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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09424 |
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| _version_ | 1866909735667630080 |
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| author | Haggerty, Colby C. Sikorski, Derek Shay, Michael A. Phan, Tai D. Cassak, Paul A. Murtas, Giulia Pyakurel, Prayash S. |
| author_facet | Haggerty, Colby C. Sikorski, Derek Shay, Michael A. Phan, Tai D. Cassak, Paul A. Murtas, Giulia Pyakurel, Prayash S. |
| contents | We investigate the kinetic effects of upstream, magnetic field-aligned, flow shear on anti-parallel magnetic reconnection using 2.5D Particle-In-Cell simulations. Our results demonstrate that flow shear significantly alters the reconnection process, leading to enhanced ion heating, reduced outflow speeds, and a modified reconnection geometry. In contrast to previous Hall Magnetohydrodynaic (MHD) studies, we find that reconnection becomes a more efficient plasma heating mechanism in the presence of sub-Alfvénic flow shear, with ion heating increasing by as much as 300\%. This enhanced heating is achieved by efficiently converting the incoming flow shear energy into thermal energy through istropization in the exhaust. The enhanced heating leads to a pressure gradient away form the x-line exerting a force that reduces the outflow jet speed and slows down the reconnection process. This conversion is due to beam selection effects, mixing and scattering in the exhaust. A theoretical model is developed which predicts well the exhaust heating and outflow speed reduction. These results offer a potential explanation for recent Parker Solar Probe observations of suppressed reconnection in the presence of flow shear and carry significant implications for energy dissipation in turbulent plasmas. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_09424 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Enhancement of Ion Heating in Kinetic, Anti-Parallel Reconnection in the Presence of a Flow Shear Haggerty, Colby C. Sikorski, Derek Shay, Michael A. Phan, Tai D. Cassak, Paul A. Murtas, Giulia Pyakurel, Prayash S. Plasma Physics We investigate the kinetic effects of upstream, magnetic field-aligned, flow shear on anti-parallel magnetic reconnection using 2.5D Particle-In-Cell simulations. Our results demonstrate that flow shear significantly alters the reconnection process, leading to enhanced ion heating, reduced outflow speeds, and a modified reconnection geometry. In contrast to previous Hall Magnetohydrodynaic (MHD) studies, we find that reconnection becomes a more efficient plasma heating mechanism in the presence of sub-Alfvénic flow shear, with ion heating increasing by as much as 300\%. This enhanced heating is achieved by efficiently converting the incoming flow shear energy into thermal energy through istropization in the exhaust. The enhanced heating leads to a pressure gradient away form the x-line exerting a force that reduces the outflow jet speed and slows down the reconnection process. This conversion is due to beam selection effects, mixing and scattering in the exhaust. A theoretical model is developed which predicts well the exhaust heating and outflow speed reduction. These results offer a potential explanation for recent Parker Solar Probe observations of suppressed reconnection in the presence of flow shear and carry significant implications for energy dissipation in turbulent plasmas. |
| title | The Enhancement of Ion Heating in Kinetic, Anti-Parallel Reconnection in the Presence of a Flow Shear |
| topic | Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09424 |