The reduction of magnetic reconnection outflow jets to sub-Alfvenic speeds

Colby C. Haggerty; Michael A. Shay; Alexandros Chasapis; Tai D. Phan; James F. Drake; Kittipat Malakit; Paul A. Cassak; Rungployphan Kieokaew; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

doi:10.1063/1.5050530

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The reduction of magnetic reconnection outflow jets to sub-Alfvenic speeds

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The reduction of magnetic reconnection outflow jets to sub-Alfvenic speeds

Colby C. Haggerty, Michael A. Shay, Alexandros Chasapis, Tai D. Phan, James F. Drake, Kittipat Malakit, Paul A. Cassak, Rungployphan Kieokaew and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Physics of plasmas, Vol.25(10), 102120

10/01/2018

DOI: 10.1063/1.5050530

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Abstract

The outflow velocity of jets produced by collisionless magnetic reconnection is shown to be reduced by the ion exhaust temperature in fully kinetic particle in cell simulations and in situ satellite observations. We derive a scaling relationship for the outflow velocity based on the upstream Alfven speed and the parallel ion exhaust temperature, which is verified in kinetic simulations and observations. The outflow speed reduction is shown to be due to the firehose instability criterion, and so, for large enough guide fields, this effect is suppressed and the outflow speed reaches the upstream Alfven speed based on the reconnecting component of the magnetic field. Published by AIP Publishing.

Physical Sciences

Physics

Physics, Fluids & Plasmas

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: The reduction of magnetic reconnection outflow jets to sub-Alfvenic speeds
Creators: Colby C. Haggerty - University of Chicago
Michael A. Shay - University of Delaware
Alexandros Chasapis - University of Delaware
Tai D. Phan - University of California, Berkeley
James F. Drake - University of Maryland, College Park
Kittipat Malakit - Thammasat University
Paul A. Cassak - West Virginia University
Rungployphan Kieokaew - University of Exeter
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Physics of plasmas, Vol.25(10), 102120
DOI: 10.1063/1.5050530
ISSN: 1070-664X
eISSN: 1089-7674
Publisher: AIP Publishing
Number of pages: 6
Grant note: Faculty of Science at Mahidol University RTA5980003 / Thailand Research Fund; Thailand Research Fund (TRF) AGS-1460130; AGS-1460037 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) NNX08A083G; NNX14AC39G; NNX15AW58G; NNX16AF75G; NNX16AG76G; NNX17AI25G / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Language: English
Date published: 10/01/2018
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9985224320002771

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