The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Energizing Protons and Heavier Ions at the Heliospheric Current Sheet
Fuente:
arXiv
Gespeichert in:
| Hauptverfasser: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2026
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
| _version_ | 1866914567622230016 |
|---|---|
| author | Murtas, Giulia Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan Arrò, Giuseppe Seo, Jeongbhin Haggerty, Colby |
| author_facet | Murtas, Giulia Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan Arrò, Giuseppe Seo, Jeongbhin Haggerty, Colby |
| contents | During near-Sun crossings of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed populations of high-energy protons and heavier ions indicating possible energization by magnetic reconnection up to 10s -- 100s keV nucleon$^{-1}$. Here we study ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection at the HCS. To estimate ion energization, we solve the Parker transport equation coupled to a large-scale 2D MHD reconnection simulation. We find that multiple ion species develop power-law distributions with both spectral index and high-energy cutoff $E_{\text{max}}$ consistent with in-situ data. By accounting for the injection physics determined by kinetic simulations, we confirm that the charge-to-mass ratio scales as $E_{\text{max}} \propto (Q/M)^α$ with $α\sim 0.8-1.1$, approximately consistent with PSP measurements in the broader range $α\sim 0.6-1.7$. In the limit where ions are injected at the same energy per nucleon, $α$ can be as low as $\sim 0.3$. These findings further support the role of magnetic reconnection in producing high-energy heavy ions at the HCS. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_15068 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Energizing Protons and Heavier Ions at the Heliospheric Current Sheet Murtas, Giulia Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan Arrò, Giuseppe Seo, Jeongbhin Haggerty, Colby Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Plasma Physics During near-Sun crossings of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed populations of high-energy protons and heavier ions indicating possible energization by magnetic reconnection up to 10s -- 100s keV nucleon$^{-1}$. Here we study ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection at the HCS. To estimate ion energization, we solve the Parker transport equation coupled to a large-scale 2D MHD reconnection simulation. We find that multiple ion species develop power-law distributions with both spectral index and high-energy cutoff $E_{\text{max}}$ consistent with in-situ data. By accounting for the injection physics determined by kinetic simulations, we confirm that the charge-to-mass ratio scales as $E_{\text{max}} \propto (Q/M)^α$ with $α\sim 0.8-1.1$, approximately consistent with PSP measurements in the broader range $α\sim 0.6-1.7$. In the limit where ions are injected at the same energy per nucleon, $α$ can be as low as $\sim 0.3$. These findings further support the role of magnetic reconnection in producing high-energy heavy ions at the HCS. |
| title | The Role of Magnetic Reconnection in Energizing Protons and Heavier Ions at the Heliospheric Current Sheet |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.15068 |