Relativistic Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection

Rostom Mbarek, Colby Haggerty, Lorenzo Sironi, Michael Shay, and Damiano Caprioli

Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 145101 – Published 6 April 2022

Abstract

We derive basic scaling equations for relativistic magnetic reconnection in the general case of asymmetric inflow conditions and obtain predictions for the outflow Lorentz factor and the reconnection rate. Kinetic particle-in-cell simulations show that the outflow speeds as well as the nonthermal spectral index are constrained by the inflowing plasma with the weaker magnetic energy per particle, in agreement with the scaling predictions. These results are significant for understanding nonthermal emission from reconnection in magnetically dominated astrophysical systems, many of which may be asymmetric in nature. The results provide a quantitative approach for including asymmetry on reconnection in the relativistic regime.

Received 17 September 2021
Revised 30 December 2021
Accepted 11 March 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.145101

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Cosmic ray acceleration Magnetic reconnection Particle acceleration in plasmas Particle astrophysics

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsPlasma Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Rostom Mbarek ^*

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA; Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA and Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

Colby Haggerty

Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

Lorenzo Sironi

Department of Astronomy and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA

Michael Shay

Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA

Damiano Caprioli

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA and Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IIllinois 60637, USA