Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability
The recent realization that Sweet-Parker current sheets are violently unstable to the secondary tearing (plasmoid) instability implies that such current sheets cannot occur in real systems. This suggests that, in order to understand the onset of magnetic reconnection, one needs to consider the growt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101686 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9755-6563 |
| _version_ | 1826212001994506240 |
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| author | Uzdensky, D. A. Gomes Loureiro, Nuno F |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Uzdensky, D. A. Gomes Loureiro, Nuno F |
| author_sort | Uzdensky, D. A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The recent realization that Sweet-Parker current sheets are violently unstable to the secondary tearing (plasmoid) instability implies that such current sheets cannot occur in real systems. This suggests that, in order to understand the onset of magnetic reconnection, one needs to consider the growth of the tearing instability in a current layer as it is being formed. Such an analysis is performed here in the context of nonlinear resistive magnetohydrodynamics for a generic time-dependent equilibrium representing a gradually forming current sheet. It is shown that two onset regimes, single-island and multi-island, are possible, depending on the rate of current sheet formation. A simple model is used to compute the criterion for transition between these two regimes, as well as the reconnection onset time and the current sheet parameters at that moment. For typical solar corona parameters, this model yields results consistent with observations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:14:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/101686 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:14:55Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1016862023-02-26T03:37:22Z Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability Uzdensky, D. A. Gomes Loureiro, Nuno F Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center Gomes Loureiro, Nuno F. The recent realization that Sweet-Parker current sheets are violently unstable to the secondary tearing (plasmoid) instability implies that such current sheets cannot occur in real systems. This suggests that, in order to understand the onset of magnetic reconnection, one needs to consider the growth of the tearing instability in a current layer as it is being formed. Such an analysis is performed here in the context of nonlinear resistive magnetohydrodynamics for a generic time-dependent equilibrium representing a gradually forming current sheet. It is shown that two onset regimes, single-island and multi-island, are possible, depending on the rate of current sheet formation. A simple model is used to compute the criterion for transition between these two regimes, as well as the reconnection onset time and the current sheet parameters at that moment. For typical solar corona parameters, this model yields results consistent with observations. Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Grant IF/00530/2013) Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Grant PTDC/FIS/118187/2010) Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Grant Pest-OE/SADG/LA0010/2011) 2016-03-11T18:03:12Z 2016-03-11T18:03:12Z 2016-03 2015-12 2016-03-09T23:00:04Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0031-9007 1079-7114 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101686 Uzdensky, D. A., and N. F. Loureiro. "Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability." Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 105003 (March 2016). © 2016 American Physical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9755-6563 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.105003 Physical Review Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society |
| spellingShingle | Uzdensky, D. A. Gomes Loureiro, Nuno F Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title | Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title_full | Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title_fullStr | Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title_short | Magnetic Reconnection Onset via Disruption of a Forming Current Sheet by the Tearing Instability |
| title_sort | magnetic reconnection onset via disruption of a forming current sheet by the tearing instability |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101686 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9755-6563 |
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