Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufmsh44a1718f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #SH44A-1718
Physics
7524 Magnetic Fields, 7526 Magnetic Reconnection (2723, 7835), 7833 Mathematical And Numerical Techniques (0500, 3200)
Scientific paper
Full particle 2-D simulations of magnetic reconnection with an ambient guide field show that secondary magnetic islands develop in long electron current layers. Observational evidence in the magnetotail and in the magnetopause also supports the formation of magnetic islands. However, the dynamics of these magnetic islands in large-scale current layers, such as those seen in the magnetopause or inferred in the corona, are not easily determined by simulations. To retain the small-scale physics of PIC codes for these large-scale systems, a statistical model is developed for the island distribution. Magnetic islands are characterized by the flux ψ contained in the island and the area A enclosed by it. These are used as the independent parameters for a distribution function of magnetic islands which evolves in time. The time evolution is governed by certain rules (verified by particle-in-cell simulations) concerning the generation of secondary islands, the rates of island growth, and island merging. An evolution equation for the distribution function of magnetic islands based on these rules is derived. Because of the complexity of the island merging rules, the evolution equation includes integral terms which prevent an analytic solution. The distribution of magnetic islands is therefore solved numerically.
Drake James F.
Fermo R. L.
Swisdak Michael
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