Seeds for collisionless reconnection

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model for seed formation of collisionless magnetic reconnection involving microscopic magnetic islands and X points, independent of plasma instabilities, which could trigger large-scale reconnection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel microscopic model for seed formation of collisionless reconnection based on magnetic islands and X points without plasma instability dependence.

Findings

Magnetic islands and X points form from flux exchange at microscopic scales.

Seeds can ignite large-scale collisionless reconnection.

Model applies Landau-Ginsburg boundary conditions.

Abstract

A stationary, two-dimensional, and non-driven antiparallel magnetic field configuration consisting of a central current film, flanked by two non-magnetic domains of electron inertial scale, resembling the Josephson model. Landau-Ginsburg conditions apply at the boundaries to the oppositely directed external magnetic fields, whose sources are located at infinity. On the microscopic level sufficiently large magnetic islands and X points form from exchange of small numbers of elementary magnetic fluxes without reference to any plasma instabilities which on these scales are purely electrostatic. These may serve as seeds to ignite large-scale collisionless reconnection.