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Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in Pair Plasmas and Its Astrophysical Applications

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The Strongest Magnetic Fields in the Universe

Part of the book series: Space Sciences Series of ISSI ((SSSI,volume 54))

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Abstract

This review discusses the physics of magnetic reconnection—a process in which the magnetic field topology changes and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy—in pair plasmas in the relativistic regime. We focus on recent progress in the field driven by theory advances and the maturity of particle-in-cell codes. This work shows that fragmentation instabilities at the current sheet can play a critical role in setting the reconnection speed and affect the resulting particle acceleration, anisotropy, bulk flows, and radiation. Then, we discuss how this novel understanding of relativistic reconnection can be applied to high-energy astrophysical phenomena, with an emphasis on pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and active galactic nucleus jets.

All authors contributed equally to this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel

    D. Kagan

  2. Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    D. Kagan

  3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    L. Sironi

  4. Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    B. Cerutti

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    D. Giannios

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  1. D. Kagan
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  2. L. Sironi
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  3. B. Cerutti
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  4. D. Giannios
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Correspondence to D. Kagan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    V.S. Beskin

  2. The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

    A. Balogh

  3. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    M. Falanga

  4. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    M. Lyutikov

  5. INAF-IASF Milano, Milano, Italy

    S. Mereghetti

  6. The Hebrew University, Racah Institute for Physics, Jerusalem, Israel

    T. Piran

  7. International Space Science Institu, Bern, Switzerland

    R.A. Treumann

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Kagan, D., Sironi, L., Cerutti, B., Giannios, D. (2016). Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in Pair Plasmas and Its Astrophysical Applications. In: Beskin, V., et al. The Strongest Magnetic Fields in the Universe. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 54. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3550-5_16

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