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arXiv 1505.02166astro-ph.SRastro-ph.HEphysics.plasm-phphysics.space-ph
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低β等离子体中磁重联的非热控制电子加速

Nonthermally Dominated Electron Acceleration during Magnetic Reconnection in a Low-beta Plasma

Xiaocan Li, Fan Guo, Hui Li, Gang Li

摘要:

通过完全动力学模拟,我们研究了在类似于日冕和耀斑的条件下,非相对论质子-电子等离子体中磁重联过程中的电子加速。我们表明,重联导致非热占主导地位的电子加速与幂律能量分布在非相对论性低$β$制度,但不是在高$β$制度,其中$β$是等离子体的热压力和磁压力的比率。在低$β$区,加速电子包含大部分耗散的磁能。一个引导中心电流的描述是用来揭示在体非热超导过程中的电子漂移运动的作用。我们发现,主要的加速机制是一个\textit{Fermi}型加速完成的粒子曲率漂移运动沿电场诱导的重联外流。虽然不同等离子体$β$的加速机制相似,但低$β$重联驱动Alfvénic时间尺度上的快速加速,并从热分布中发展出幂律。低$β$等离子体中磁重联引起的非热主导加速可能对太阳耀斑和其他天体物理系统中的高效电子加速具有重要意义。

英文摘要:

By means of fully kinetic simulations, we investigate electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a nonrelativistic proton--electron plasma with conditions similar to solar corona and flares. We demonstrate that reconnection leads to a nonthermally dominated electron acceleration with a power-law energy distribution in the nonrelativistic low-$β$ regime but not in the high-$β$ regime, where $β$ is the ratio of the plasma thermal pressure and the magnetic pressure. The accelerated electrons contain most of the dissipated magnetic energy in the low-$β$ regime. A guiding-center current description is used to reveal the role of electron drift motions during the bulk nonthermal energization. We find that the main acceleration mechanism is a \textit{Fermi}-type acceleration accomplished by the particle curvature drift motion along the electric field induced by the reconnection outflows. Although the acceleration mechanism is similar for different plasma $β$, low-$β$ reconnection drives fast acceleration on Alfvénic timescales and develops power laws out of thermal distribution. The nonthermally dominated acceleration resulting from magnetic reconnection in low-$β$ plasma may have strong implications for the highly efficient electron acceleration in solar flares and other astrophysical systems.

机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来,可能存在错误,请以论文正文为准。

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