Tension of toroidal magnetic field in reconnection plasmoids and relativistic jets

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the tension of toroidal magnetic fields influences plasmoid dynamics during relativistic magnetic reconnection, with implications for jet luminosity and flare activity in astrophysical black holes.

Contribution

It provides the first kinetic simulation analysis of toroidal magnetic tension effects on plasmoid energy density and mergers in relativistic reconnection.

Findings

Plasmoid cores are dominated by plasma energy density up to certain guide fields.

Relativistic plasmoid mergers can compress energy density by over tenfold.

Secondary plasmoid formation enhances energy compression and jet luminosity.

Abstract

Toroidal magnetic field is a key ingredient of relativistic jets launched by certain accreting astrophysical black holes, and of plasmoids emerging from the tearing instability during magnetic reconnection, a candidate dissipation mechanism in jets. Tension of toroidal field is an anisotropic force that can compress local energy and momentum densities. We investigate this effect in plasmoids produced during relativistic reconnection initiated from a Harris layer by means of kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical simulations, varying the system size (including 3D cases), magnetisation, or guide field. We find that: (1) plasmoid cores are dominated by plasma energy density for guide fields up to B_z ~ B_0; (2) relaxed 'monster' plasmoids compress plasma energy density only modestly (by factor ~3 above the initial level for drifting particle population); (3) energy density compressions by factors >~10 are achieved during plasmoid mergers, especially with the emergence of secondary plasmoids. This kinetic-scale effect can be combined with a global focusing of the jet Poynting flux along the quasi-cylindrical bunched spine (a proposed jet layer adjacent to the cylindrical core) due to poloidal line bunching (a prolonged effect of tension of the jet toroidal field) to enhance the luminosity of rapid radiation flares from blazars. The case of M87 as a misaligned blazar is discussed.