Reconnection along a Separator in Shock Turbulence

Numerous structures conducive to magnetic reconnection are frequently observed in the turbulent regions at quasi-parallel shocks. In this work, we use a particle-in-cell simulation to study 3D magnetic reconnection in shock turbulence. We identify and characterize magnetic null points, and focus on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2024-02, Vol.962 (2), p.181
Main Authors: Ng, J., Bessho, N., Dahlin, J. T., Chen, L.-J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electric fields
Electrons
Magnetic reconnection
Planetary bow shocks
Plasma physics
Separators
Space plasmas
Turbulence
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Summary:Numerous structures conducive to magnetic reconnection are frequently observed in the turbulent regions at quasi-parallel shocks. In this work, we use a particle-in-cell simulation to study 3D magnetic reconnection in shock turbulence. We identify and characterize magnetic null points, and focus on reconnection along the separator between them. We identify a reconnection region with strong parallel current, a finite parallel potential, and counterrotating electron flows. Electrons are shown to be accelerated by the parallel electric field before being scattered at the null.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ad2204