HR: 1340h
AN: SH44A-1727    [Abstracts]
TI: Simulation of the similarity of reconnection processes in the RSX device and in magnetospheric and solar plasmas
AU: * Sun, X
EM: proletariato@gmail.com
AF: LANL, MS: K717, Los Alamos, 87545, United States
AU: Lapenta, G
EM: giovanni.lapenta@wis.kuleuven.be
AF: LANL, MS: K717, Los Alamos, 87545, United States
AU: Lapenta, G
EM: giovanni.lapenta@wis.kuleuven.be
AF: KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, Heverlee, 3001, Belgium
AU: Intrator, T
EM: valsusa@gmail.com
AF: LANL, MS: K717, Los Alamos, 87545, United States
AU: Dorf, L
EM: b_steffi.geo@yahoo.com
AF: LANL, MS: K717, Los Alamos, 87545, United States
AB: We consider the configuration typical of the RSX device [1]: multiple flux ropes are tied at one end to the plasma gun producing them and are relatively free to move at the other end. We consider the evolution of one or multiple ropes focusing primarily on reconnection and of the role of electrostatic fields in enabling the processes observed experimentally. The results of MHD [2] and kinetic simulations [3] are compared with the experiment, focusing primarily on the linear and non-linear stage of the kink and tearing instabilities present in the experiment. Furthermore, the results of kinetic simulation elucidate the role of drift instabilities in the large scale momentum creation and in the small scale anaomalous processes. [1] Intrator T. P., et al., J. Geophys. Res., 112, A05S90, (2007) [2] Lapenta, et al, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A12S06 (2006). [3] Lapenta et al., Phys. Plasmas, 13, 055904 (2006)
DE: 7509 Corona
DE: 7526 Magnetic reconnection (2723, 7835)
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting