The role of the Weibel instability at the reconnection jet front in relativistic pair plasma reconnection

被引:31
作者
Zenitani, S. [1 ]
Hesse, M. [1 ]
机构
[1] NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
基金
美国国家航空航天局;
关键词
D O I
10.1063/1.2836623
中图分类号
O35 [流体力学]; O53 [等离子体物理学];
学科分类号
070204 ; 080103 ; 080704 ;
摘要
The role of the Weibel instability is investigated for the first time in the context of the large-scale magnetic reconnection problem. A late-time evolution of magnetic reconnection in relativistic pair plasmas is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations. In the outflow regions, powerful reconnection jets pile up the magnetic fields and then a contact discontinuity appears there. Further downstream, it is found that the two-dimensional extension of the relativistic Weibel instability generates electromagnetic fields, which are comparable to the antiparallel or piled-up fields. In a microscopic viewpoint, the instability allows the plasma's multiple interactions with the discontinuity. In a macroscopic viewpoint, the instability leads to rapid expansion of the current sheet and then the reconnection jet front further propagates into the downstream. Possible application to the three-dimensional case is briefly discussed. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.
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页数:10
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