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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

GAMMA-RAY BURSTS FROM MAGNETIC RECONNECTION: VARIABILITY AND ROBUSTNESS OF LIGHT CURVES

The dissipation mechanism that powers gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains uncertain almost half a century after their discovery. The two main competing mechanisms are the extensively studied internal shocks and the less studied magnetic reconnection. Here we consider GRB emission from magnetic reconnection accounting for the relativistic bulk motions that it produces in the jet's bulk rest frame. Far from the source the magnetic field is almost exactly normal to the radial direction, suggesting locally quasi-spherical thin reconnection layers between regions of oppositely directed magnetic field. We show that if the relativistic motions in the jet's frame are confined to such a quasi-spherical uniform layer, then the resulting GRB light curves are independent of their direction distribution within this layer. This renders previous results for a delta-function velocity-direction distribution applicable to a much more general class of reconnection models, which are suggested by numerical simulations. Such models that vary in their velocity-direction distribution differ mainly in the size of the bright region that contributes most of the observed flux at a given emission radius or observed time. The more sharply peaked this distribution, the smaller this bright region, and the stronger the light curve variability that may be induced by deviations from a uniform emission over the thin reconnection layer, which may be expected in a realistic GRB outflow. This is reflected both in the observed image at a given observed time and in the observer-frame emissivity map at a given emission radius, which are calculated here for three simple velocity-direction distributions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Excitation and propagation of electromagnetic fluctuations with ion-cyclotron range of frequency in magnetic reconnection laboratory experiment

Large-amplitude electromagnetic fluctuations of ion-cyclotron-frequency range are detected in a laboratory experiment inside the diffusion region of a magnetic reconnection with a guide field. The fluctuations have properties similar to kinetic Alfvén waves propagating obliquely to the guide field. Temporary enhancement of the reconnection rate is observed during the occurrence of the fluctuations, suggesting a relationship between the modification in the local magnetic structure given by these fluctuations and the intermittent fast magnetic reconnection.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

OBSERVATIONS OF AN X-SHAPED RIBBON FLARE IN THE SUN AND ITS THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

We report evolution of an atypical X-shaped flare ribbon that provides novel observational evidence of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic reconnection at a separator. The flare occurred on 2014 November 9. High-resolution slit-jaw 1330 Å images from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph reveal four chromospheric flare ribbons that converge and form an X-shape. Flare brightening in the upper chromosphere spreads along the ribbons toward the center of the “X” (the X-point), and then spreads outward in a direction more perpendicular to the ribbons. These four ribbons are located in a quadrupolar magnetic field. Reconstruction of magnetic topology in the active region suggests the presence of a separator connecting to the X-point outlined by the ribbons. The inward motion of flare ribbons in the early stage therefore indicates 3D magnetic reconnection between two sets of non-coplanar loops that approach laterally, and reconnection proceeds downward along a section of vertical current sheet. Coronal loops are also observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory confirming the reconnection morphology illustrated by ribbon evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Some remarks on the diffusion regions in magnetic reconnection

The structure of the diffusion regions in antiparallel magnetic reconnection is investigated by means of a theory and a Vlasov simulation. The magnetic diffusion is considered as relaxation to the frozen-in state, which depends on a reference velocity field. A field-aligned component of the frozen-in condition is proposed to evaluate a diffusion-like process. Diffusion signatures with respect to ion and electron bulk flows indicate the ion and electron diffusion regions near the reconnection site. The electron diffusion region resembles the energy dissipation region. These results are favorable to a previous expectation that an electron-scale dissipation region is surrounded by an ion-scale Hall-physics region.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Fast Magnetic Reconnection: “Ideal” Tearing and the Hall Effect

One of the main questions in magnetic reconnection is the origin of triggering behavior with on/off properties that, once it is activated, accounts for the fast magnetic energy conversion to kinetic and thermal energies at the heart of explosive events in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Over the past decade, progress has been made on the initiation of fast reconnection via the plasmoid instability and what has been called “ideal” tearing, which sets in once current sheets thin to a critical inverse aspect ratio (a/L){sub c}. As shown by Pucci and Velli, at (a/L){sub c}∼S{sup −1/3}, the timescale for the instability to develop becomes of the order of the Alfvén time and independent of the Lundquist number (here defined in terms of current sheet length L). However, given the large values of S in natural plasmas, this transition might occur for thicknesses of the inner resistive singular layer that are comparable to the ion inertial length d {sub i}. When this occurs, Hall currents produce a three-dimensional quadrupole structure of the magnetic field, and the dispersive waves introduced by the Hall effect accelerate the instability. Here we present a linear study showing how the “ideal” tearing mode critical aspect ratio is modified when Hall effects are taken into account, including more general scaling laws of the growth rates in terms of sheet inverse aspect ratio: the critical inverse aspect ratio is amended to a/L≃(di/L){sup 0.29}(1/S){sup 0.19}, at which point the instability growth rate becomes Alfvénic and does not depend on either of the (small) parameters d{sub i}/L,1/S. We discuss the implications of this generalized triggering aspect ratio for recently developed phase diagrams of magnetic reconnection.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laboratory Study of Magnetic Reconnection in Lunar-relevant Mini-magnetospheres

Abstract Mini-magnetospheres are small ion-scale structures that are well suited to studying kinetic-scale physics of collisionless space plasmas. Such ion-scale magnetospheres can be found on local regions of the Moon, associated with the lunar crustal magnetic field. In this paper, we report on the laboratory experimental study of magnetic reconnection in laser-driven, lunar-like ion-scale magnetospheres on the Large Plasma Device at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the experiment, a high-repetition rate (1 Hz), nanosecond laser is used to drive a fast-moving, collisionless plasma that expands into the field generated by a pulsed magnetic dipole embedded into a background plasma and magnetic field. The high-repetition rate enables the acquisition of time-resolved volumetric data of the magnetic and electric fields to characterize magnetic reconnection and calculate the reconnection rate. We notably observe the formation of Hall fields associated with reconnection. Particle-in-cell simulations reproducing the experimental results were performed to study the microphysics of the interaction. By analyzing the generalized Ohm’s law terms, we find that the electron-only reconnection is driven by kinetic effects through the electron pressure anisotropy. These results are compared to recent satellite measurements that found evidence of magnetic reconnection near the lunar surface.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2018

Observational Evidence of Magnetic Reconnection in the Terrestrial Bow Shock Transition Region

Here, we report evidence of magnetic reconnection in the transition region of the Earth's bow shock when the angle between the shock normal and the immediate upstream magnetic field is 65°. An ion-skin-depth-scale current sheet exhibits the Hall current and field pattern, electron outflow jet, and enhanced energy conversion rate through the nonideal electric field, all consistent with a reconnection diffusion region close to the X-line. In the diffusion region, electrons are modulated by electromagnetic waves. An ion exhaust with energized field-aligned ions and electron parallel heating are observed in the same shock transition region. The energized ions are more separated from the inflowing ions in velocity above the current sheet than below, possibly due to the shear flow between the two inflow regions. The observation suggests that magnetic reconnection may contribute to shock energy dissipation.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE EFFECT OF COOLING ON PARTICLE TRAJECTORIES AND ACCELERATION IN RELATIVISTIC MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

The maximum synchrotron burnoff limit of 160 MeV represents a fundamental limit to radiation resulting from electromagnetic particle acceleration in one-zone ideal plasmas. In magnetic reconnection, however, particle acceleration and radiation are decoupled because the electric field is larger than the magnetic field in the diffusion region. We carry out two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to determine the extent to which magnetic reconnection can produce synchrotron radiation above the burnoff limit. We use the test particle comparison (TPC) method to isolate the effects of cooling by comparing the trajectories and acceleration efficiencies of test particles incident on such a reconnection region with and without cooling them. We find that the cooled and uncooled particle trajectories are typically similar during acceleration in the reconnection region, and derive an effective limit on particle acceleration that is inversely proportional to the average magnetic field experienced by the particle during acceleration. Using the calculated distribution of this average magnetic field as a function of uncooled final particle energy, we find analytically that cooling does not affect power-law particle energy spectra except at energies far above the synchrotron burnoff limit. Finally, we compare fully cooled and uncooled simulations of reconnection, confirming that the synchrotron burnoff limit does not produce a cutoff in the particle energy spectrum. Our results indicate that the TPC method accurately predicts the effects of cooling on particle acceleration in relativistic reconnection, and that, even far above the burnoff limit, the synchrotron energy of radiation produced in reconnection is not limited by cooling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

CLUSTERS OF SMALL ERUPTIVE FLARES PRODUCED BY MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN THE SUN

We report on the formation of small solar flares produced by patchy magnetic reconnection between interacting magnetic loops. A three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical experiment was performed, where a uniform magnetic flux sheet was injected into a fully developed convective layer. The gradual emergence of the field into the solar atmosphere results in a network of magnetic loops, which interact dynamically forming current layers at their interfaces. The formation and ejection of plasmoids out of the current layers leads to patchy reconnection and the spontaneous formation of several small (size ≈1-2 Mm) flares. We find that these flares are short-lived (30 s–3 minutes) bursts of energy in the range O(10{sup 25}-10{sup 27}) erg, which is basically the nanoflare-microflare range. Their persistent formation and co-operative action and evolution leads to recurrent emission of fast EUV/X-ray jets and considerable plasma heating in the active corona.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Revisiting the structure and spectrum of the magnetic-reconnection-heated corona in luminous AGNs

It is believed that the hard X-ray emission in the luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is from the hot corona above the cool accretion disk. However, the formation of the corona is still debated. Liu et al. investigated the spectrum of the corona heated by the reconnection of the magnetic field generated by dynamo action in the thin disk and emerging into the corona as a result of buoyancy instability. In the present paper, we improve this model to interpret the observed relation of the hard X-ray spectrum becoming softer at higher accretion rate in luminous AGNs. The magnetic field is characterized by β{sub 0}, i.e., the ratio of the sum of gas pressure and radiation pressure to the magnetic pressure in the disk (β{sub 0}=(P{sub g,d}+P{sub r,d})/P{sub B}). Besides, both the intrinsic disk photons and reprocessed photons by the disk are included as the seed photons for inverse Compton scattering. These improvements are crucial for investigating the effect of magnetic field on the accretion disk corona when it is not clear whether the radiation pressure or gas pressure dominates in the thin disk. We change the value of β{sub 0} in order to constrain the magnetic field in the accretion disk in luminous AGNs. We find that the energy fraction released in the corona (f) gradually increases with the decrease of β{sub 0} for the same accretion rate. When β{sub 0} decreases to less than 50, the structure and spectrum of the disk corona are independent of accretion rate, which is similar to the hard spectrum found in Liu et al. Comparing with the observational results of the hard X-ray bolometric correction factor in a sample of luminous AGNs, we suggest that the value of β{sub 0} is about 100–200 for α = 0.3, and the energy fraction f should be larger than 30% for hard X-ray emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Physics of forced magnetic reconnection in coaxial helicity injection experiments in National Spherical Torus Experiment

We numerically examine the physics of fast flux closure in transient coaxial helicity injection (CHI) experiments in National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). By performing resistive Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations with poloidal injector coil currents held constant in time, we find that closed flux surfaces are formed through forced magnetic reconnection. Through a local Sweet-Parker type reconnection with an elongated current sheet in the injector region, closed flux surfaces expand in the NSTX global domain. Simulations demonstrate outflows approaching poloidally Alfvénic flows and reconnection times consistent with the Sweet-Parker model. Critical requirements for magnetic reconnection and flux closure are studied in detail. These primary effects, which are magnetic diffusivity, injector flux, injector flux footprint width, and rate of injector voltage reduction, are simulated for transient CHI experiments. The relevant time scales for effective reconnection are τ{sub V}<τ{sub rec}≈τ{sub A}√(S)(1+Pm){sup 1/4}<τ{sub R}, where τ{sub V} is the time for the injector voltage reduction, τ{sub A} is the poloidal Alfvén transit time, τ{sub R} is the global resistive diffusion time, and Pm and S are Prandtl and Lundquist numbers.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electron acceleration in three-dimensional magnetic reconnection with a guide field

Kinetic simulations of 3D collisionless magnetic reconnection with a guide field show a dramatic enhancement of energetic electron production when compared with 2D systems. In the 2D systems, electrons are trapped in magnetic islands that limit their energy gain, whereas in the 3D systems the filamentation of the current layer leads to a stochastic magnetic field that enables the electrons to access volume-filling acceleration regions. The dominant accelerator of the most energetic electrons is a Fermi-like mechanism associated with reflection of charged particles from contracting field lines.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

VINETA II: A linear magnetic reconnection experiment

A linear experiment dedicated to the study of driven magnetic reconnection is presented. The new device (VINETA II) is suitable for investigating both collisional and near collisionless reconnection. Reconnection is achieved by externally driving magnetic field lines towards an X-point, inducing a current in the background plasma which consequently modifies the magnetic field topology. Owing to the open field line configuration of the experiment, the current is limited by the axial sheath boundary conditions. A plasma gun is used as an additional electron source in order to counterbalance the charge separation effects and supply the required current. Two drive methods are used in the device. First, an oscillating current through two parallel conductors drive the reconnection. Second, a stationary X-point topology is formed by the parallel conductors, and the drive is achieved by an oscillating current through a third conductor. In the first setup, the magnetic field of the axial plasma current dominates the field topology near the X-point throughout most of the drive. The second setup allows for the amplitude of the plasma current as well as the motion of the flux to be set independently of the X-point topology of the parallel conductors.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Origins of effective resistivity in collisionless magnetic reconnection

The mechanisms that provide effective resistivity for supporting collisonless magnetic reconnection have remained unsettled despite numerous studies. Some of these studies demonstrated that the electron pressure nongyrotropy generates the resistivity (η{sub npg}) in the electron diffusion region (EDR). We derive an analytical relation for the effective resistivity (η{sub kin}) by momentum balance in a control volume in the EDR. Both η{sub npg} and η{sub kin} mutually compare well and they also compare well with the resistivity required to support reconnection electric field E{sub rec} in multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations as well as in satellite observations when reconnection occurs in an EDR. But they are about an order of magnitude or so smaller than that required when the reconnection occurred in a much wider reconnecting current sheet (RCS) of half width (w) of the order of the ion skin depth (d{sub i}), observed in the Earth magnetosphere. The chaos-induced resistivity reported in the literature is found to be even more deficient. We find that for reconnection in RCS with w ∼ d{sub i}, anomalous diffusion, such as the universal Bhom diffusion and/or that arising from kinetic Alfven waves, could fairly well account for the required resistivity.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Radiation on Chromospheric Magnetic Reconnection: Reactive and Collisional Multi-fluid Simulations

We study magnetic reconnection under chromospheric conditions in five different ionization levels from 0.5% to 50% using a self-consistent two-fluid (ions + neutrals) model that accounts for compressibility, collisional effects, chemical inequilibrium, and anisotropic heat conduction. Results with and without radiation are compared, using two models for the radiative losses: an optically thin radiation loss function, and an approximation of the radiative losses of a plasma with photospheric abundances. The results without radiation show that reconnection occurs faster for the weakly ionized cases as a result of the effect of ambipolar diffusion and fast recombination. The tearing mode instability appears earlier in the low ionized cases and grows rapidly. We find that radiative losses have a stronger effect than was found in previous results as the cooling changes the plasma pressure and the concentration of ions inside the current sheet. This affects the ambipolar diffusion and the chemical equilibrium, resulting in thin current sheets and enhanced reconnection. The results quantify this complex nonlinear interaction by showing that a strong cooling produces faster reconnections than have been found in models without radiation. The results accounting for radiation show timescales and outflows comparable to spicules and chromospheric jets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

How Hall electric fields intrinsically chaotize and heat ions during collisionless magnetic reconnection

The origin of extreme and anomalous ion heating during magnetic reconnection has been a longstanding mystery. It is shown in this paper that, at the core of the process, the stochastic heating mechanism is responsible for this energization. The in-plane Hall electric fields that intrinsically develop during collisionless reconnection not only accelerate ions, but also thermalize them by inducing chaotic motion. The mechanism explains various observed features of ion heating, e.g., its relation to the guide field strength and the ion mass-to-charge ratio.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

On transition from Alfvén resonance to forced magnetic reconnection

We revisit the transition from Alfvén resonance to forced magnetic reconnection with a focus on the property of their singularities. As the driven frequency tends to zero, the logarithmic singularity of Alfvén resonance shifts to the power-law singularity of forced reconnection, due to merging of the two resonance layers. The transition criterion depends on either kinetic effects or dissipations that resolve the singularity. As an example, a small but finite resistivity η is introduced to investigate the transition process. The transition threshold is then obtained as the driven frequency reaches a level of ∼O((η/k){sup 1/3})

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Fast magnetic reconnection due to anisotropic electron pressure

A new regime of fast magnetic reconnection with an out-of-plane (guide) magnetic field is reported in which the key role is played by an electron pressure anisotropy described by the Chew-Goldberger-Low gyrotropic equations of state in the generalized Ohm's law, which even dominates the Hall term. A description of the physical cause of this behavior is provided and two-dimensional fluid simulations are used to confirm the results. The electron pressure anisotropy causes the out-of-plane magnetic field to develop a quadrupole structure of opposite polarity to the Hall magnetic field and gives rise to dispersive waves. In addition to being important for understanding what causes reconnection to be fast, this mechanism should dominate in plasmas with low plasma beta and a high in-plane plasma beta with electron temperature comparable to or larger than ion temperature, so it could be relevant in the solar wind and some tokamaks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗