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Stability of large-scale electrostatic fluctuations of forced two-dimensional plasma is studied by the use of the renormalization-group method. Large-scale flows have been rendered important in regula...
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Scaling of forced magnetic reconnection in the Hall-magnetohydrodynamic Taylor problem

Phys. Plasmas 11, 937 (2004); doi:10.1063/1.1640378

Issue Date: March 2004

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Richard Fitzpatrick
Center for Magnetic Reconnection Studies, Institute for Fusion Studies, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
Two-dimensional, incompressible, zero guide-field, nonlinear Hall-MHD (magnetohydrodynamical) simulations are used to investigate the scaling of the rate of forced magnetic reconnection in the so-called Taylor problem. In this problem, a small-amplitude boundary perturbation is suddenly applied to a tearing stable, slab plasma equilibrium; the perturbation being such as to drive magnetic reconnection within the plasma. This type of reconnection, which is not due to an intrinsic plasma instability, is generally known as "forced reconnection." The inclusion of the Hall term in the plasma Ohm's law is found to greatly accelerate the rate of magnetic reconnection. In the linear Hall-MHD regime, the peak instantaneous reconnection rate is found to scale like dPsi/dt~dieta1/3Xi0, where Psi is the reconnected magnetic flux, di the collisionless ion skin depth, eta the resistivity, and Xi0 the amplitude of the boundary perturbation. In the nonlinear Hall-MHD regime, the peak reconnection rate is found to scale like dPsi/dt~d<sub>i</sub><sup>3/2</sup>Xi<sub>0</sub><sup>2</sup>. ©2004 American Institute of Physics.
History: Received 15 July 2003; accepted 17 November 2003
Permalink: http://link.aip.org/link/?PHPAEN/11/937/1
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KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords
PACS
  • 52.35.Vd
    Magnetic reconnection in plasmas
  • 52.30.Cv
    Plasma magnetohydrodynamics including electron magnetohydrodynamics
  • 52.35.Py
    Plasma macroinstabilities (hydromagnetic) e.g., kink, fire-hose, mirror, ballooning, tearing, trapped-particle, flute, Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, etc
  • 52.65.Kj
    Magnetohydrodynamic and fluid equation (plasma simulation)
  • 52.25.Fi
    Plasma transport properties
  • 52.35.Mw
    Nonlinear phenomena: plasma waves, wave propagation and other interactions including parametric effects, mode coupling, ponderomotive effects, etc
  • YEAR: 2004

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1070-664X (print)   1089-7674 (online)
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