We perform a high-resolution, 2D, fully kinetic numerical simulation of a turbulent plasma system with observation-driven conditions, in order to investigate the interplay between turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and particle heating from ion to subelectron scales in the near-Sun solar wind. We find that the power spectra of the turbulent plasma and electromagnetic fluctuations show multiple power-law intervals down to scales smaller than the electron gyroradius. Magnetic reconnection is observed to occur in correspondence of current sheets with a thickness of the order of the electron inertial length, which form and shrink owing to interacting ion-scale vortices. In some cases, both ion and electron outflows are observed (the classic reconnection scenario), while in others-typically for the shortest current sheets-only electron jets are present ("electron-only reconnection"). At the onset of reconnection, the electron temperature starts to increase and a strong parallel temperature anisotropy develops. This suggests that in strong turbulence electron-scale coherent structures may play a significant role for electron heating, as impulsive and localized phenomena such as magnetic reconnection can efficiently transfer energy from the electromagnetic fields to particles.

Anisotropic Electron Heating in Turbulence-driven Magnetic Reconnection in the Near-Sun Solar Wind / Luca Franci; Emanuele Papini; Alfredo Micera; Giovanni Lapenta; Petr Hellinger; Daniele Del Sarto; David Burgess; Simone Landi. - In: THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL. - ISSN 0004-637X. - STAMPA. - 936:(2022), pp. 0-0. [10.3847/1538-4357/ac7da6]

Anisotropic Electron Heating in Turbulence-driven Magnetic Reconnection in the Near-Sun Solar Wind

Luca Franci
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Emanuele Papini
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Petr Hellinger
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Simone Landi
Membro del Collaboration Group
2022

Abstract

We perform a high-resolution, 2D, fully kinetic numerical simulation of a turbulent plasma system with observation-driven conditions, in order to investigate the interplay between turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and particle heating from ion to subelectron scales in the near-Sun solar wind. We find that the power spectra of the turbulent plasma and electromagnetic fluctuations show multiple power-law intervals down to scales smaller than the electron gyroradius. Magnetic reconnection is observed to occur in correspondence of current sheets with a thickness of the order of the electron inertial length, which form and shrink owing to interacting ion-scale vortices. In some cases, both ion and electron outflows are observed (the classic reconnection scenario), while in others-typically for the shortest current sheets-only electron jets are present ("electron-only reconnection"). At the onset of reconnection, the electron temperature starts to increase and a strong parallel temperature anisotropy develops. This suggests that in strong turbulence electron-scale coherent structures may play a significant role for electron heating, as impulsive and localized phenomena such as magnetic reconnection can efficiently transfer energy from the electromagnetic fields to particles.
2022
936
0
0
Luca Franci; Emanuele Papini; Alfredo Micera; Giovanni Lapenta; Petr Hellinger; Daniele Del Sarto; David Burgess; Simone Landi
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Franci_2022_ApJ_936_27.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Pdf editoriale (Version of record)
Licenza: Open Access
Dimensione 2.34 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.34 MB Adobe PDF

I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1286319
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 16
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 15
social impact