Inertial-Range Reconnection in Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence and in the Solar Wind

TL;DR

This paper investigates inertial-range magnetic reconnection in MHD turbulence and solar wind, revealing stochastic field-line wandering, flux-freezing breakdown, and large-scale reconnection structures through simulation and data analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of inertial-range reconnection in MHD turbulence, linking simulation results to solar wind observations and highlighting the role of turbulence at ion scales.

Findings

Stochastic wandering of magnetic field lines in turbulence

Breakdown of flux-freezing due to Richardson dispersion

Presence of large-scale reconnection zones with multiple current sheets

Abstract

In situ spacecraft data on the solar wind show events identified as magnetic reconnection with outflows and apparent "`$X$-lines" $10^{3-4}$ times ion scales. To understand the role of turbulence at these scales, we make a case study of an inertial-range reconnection event in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. We observe stochastic wandering of field-lines in space, breakdown of standard magnetic flux-freezing due to Richardson dispersion, and a broadened reconnection zone containing many current sheets. The coarse-grain magnetic geometry is like large-scale reconnection in the solar wind, however, with a hyperbolic flux-tube or "$X$-line" extending over integral length-scales.