Energetics of kinetic reconnection in a three-dimensional null-point cluster.
We perform three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection with multiple magnetic null points. Magnetic field energy conversion into kinetic energy is about five times higher than in traditional Harris sheet configuration. More than 85% of initial magnetic field energy is transferred to particle energy during 25 reversed ion cyclofrequencies. Magnetic reconnection in the cluster of null points evolves in three phases. During the first phase, ion beams are excited, then give part of their energy back to the magnetic field in the second phase. In the third phase, magnetic reconnection occurs in many small patches around the current channels formed along the stripes of a low magnetic field. Magnetic reconnection in null points essentially presents three-dimensional features, with no two-dimensional symmetries or current sheets.
Center for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Department of Mathematics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, bus 2400 B-3001 Leuven, Belgium. vyacheslav.olshevsky@wis.kuleuven.be
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