Line-Tied Flux Rope Relaxation and Reconnection: A 3D Kinetic Case Study
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866915839122341888 |
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| author | Pawlak, Joshua Juno, James TenBarge, Jason M. |
| author_facet | Pawlak, Joshua Juno, James TenBarge, Jason M. |
| contents | Magnetic flux ropes are ubiquitous magnetic structures found in plasmas ranging from astrophysical to laboratory. We employ a newly-developed parallel-kinetic-perpendicular-moment (PKPM) model to simulate the 3D interaction and evolution of two line-tied flux ropes at realistic laboratory plasma parameters, while retaining essential parallel kinetic physics in the system. We find that ropes undergo a current-dependent transition from a diamagnetic to paramagnetic regime, which we quantify with a simple analytic model. Although the macroscopic structural evolution qualitatively differs significantly between these regimes, analyzing the reconnection in proper field-aligned coordinates reveals that the underlying kinetic dynamics remain similar. Using the squashing factor and quasi-potential as diagnostics of 3D magnetic reconnection, we identify the formation of a quasi-separatrix layer and show that these quantities provide consistent metrics for reconnection rate and structure. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_05855 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Line-Tied Flux Rope Relaxation and Reconnection: A 3D Kinetic Case Study Pawlak, Joshua Juno, James TenBarge, Jason M. Plasma Physics Magnetic flux ropes are ubiquitous magnetic structures found in plasmas ranging from astrophysical to laboratory. We employ a newly-developed parallel-kinetic-perpendicular-moment (PKPM) model to simulate the 3D interaction and evolution of two line-tied flux ropes at realistic laboratory plasma parameters, while retaining essential parallel kinetic physics in the system. We find that ropes undergo a current-dependent transition from a diamagnetic to paramagnetic regime, which we quantify with a simple analytic model. Although the macroscopic structural evolution qualitatively differs significantly between these regimes, analyzing the reconnection in proper field-aligned coordinates reveals that the underlying kinetic dynamics remain similar. Using the squashing factor and quasi-potential as diagnostics of 3D magnetic reconnection, we identify the formation of a quasi-separatrix layer and show that these quantities provide consistent metrics for reconnection rate and structure. |
| title | Line-Tied Flux Rope Relaxation and Reconnection: A 3D Kinetic Case Study |
| topic | Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05855 |