3D MHD simulations of magnetic reconnection in different magnetic field configurations and plasma regimes

• Grant number: 10/18822-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2011
• End date: August 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Physics of Fluids, Plasma Physics and Electrical Discharge
• Principal Investigator: Maria Virginia Alves
• Grantee: Jean Carlo Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is the physical process associated with changes of the magnetic field line connectivity. During this process magnetic energy is converted into other kinds of energy, e.g. kinetic and thermal energies. To understand reconnection it is necessary to investigate not only the reconnection process itself but also the periods prior reconnection, when magnetic free energy is stored in the system, and after reconnection, when plasma and magnetic field should adjust to the new magnetic field configuration. The period prior reconnection involves a quasi-stationary evolution caused by the action of external forces, which give rise to current sheets. The formation of currentsheets and the influence of the magnetic field topology for current sheet location are important in locating and forecasting the occurrence of magnetic reconnection. Also, the propagation of the perturbations generated by the plasma motion to the regions where the connectivity of the magnetic field substantially change seems to be as important as the presence of topological and geometrical structures in the magnetic field for the formation of strong and thin current sheets. After reconnectionthe evolution of plasma and magnetic field is dynamic and the system try to relax to a lower energy state. In this work we propose to investigate the formation of current sheets in different magnetic field configurations and plasma regimes. Our aim is to compare the location of current sheets with thelocation of topological and geometrical structures in the magnetic field; to investigate the influence of different plasma regimes, more specifically different plasma beta values, in the dynamics of formation of current sheets; to understand the role of the driver for the formation of intense and thin current sheets; and, finally, to study the evolution of plasma and magnetic field during and after the occurrence of the reconnection process.