57th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics
Volume 60, Number 19
Monday–Friday, November 16–20, 2015;
Savannah, Georgia
Session DI2: Reconnection from Lab to Space
3:00 PM–5:00 PM,
Monday, November 16, 2015
Room: Chatham Ballroom C
Chair: Paul Cassak, West Virginia University
Abstract ID: BAPS.2015.DPP.DI2.4
Abstract: DI2.00004 : Magnetic Reconnection: A Powerful Cosmic Particle Accelerator
4:30 PM–5:00 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Fan Guo
(Los Alamos Natl Lab)
Astrophysical magnetic reconnection sites have long been expected to be
sources of high-energy particles. Recent observations of high-energy
gamma-ray flares from the Crab nebula and hard X-ray emission from solar
flares have motivated us to better understand magnetic reconnection and its
associated particle acceleration in plasma conditions where the magnetic
energy is dominant. We will present fully kinetic particle-in-cell
simulations of anti-parallel magnetic reconnection in the highly magnetized
regime (the magnetization parameter sigma \textgreater \textgreater 1 or
plasma beta \textless \textless 1). The magnetic energy is converted
efficiently into kinetic energy of nonthermal relativistic particles in a
power-law spectrum.~For a sufficiently large system and strong magnetic
field, the power-law index approaches ``-1''.~The dominant acceleration
mechanism is a first-order Fermi process accomplished through the curvature
drift motion of particles in magnetic flux tubes along the electric field
induced by fast plasma flows. We will show simulations in three dimensions
and with open boundary conditions. We will present an analytical model for
the formation of power-law distribution and show the nonthermal distribution
may be a common feature of magnetically dominated reconnection.
Collaborators: Hui Li, William Daughton, Yi-Hsin Liu, Xiaocan Li
References:
Fan Guo, Hui Li, William Daughton, Yi-Hsin Liu (2014)~Formation of Hard
Power-laws in the Energetic Particle Spectra Resulting from Relativistic
Magnetic Reconnection, Physical Review Letters, 113, 155005
Yi-Hsin Liu, Fan Guo, William Daughton, Hui Li, Michael Hesse (2015)~Scaling
of Magnetic Reconnection in Relativistic Collisionless Plasmas, Physical
Review Letters, 114, 095002
Fan Guo, Yi-Hsin Liu, William Daughton, Hui Li (2015)~Particle Acceleration
and Plasma Dynamics during Magnetic Reconnection in the
Magnetically-dominated Regime, Astrophysical Journal 806, 167
Xiaocan Li, Fan Guo, Hui Li, Gang Li (2015) Nonthermally Dominated Electron
Acceleration during Magnetic Reconnection in a Low-beta Plasma, ArXiv:
1505.02166
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2015.DPP.DI2.4