St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Consequences of spontaneous reconnection at a two-dimensional non-force-free current layer

Thumbnail
View/Open
Fuentes_Fernandez1202.0161v1.pdf (1.816Mb)
Date
02/2012
Author
Fuentes Fernandez, Jorge
Parnell, Clare Elizabeth
Hood, Alan William
Priest, Eric Ronald
Longcope, Dana
Keywords
QC Physics
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Magnetic neutral points, where the magnitude of the magnetic field vanishes locally, are potential locations for energy conversion in the solar corona. The fact that the magnetic field is identically zero at these points suggests that for the study of current sheet formation and of any subsequent resistive dissipation phase, a finite beta plasma should be considered, rather than neglecting the plasma pressure as has often been the case in the past. The rapid dissipation of a finite current layer in non-force-free equilibrium is investigated numerically, after the sudden onset of an anomalous resistivity. The aim of this study is to determine how the energy is redistributed during the initial diffusion phase, and what is the nature of the outward transmission of information and energy. The resistivity rapidly diffuses the current at the null point. The presence of a plasma pressure allows the vast majority of the free energy to be transferred into internal energy. Most of the converted energy is used in direct heating of the surrounding plasma, and only about 3% is converted into kinetic energy, causing a perturbation in the magnetic field and the plasma which propagates away from the null at the local fast magnetoacoustic speed. The propagating pulses show a complex structure due to the highly non-uniform initial state. It is shown that this perturbation carries no net current as it propagates away from the null. The fact that, under the assumptions taken in this paper, most of the magnetic energy released in the reconnection converts internal energy of the plasma, may be highly important for the chromospheric and coronal heating problem.
Citation
Fuentes Fernandez , J , Parnell , C E , Hood , A W , Priest , E R & Longcope , D 2012 , ' Consequences of spontaneous reconnection at a two-dimensional non-force-free current layer ' , Physics of Plasmas , vol. 19 , no. 2 , 022901 . https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3683002
Publication
Physics of Plasmas
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3683002
ISSN
1070-664X
Type
Journal article
Rights
This is the author's version of this work. The definitive version © 2012 American Institute of Physics is available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3683002
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URL
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.0161
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4007

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter