Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-12-12
Physics of Plasmas, 15, 022101, 2008
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
25 pages, 9 figures; References and typos are fixed
Scientific paper
10.1063/1.2836623
The role of the Weibel instability is investigated for the first time in the context of the large-scale magnetic reconnection problem. A late-time evolution of magnetic reconnection in relativistic pair plasmas is demonstrated by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In the outflow regions, powerful reconnection jet piles up the magnetic fields and then a tangential discontinuity appears there. Further downstream, it is found that the two-dimensional extension of the relativistic Weibel instability generates electro-magnetic fields, which are comparable to the anti-parallel or piled-up fields. In a microscopic viewpoint, the instability allows plasma's multiple interactions with the discontinuity. In a macroscopic viewpoint, the instability leads to rapid expansion of the current sheet and then the reconnection jet front further propagates into the downstream. Possible application to the three-dimensional case is briefly discussed.
Hesse Matthias
Zenitani Seiji
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