Origin of reconnecting current sheets in shocked turbulent plasma

Author:

Wang Shimou123ORCID,Lu San123ORCID,Lu Quanming123ORCID,Wang Rongsheng123ORCID,Ren Junyi123ORCID,Gao Xinliang123,Guo Jin123ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Deep Space Exploration Laboratory/School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.

2. CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology/CAS Key Lab of Geospace Environment, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.

3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Astronautical Science and Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection, the rearrangement of magnetic field topologies, is a fundamental plasma process throughout the universe, which converts magnetic energy to plasma kinetic energy and results in particle energization. A current sheet is a prerequisite for the occurrence of magnetic reconnection. It has been well documented that reconnecting current sheets are prevalent in turbulent plasmas. However, how these current sheets are formed remains unclear. Among natural plasmas, the region downstream of the Earth’s bow shock, the magnetosheath, is one of the most turbulent. Here, we show that the reconnecting current sheets in the turbulent magnetosheath originate from the waves in the region upstream of the shock. Once excited, the upstream waves are transmitted across the shock, compressed, and then transformed into current sheets in the downstream region. Magnetic reconnection subsequently occurs in these downstream current sheets. This process can be generalized to various shocked plasmas in astrophysical and laboratorial environments where turbulent magnetic reconnection should be common.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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