Search Publications

Magnetic reconnection as an element of turbulence

Carbone, V.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Wan, M. +6 more

In this work, recent advances on the study of reconnection in turbulence are reviewed. Using direct numerical simulations of decaying incompressible two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), it was found that in fully developed turbulence complex processes of reconnection locally occur (Servidio et al., 2009, 2010a). In this complex scenario, re…

Electron acoustic solitons in the presence of an electron beam and superthermal electrons

Lakhina, G. S.; Singh, S. V.; Bharuthram, R. +1 more

Arbitrary amplitude electron acoustic solitons are studied in an unmagnetized plasma having cold electrons and ions, superthermal hot electrons and an electron beam. Using the Sagdeev pseudo potential method, theoretical analysis is carried out by assuming superthermal hot electrons having kappa distribution. The results show that inclusion of an …

Turbulent spectra and spectral kinks in the transition range from MHD to kinetic Alfvén turbulence

de Keyser, J.; Voitenko, Y.

A weakly dispersive range (WDR) of kinetic Alfvén turbulence is identified and investigated for the first time in the context of the MHD/kinetic turbulence transition. We find perpendicular wavenumber spectra ∝ k_\bot^-3 and ∝ k_\bot^-4 formed in WDR by strong and weak turbulence of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAW…

The evolution of electron current sheet and formation of secondary islands in guide field reconnection

Yang, Z.; Wang, S.; Huang, C. +3 more

Two-dimensional (2-D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed to investigate the evolution of the electron current sheet (ECS) in guide field reconnection. The ECS is formed by electrons accelerated by the inductive electric field in the vicinity of the X line, which is then extended along the x direction due to the imbalance between the …