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Notes on Magnetohydrodynamics of Magnetic Reconnection in Turbulent Media

  • Chapter
Microphysics of Cosmic Plasmas

Part of the book series: Space Sciences Series of ISSI ((SSSI,volume 47))

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Abstract

Astrophysical fluids have very large Reynolds numbers and therefore turbulence is their natural state. Magnetic reconnection is an important process in many astrophysical plasmas, which allows restructuring of magnetic fields and conversion of stored magnetic energy into heat and kinetic energy. Turbulence is known to dramatically change different transport processes and therefore it is not unexpected that turbulence can alter the dynamics of magnetic field lines within the reconnection process. We shall review the interaction between turbulence and reconnection at different scales, showing how a state of turbulent reconnection is natural in astrophysical plasmas, with implications for a range of phenomena across astrophysics. We consider the process of magnetic reconnection that is fast in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) limit and discuss how turbulence—both externally driven and generated in the reconnecting system—can make reconnection independent on the microphysical properties of plasmas. We will also show how relaxation theory can be used to calculate the energy dissipated in turbulent reconnecting fields. As well as heating the plasma, the energy dissipated by turbulent reconnection may cause acceleration of non-thermal particles, which is briefly discussed here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Philippa Browning

  2. Dept of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Alex Lazarian

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Correspondence to Philippa Browning .

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  1. Imperial College London, London, UK

    André Balogh  & Peter Cargill  & 

  2. Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Andrei Bykov

  3. Euratom/UKAEA Fusion Association, Abingdon, UK

    Richard Dendy

  4. LPC2E/CNRS-University of Orleans, Orleans Cedex 2, France

    Thierry Dudok de Wit

  5. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA

    John Raymond

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Browning, P., Lazarian, A. (2013). Notes on Magnetohydrodynamics of Magnetic Reconnection in Turbulent Media. In: Balogh, A., Bykov, A., Cargill, P., Dendy, R., Dudok de Wit, T., Raymond, J. (eds) Microphysics of Cosmic Plasmas. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 47. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7413-6_10

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