Large-scale energy budget of impulsive magnetic reconnection: Theory and simulation

Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics
S A KiehasI V Zaitsev

Abstract

We evaluate the large-scale energy budget of magnetic reconnection utilizing an analytical time-dependent impulsive reconnection model and a numerical 2-D MHD simulation. With the generalization to compressible plasma, we can investigate changes in the thermal, kinetic, and magnetic energies. We study these changes in three different regions: (a) the region defined by the outflowing plasma (outflow region, OR), (b) the region of compressed magnetic fields above/below the OR (traveling compression region, TCR), and (c) the region trailing the OR and TCR (wake). For incompressible plasma, we find that the decrease inside the OR is compensated by the increase in kinetic energy. However, for the general compressible case, the decrease in magnetic energy inside the OR is not sufficient to explain the increase in thermal and kinetic energy. Hence, energy from other regions needs to be considered. We find that the decrease in thermal and magnetic energy in the wake, together with the decrease in magnetic energy inside the OR, is sufficient to feed the increase in kinetic and thermal energies in the OR and the increase in magnetic and thermal energies inside the TCR. That way, the energy budget is balanced, but consequently, not all ma...Continue Reading

References

Jun 19, 2013·Physical Review Letters·J P EastwoodM G G T Taylor
Sep 28, 2013·Science·V AngelopoulosI Shinohara
Sep 11, 2014·Nature Communications·Masaaki YamadaClayton E Myers

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