Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback
Magnetic reconnection regions in space and astrophysics are known as active particle acceleration sites. There is ample evidence showing that energetic particles can take a substantial amount of converted energy during magnetic reconnection. However, there has been a lack of studies understanding th...
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8e64 |
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| author | Jeongbhin Seo Fan Guo Xiaocan Li Hui Li |
| author_facet | Jeongbhin Seo Fan Guo Xiaocan Li Hui Li |
| author_sort | Jeongbhin Seo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Magnetic reconnection regions in space and astrophysics are known as active particle acceleration sites. There is ample evidence showing that energetic particles can take a substantial amount of converted energy during magnetic reconnection. However, there has been a lack of studies understanding the backreaction of energetic particles at magnetohydrodynamical scales in magnetic reconnection. To address this, we have developed a new computational method to explore the feedback by nonthermal energetic particles. This approach considers the backreaction from these energetic particles by incorporating their pressure into magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. The pressure of the energetic particles is evaluated from their distribution evolved through Parker’s transport equation, solved using stochastic differential equations (SDEs), so we coin the name MHD-SDE. Applying this method to low- β magnetic reconnection simulations, we find that reconnection is capable of accelerating a large fraction of energetic particles that contain a substantial amount of energy. When the feedback from these particles is included, their pressure suppresses the compression structures generated by magnetic reconnection, thereby mediating particle energization. Consequently, the feedback from energetic particles results in a steeper power-law energy spectrum. These findings suggest that feedback from nonthermal energetic particles plays a crucial role in magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-af70abaae7cc4601a8da1ef3c178a4b7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-af70abaae7cc4601a8da1ef3c178a4b72025-08-20T02:38:25ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01977214610.3847/1538-4357/ad8e64Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle FeedbackJeongbhin Seo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5550-8667Fan Guo1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4315-3755Xiaocan Li2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5278-8029Hui Li3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3556-6568Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM 87545, USALos Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA; New Mexico Consortium , Los Alamos, NM 87544, USALos Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA; Dartmouth College , Hanover, NH 03750, USALos Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM 87545, USAMagnetic reconnection regions in space and astrophysics are known as active particle acceleration sites. There is ample evidence showing that energetic particles can take a substantial amount of converted energy during magnetic reconnection. However, there has been a lack of studies understanding the backreaction of energetic particles at magnetohydrodynamical scales in magnetic reconnection. To address this, we have developed a new computational method to explore the feedback by nonthermal energetic particles. This approach considers the backreaction from these energetic particles by incorporating their pressure into magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. The pressure of the energetic particles is evaluated from their distribution evolved through Parker’s transport equation, solved using stochastic differential equations (SDEs), so we coin the name MHD-SDE. Applying this method to low- β magnetic reconnection simulations, we find that reconnection is capable of accelerating a large fraction of energetic particles that contain a substantial amount of energy. When the feedback from these particles is included, their pressure suppresses the compression structures generated by magnetic reconnection, thereby mediating particle energization. Consequently, the feedback from energetic particles results in a steeper power-law energy spectrum. These findings suggest that feedback from nonthermal energetic particles plays a crucial role in magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8e64MagnetohydrodynamicsSolar magnetic reconnection |
| spellingShingle | Jeongbhin Seo Fan Guo Xiaocan Li Hui Li Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback The Astrophysical Journal Magnetohydrodynamics Solar magnetic reconnection |
| title | Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback |
| title_full | Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback |
| title_fullStr | Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback |
| title_full_unstemmed | Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback |
| title_short | Proton Acceleration in Low-β Magnetic Reconnection with Energetic Particle Feedback |
| title_sort | proton acceleration in low β magnetic reconnection with energetic particle feedback |
| topic | Magnetohydrodynamics Solar magnetic reconnection |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8e64 |
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