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Titel |
Collisionless magnetic reconnection in a plasmoid chain |
VerfasserIn |
S. Markidis, P. Henri, G. Lapenta, A. Divin, M. V. Goldman, D. Newman, S. Eriksson |
Medientyp |
Artikel
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Sprache |
Englisch
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ISSN |
1023-5809
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Digitales Dokument |
URL |
Erschienen |
In: Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics ; 19, no. 1 ; Nr. 19, no. 1 (2012-02-27), S.145-153 |
Datensatznummer |
250014170
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Publikation (Nr.) |
copernicus.org/npg-19-145-2012.pdf |
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Zusammenfassung |
The kinetic features of plasmoid chain formation and evolution are
investigated by two dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. Magnetic
reconnection is initiated in multiple X points by the tearing instability.
Plasmoids form and grow in size by continuously coalescing. Each chain
plasmoid exhibits a strong out-of plane core magnetic field and an
out-of-plane electron current that drives the coalescing process. The
disappearance of the X points in the coalescence process are due to
anti-reconnection, a magnetic reconnection where the plasma inflow and
outflow are reversed with respect to the original reconnection flow pattern.
Anti-reconnection is characterized by the Hall magnetic field quadrupole
signature. Two new kinetic features, not reported by previous studies of
plasmoid chain evolution, are here revealed. First, intense electric fields
develop in-plane normally to the separatrices and drive the ion dynamics in
the plasmoids. Second, several bipolar electric field structures are
localized in proximity of the plasmoid chain. The analysis of the electron
distribution function and phase space reveals the presence of
counter-streaming electron beams, unstable to the two stream instability, and
phase space electron holes along the reconnection separatrices. |
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