram movie sequence spanning 6 hr revealed changes in the magnetic fields, including a systematic outward streaming of small magnetic knots of both polarities within annular areas surrounding several sunspots. The photospheric magnetic fields and a series of filtergrams taken at various wavelengths in the Hα profile starting in the far wing are intercompared in an effort to demonstrate that the dark strands of arch filament systems (AFS) and fibrils map magnetic field lines in the chromosphere. An example of an active region in which the magnetic fields assume a distinct spiral structure is presented.

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No-z Model for Magnetic Fields of Different Astrophysical Objects and Stability of the Solutions

Data ◽

10.3390/data6010004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 4

Author(s):

Evgeny Mikhailov ◽

Daniela Boneva ◽

Maria Pashentseva

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

Magnetic Fields ◽

Large Scale ◽

Point Of View ◽

Accretion Discs ◽

Wide Range ◽

Astrophysical Objects ◽

Alpha Effect ◽

The Stability ◽

The Magnetic Field

A wide range of astrophysical objects, such as the Sun, galaxies, stars, planets, accretion discs etc., have large-scale magnetic fields. Their generation is often based on the dynamo mechanism, which is connected with joint action of the alpha-effect and differential rotation. They compete with the turbulent diffusion. If the dynamo is intensive enough, the magnetic field grows, else it decays. The magnetic field evolution is described by Steenbeck—Krause—Raedler equations, which are quite difficult to be solved. So, for different objects, specific two-dimensional models are used. As for thin discs (this shape corresponds to galaxies and accretion discs), usually, no-z approximation is used. Some of the partial derivatives are changed by the algebraic expressions, and the solenoidality condition is taken into account as well. The field generation is restricted by the equipartition value and saturates if the field becomes comparable with it. From the point of view of mathematical physics, they can be characterized as stable points of the equations. The field can come to these values monotonously or have oscillations. It depends on the type of the stability of these points, whether it is a node or focus. Here, we study the stability of such points and give examples for astrophysical applications.

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