Radiative kinetic simulations of steady-state relativistic plasmoid magnetic reconnection

TL;DR

This paper uses 2D particle-in-cell simulations to study relativistic magnetic reconnection in electron-positron plasma, incorporating synchrotron radiation to analyze emission signatures, plasmoid dynamics, and flare phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation framework that includes radiative cooling effects and explores how plasmoid size and magnetization influence emission and particle acceleration.

Findings

Large plasmoids dominate observed synchrotron emission.

Rapid flares are linked to plasmoid mergers.

High magnetization leads to broken power-law particle spectra.

Abstract

We present the results of 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic magnetic reconnection (RMR) in electron-positron plasma, including the dynamical influence of the synchrotron radiation process, and integrating the observable emission signatures. The simulations are initiated with a single Harris current layer with a central gap that triggers the RMR process. We achieve a steady-state reconnection with unrestricted outflows by means of open boundary conditions. The radiative cooling efficiency is regulated by the choice of initial plasma temperature Theta. We explore different values of Theta and of the background magnetisation sigma_0. Throughout the simulations, plasmoids are generated in the central region of the layer, and they evolve at different rates, achieving a wide range of sizes. The gaps between plasmoids are filled by smooth relativistic outflows called minijets, whose contribution to the observed radiation is very limited due to their low particle densities. Small-sized plasmoids are rapidly accelerated, however, they have lower contributions to the observed emission, despite stronger relativistic beaming. Large-sized plasmoids are slow, but produce most of the observed synchrotron emission, with major part of their radiation produced within the central cores, the density of which is enhanced by radiative cooling. Synchrotron lightcurves show rapid bright flares that can be identified as originating from mergers between small/fast plasmoids and large/slow targets moving in the same direction. In the high-magnetisation case, the accelerated particles form a broken power-law energy distribution with a soft tail produced by particles accelerated in the minijets.