An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection
Modeling the reconnection rate of collisionless electron-only reconnection presents a theoretical challenge. Unlike traditional magnetic reconnection with ion coupling, electron-only reconnection has a higher reconnection rate due to the magnetic flux being frozen in the electron flow, which is cons...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/addece |
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| author | H. W. Zhan S. Y. Huang Q. Y. Xiong Z. G. Yuan K. Jiang Z. Wang Y. T. Tang |
| author_facet | H. W. Zhan S. Y. Huang Q. Y. Xiong Z. G. Yuan K. Jiang Z. Wang Y. T. Tang |
| author_sort | H. W. Zhan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Modeling the reconnection rate of collisionless electron-only reconnection presents a theoretical challenge. Unlike traditional magnetic reconnection with ion coupling, electron-only reconnection has a higher reconnection rate due to the magnetic flux being frozen in the electron flow, which is constrained by the electron-Alfvénic velocity rather than the ion-Alfvénic velocity. Recent observations have revealed that the electron-only reconnection rate is about 0.23, which is at the high end of the theoretical range, and the electron flow velocity in the outflow region falls significantly below the electron-Alfvénic velocity. Based on MHD and gyrokinetic theory, we propose a steady-state analytical model to calculate the reconnection rate in electron-only reconnection. Our model demonstrates that the electric field generated in the outflow direction by the decoupling between ions and electrons in the outflow region plays a crucial role in suppressing electron-only reconnection. The plasma beta value negatively affects the reconnection rate in electron-only reconnection, i.e., the larger the plasma beta, the smaller the reconnection rate. The analytical results of our model align well with the reconnection rates reported in previous studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5bdee27c08614314942cd05e2a82fd2f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-5bdee27c08614314942cd05e2a82fd2f2025-08-20T03:22:22ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01986222310.3847/1538-4357/addeceAn Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only ReconnectionH. W. Zhan0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4006-6162S. Y. Huang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3595-2525Q. Y. Xiong2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1840-3281Z. G. Yuan3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3756-3507K. Jiang4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7889-0507Z. Wang5Y. T. Tang6School of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnSchool of Earth and Space Science and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China ; shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cnModeling the reconnection rate of collisionless electron-only reconnection presents a theoretical challenge. Unlike traditional magnetic reconnection with ion coupling, electron-only reconnection has a higher reconnection rate due to the magnetic flux being frozen in the electron flow, which is constrained by the electron-Alfvénic velocity rather than the ion-Alfvénic velocity. Recent observations have revealed that the electron-only reconnection rate is about 0.23, which is at the high end of the theoretical range, and the electron flow velocity in the outflow region falls significantly below the electron-Alfvénic velocity. Based on MHD and gyrokinetic theory, we propose a steady-state analytical model to calculate the reconnection rate in electron-only reconnection. Our model demonstrates that the electric field generated in the outflow direction by the decoupling between ions and electrons in the outflow region plays a crucial role in suppressing electron-only reconnection. The plasma beta value negatively affects the reconnection rate in electron-only reconnection, i.e., the larger the plasma beta, the smaller the reconnection rate. The analytical results of our model align well with the reconnection rates reported in previous studies.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/addeceSolar magnetic reconnectionPlasma astrophysicsPlasma physicsSpace plasmas |
| spellingShingle | H. W. Zhan S. Y. Huang Q. Y. Xiong Z. G. Yuan K. Jiang Z. Wang Y. T. Tang An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection The Astrophysical Journal Solar magnetic reconnection Plasma astrophysics Plasma physics Space plasmas |
| title | An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection |
| title_full | An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection |
| title_fullStr | An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection |
| title_short | An Analytical Model of Reconnection Rate in Electron-only Reconnection |
| title_sort | analytical model of reconnection rate in electron only reconnection |
| topic | Solar magnetic reconnection Plasma astrophysics Plasma physics Space plasmas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/addece |
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