Thermal-Inertial Effects on Magnetic Reconnection in Relativistic Pair Plasmas

Luca Comisso and Felipe A. Asenjo
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 045001 – Published 23 July 2014

Abstract

The magnetic reconnection process is studied in relativistic pair plasmas when the thermal and inertial properties of the magnetohydrodynamical fluid are included. We find that in both Sweet-Parker and Petschek relativistic scenarios there is an increase of the reconnection rate owing to the thermal-inertial effects, both satisfying causality. To characterize the new effects we define a thermal-inertial number which is independent of the relativistic Lundquist number, implying that reconnection can be achieved even for vanishing resistivity as a result of only thermal-inertial effects. The current model has fundamental importance for relativistic collisionless reconnection, as it constitutes the simplest way to get reconnection rates faster than those accessible with the sole resistivity.

  • Figure
  • Received 5 February 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.045001

© 2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Luca Comisso1,2,* and Felipe A. Asenjo3,4,†

  • 1Dipartimento Energia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
  • 2Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi–CNR, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Roma, Italy
  • 3Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago 7941169, Chile
  • 4Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago 7941169, Chile

  • *luca.comisso@polito.it
  • felipe.asenjo@uai.cl

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 4 — 25 July 2014

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