The Effect of Heavy Ions and Mass Density on Magnetic Reconnection

Details The Effect of Heavy Ions and Mass Density on Magnetic Reconnection The Effect of Heavy Ions and Mass Density on Magnetic Reconnection

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufmsm21a0461s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #SM21A-0461

Physics

7835 Magnetic Reconnection, 2744 Magnetotail

Scientific paper

Reconnection plays an integral role in magnetospheric dynamics, but currently there is no clear understanding of when and how heavy ions will impact the reconnection process. Understanding the effect of heavy ions is important because the mass density of O+ in the magnetotail often exceeds that of the protons. Using theoretical arguments and three-fluid simulations, we examine reconnection in a three-species plasma. Besides the usual two length scales present in two-species reconnection, there are two additional larger length scales in the system: one associated with a "heavy whistler'' which produces a large scale quadrupolar out-of-plane magnetic field, and one associated with the "heavy Alfven" wave which can slow the outflow speed and thus the reconnection rate. The consequences for magnetotail reconnection and satellite signatures will be discussed.

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