Work

Kinetic simulations underestimate the effects of waves during magnetic reconnection

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Collisionless plasma systems are often studied using fully kinetic simulations, where protons and electrons are treated as particles. Due to their computational expense, it is necessary to reduce the ion-to-electron mass ratio m i / m e or the ratio between plasma and cyclotron frequencies in simulations of large systems. In this Letter we show that when electron-scale waves are present in larger-scale systems, numerical parameters affect their amplitudes and effects on the larger system. Using lower-hybrid drift waves during magnetic reconnection as an example, we find that the ratio between the wave electric field and the reconnection electric field scales as m i / m e , while the phase relationship is also affected. The combination of these effects means that the anomalous drag that contributes to momentum balance in the reconnection region can be underestimated by an order of magnitude. The results are relevant to the coupling of electron-scale waves to ion-scale reconnection regions, and other systems such as collisionless shocks. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Source: Physical Review Research

DOI: 10.1103/physrevresearch.6.l042072

Authors: J. Ng, J. Yoo, L.-J. Chen, N. Bessho, H. Ji

Institutions: Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,625

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration