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Topology of turbulence within collisionless plasma reconnection
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Hnat, Bogdan, Chapman, Sandra C. and Watkins, Nicholas W. (2023) Topology of turbulence within collisionless plasma reconnection. Scientific Reports, 13 (1). 18665. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45650-x ISSN 2045-2322.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45650-x
Abstract
In near-collisionless plasmas, which are ubiquitous in astrophysics, entropy production relies on fully-nonlinear processes such as turbulence and reconnection, which lead to particle acceleration. Mechanisms for turbulent reconnection include multiple magnetic flux ropes interacting to generate thin current sheets which undergo reconnection, leading to mixing and magnetic merging and growth of coherent structures, unstable reconnection current layers that fragment and turbulent reconnection outflows. All of these processes act across, and encompass, multiple reconnection sites. We use Magnetospheric Multi Scale four-point satellite observations to characterize the magnetic field line topology within a single reconnection current layer. We examine magnetopause reconnection where the spacecraft encounter the Electron Diffusion Region (EDR). We find fluctuating magnetic field with topology identical to that found for dynamically evolving vortices in hydrodynamic turbulence. The turbulence is supported by an electron-magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) flow in which the magnetic field is effectively frozen into the electron fluid. Accelerated electrons are found in the EDR edge where we identify a departure from this turbulent topology, towards two-dimensional sheet-like structures. This is consistent with a scenario in which sub-ion scale turbulence can suppress electron acceleration within the EDR which would otherwise be possible in the electric field at the X-line.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QC Physics | ||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Magnetohydrodynamics, Magnetic reconnection, Plasma turbulence, Plasma (Ionized gases) -- Mathematical models | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Scientific Reports | ||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group UK | ||||||
ISSN: | 2045-2322 | ||||||
Official Date: | 31 October 2023 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 13 | ||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||
Article Number: | 18665 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-023-45650-x | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | ** From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications Router ** History: received 02-06-2023; registration 22-10-2023; accepted 22-10-2023; epub 31-10-2023; online 31-10-2023; collection 12-2023. ** Licence for this article: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ** Acknowledgements: We thank the entire MMS team and instrument leads for data access and support. The data presented in this paper can be accessed from MMS Science Data Center (https://lasp.colorado.edu/mms/sdc/public/). The authors acknowledge AFOSR grant FA8655-22-1-7056. SCC acknowledges support from ISSI via the J. Geiss fellowship. | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 2 November 2023 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 2 November 2023 | ||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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