Kinetic Alfvén Wave Dissipation and Electron Acceleration Profiles in Magnetic Reconnection Sheets

International Journal of Physics | Vol. 4, No. 9, September 2013 | pp. 65–72

DOI: 10.46882/2013/IJP/000041

Research Article

Title: Kinetic Alfvén Wave Dissipation and Electron Acceleration Profiles in Magnetic Reconnection Sheets

Names of Authors: C. H. Jenkins¹, A. L. Mendoza²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; ²Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico

Abstract: Magnetic reconnection is the fundamental plasma process responsible for explosive energy release events in solar flares and planetary magnetospheres. This paper examines the dissipation mechanisms of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) and models the resulting electron acceleration profiles within a scaling magnetic reconnection layer. We carried out high-resolution two-and-a-half-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations under a guide-field configuration. The initial plasma beta parameter was set to 0.05, and the ion-to-electron mass ratio was configured at 1836.0 to accurately track kinetic scale limits. Our numerical simulations show that as the reconnection jet collides with the ambient magnetic field, it excites intense KAWs at the exhaust boundaries. These waves display short perpendicular wavelengths that match the local electron skin depth scale. The wave dissipation process generates a parallel electric field amplitude of E = 12.5 mV/m. This field efficiently trapping and accelerates thermal electrons into a non-thermal power-law distribution. The calculated energy spectrum exhibits a power-law index of p = -3.2, which matches solar flare X-ray observations. These findings show that kinetic wave dissipation at the margins of reconnection sheets is a primary mechanism driving high-energy particle acceleration in space plasmas.

Keywords: Magnetic reconnection; particle-in-cell simulation; kinetic Alfvén waves; electron acceleration; space plasma; solar flares

Manuscript Timeline: Received: May 12, 2013; Revised: July 03, 2013; Accepted: July 25, 2013; Published: September 10, 2013

Citation: Jenkins, C. H., & Mendoza, A. L. (2013). Kinetic Alfvén Wave Dissipation and Electron Acceleration Profiles in Magnetic Reconnection Sheets. International Journal of Physics, 4(9), 65–72.

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