HR: 1340h
AN: SH44A-1717    [Abstracts]
TI: The Weibel Instability in Electron-Positron Plasma Reconnection
AU: Liu, Y
EM: yhliu10@umd.edu
AF: University of Maryland, IREAP Building 223, Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AU: Swisdak, M
EM: swisdak@umd.edu
AF: University of Maryland, IREAP Building 223, Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AU: * Drake, J F
EM: drake@plasma.umd.edu
AF: University of Maryland, IREAP Building 223, Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, United States
AB: Full particle simulations of magnetic reconnection reveal the development of turbulence in the outflow jet during magnetic reconnection in pair plasma. This turbulence facilitates fast reconnection by opening the outflow nozzle, thereby shortening the current layer. We demonstrate that the temperature anisotropy that develops in the outflow plasma is the driver for this turbulence. Using particle simulations and analytic theory we explore the behavior of the Weibel-like instability that grows within a narrow current layer with anisotropic temperature - a geometry designed to mimic the current layers seen in electron-positron reconnection. The theoretically predicted wavelength and growth rate explain the structure of the observed turbulence and determine the length of the outflow nozzle seen in reconnection simulations.
DE: 2723 Magnetic reconnection (7526, 7835)
DE: 7526 Magnetic reconnection (2723, 7835)
DE: 7829 Kinetic waves and instabilities
DE: 7835 Magnetic reconnection (2723, 7526)
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting