dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaFast and slow nonlinear tearing mode reconnection
| Authors | N. F. Loureiro, S. C. Cowley, W. D. Dorland, M. G. Haines, A. A. Schekochihin |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0407047 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0407047 |
Abstract
This is a brief account of our numerical study of the tearing mode reconnection. We demonstrate two main points. First, we show that, given sufficiently small resistivity, the Rutherford regime always exists; larger values of Delta' require smaller values of resistivity. Rutherford's negligible-inertia assumption is validated and the asymptotically linear dependence of the time derivative of the island width on the resistivity and Delta' is confirmed. Second, we find that, at large Delta', the Rutherford regime is followed by a nonlinear stage of fast growth linked to X-point collapse and formation of a current sheet. This causes the reconnection to become Sweet-Parke (SP) like. The signature resistivity^{1/2} scaling of the effective island growth rate is, indeed, found in this nonlinear stage. The SP stage culminates in the saturation of the mode, which can, thus, be achieved much faster than via Rutherford regime.
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"abstract": "This is a brief account of our numerical study of the tearing mode\nreconnection. We demonstrate two main points. First, we show that, given\nsufficiently small resistivity, the Rutherford regime always exists; larger\nvalues of Delta\u0027 require smaller values of resistivity. Rutherford\u0027s\nnegligible-inertia assumption is validated and the asymptotically linear\ndependence of the time derivative of the island width on the resistivity and\nDelta\u0027 is confirmed. Second, we find that, at large Delta\u0027, the Rutherford\nregime is followed by a nonlinear stage of fast growth linked to X-point\ncollapse and formation of a current sheet. This causes the reconnection to\nbecome Sweet-Parke (SP) like. The signature resistivity^{1/2} scaling of the\neffective island growth rate is, indeed, found in this nonlinear stage. The SP\nstage culminates in the saturation of the mode, which can, thus, be achieved\nmuch faster than via Rutherford regime.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0407047",
"authors": [
"N. F. Loureiro",
"S. C. Cowley",
"W. D. Dorland",
"M. G. Haines",
"A. A. Schekochihin"
],
"categories": [
"physics.plasm-ph",
"physics.space-ph"
],
"title": "Fast and slow nonlinear tearing mode reconnection",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0407047"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
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