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arXiv · 1311.2728

Electron and Ion Heating during Magnetic Reconnection in Weakly Collisional Plasmas

Ryusuke Numata·Nuno F. Loureiro
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Abstract

Gyrokinetic simulations of magnetic reconnection are presented to investigate plasma heating for strongly magnetized, weakly collisional plasmas. For a low plasma beta case, parallel and perpendicular phase mixing strongly enhance energy dissipation yielding electron heating. Heating occurs for a long time period after a dynamical process of magnetic reconnection ended. For a higher beta case, the ratio of ion to electron dissipation rate increases, suggesting that ion heating (via phase-mixing) may become an important dissipation channel in high beta plasmas.

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Ryusuke Numata, Nuno F. Loureiro. 2015-04-13. Electron and Ion Heating during Magnetic Reconnection in Weakly Collisional Plasmas. https://doi.org/10.7566/jpscp.1.015044

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