Current systems in the Core of Magnetic Reconnection

Abstract:

Magnetic reconnection is arguably the most fundamental transport and energy conversion process in plasmas. In plasmas, where classical collision frequencies are sufficiently low – such as occur in a large variety of space- and solar environments, magnetic reconnection has to be based on kinetic processes. Kinetic aspects start with those enabling the electric field in the core of the reconnection diffusion region, and continue to various particle acceleration processes, which, among other features, enable the outflow jets. The reconnection electric field serves, as one of its key functions, to maintain currents necessary for the field reversal, and electron outflow jets are another key aspect of the complex current structure in the vicinity of the electron diffusion region. This presentation will provide an overview of modern research addressing key kinetic aspects of reconnection. The focus will be on the structure of currents in the inner core of magnetic reconnection based on both theoretical analyses and comparisons to observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission.