关于磁重联区三维磁零点的卫星观测研究

磁重联是等离子体中磁场能量快速转换为粒子动能和热能的主要途径,是空间物理和等离子体物理中的重要现象.磁重联过程发生在磁场的拓扑分形面上;这种分形面一般是由磁零点附近磁场梯度张量的本征矢量确定的.磁零点的三维特性要求至少空间4点的同时测量.Cluster计划提供了迄今为止唯一的卫星测量手段.基于Poincare指数方法分析Cluster卫星在地球磁尾的探测数据,(1) 找到了磁重联过程中存在4种磁零点的证据;(2) 发现磁零点周围磁场的空间特征尺度大约为离子惯性长度,从而首次揭示霍尔效应可能在三维磁重联中起重要作用;(3) 在重联区找到匹配的磁零点对,并计算出零点连线的长度,确定了所产生的磁场的拓扑分形面;(4) 发现在零点连线附近存在低杂波频率的电磁振荡,这为磁重联过程中可能的电子加速、加热机制提供了观测基础.     

Electron dynamics in collisionless magnetic reconnection

Magnetic reconnection provides a physical mechanism for fast energy conversion from magnetic energy to plasma kinetic energy. It is closely associated with many explosive phenomena in space plasma, usually collisionless in character. For this reason, researchers have become more interested in collisionless magnetic reconnection. In this paper, the various roles of electron dynamics in collisionless magnetic reconnection are reviewed. First, at the ion inertial length scale, ions and electrons are decoupled. The resulting Hall effect determines the reconnection electric field. Moreover, electron motions determine the current system inside the reconnection plane and the electron density cavity along the separatrices. The current system in this plane produces an out-of-plane magnetic field. Second, at the electron inertial length scale, the anisotropy of electron pressure determines the magnitude of the reconnection electric field in this region. The production of energetic electrons, which is an important characteristic during magnetic reconnection, is accelerated by the reconnection electric field. In addition, the different topologies, temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the magnetic field affect the accelerating process of electrons and determine the final energy of the accelerated electrons. Third, we discuss results from simulations and spacecraft observations on the secondary magnetic islands produced due to secondary instabilities around the X point, and the associated energetic electrons. Furthermore, progress in laboratory plasma studies is also discussed in regard to electron dynamics during magnetic reconnection. Finally, some unresolved problems are presented.     

Energetic electrons associated with magnetic reconnection in the sheath of interplanetary coronal mass ejection

Magnetic reconnection is an important universal plasma dissipation process that converts magnetic energy into plasma thermal and kinetic energy,and simultaneously changes the magnetic field topology.In this paper,we report the first observation of energetic electrons associated with asymmetric reconnection in the sheath of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection.The magnetic field shear angle was about 151°,implying guide-field reconnection.The width of the exhaust was about 8×104 km.The reconnection rate was estimated as 0.044-0.08,which is consistent with fast reconnection theory and previous observations.We observed flux enhancements of energetic electrons with energy up to 400 keV in this reconnection exhaust.The region where ener- getic electron fluxes were enhanced is located at one pair of separatrices in the higher density hemisphere.We discuss these observation results,and compare with previous observations and recent kinetic simulations.     

Magnetic reconnection from a multiscale instability cascade

Magnetic reconnection, the process whereby magnetic field lines break and then reconnect to form a different topology, underlies critical dynamics of magnetically confined plasmas in both nature and the laboratory. Magnetic reconnection involves localized diffusion of the magnetic field across plasma, yet observed reconnection rates are typically much higher than can be accounted for using classical electrical resistivity. It is generally proposed that the field diffusion underlying fast reconnection results instead from some combination of non-magnetohydrodynamic processes that become important on the 'microscopic' scale of the ion Larmor radius or the ion skin depth. A recent laboratory experiment demonstrated a transition from slow to fast magnetic reconnection when a current channel narrowed to a microscopic scale, but did not address how a macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic system accesses the microscale. Recent theoretical models and numerical simulations suggest that a macroscopic, two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic current sheet might do this through a sequence of repetitive tearing and thinning into two-dimensional magnetized plasma structures having successively finer scales. Here we report observations demonstrating a cascade of instabilities from a distinct, macroscopic-scale magnetohydrodynamic instability to a distinct, microscopic-scale (ion skin depth) instability associated with fast magnetic reconnection. These observations resolve the full three-dimensional dynamics and give insight into the frequently impulsive nature of reconnection in space and laboratory plasmas.     

In situ detection of collisionless reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail

Magnetic reconnection is the process by which magnetic field lines of opposite polarity reconfigure to a lower-energy state, with the release of magnetic energy to the surroundings. Reconnection at the Earth's dayside magnetopause and in the magnetotail allows the solar wind into the magnetosphere. It begins in a small 'diffusion region', where a kink in the newly reconnected lines produces jets of plasma away from the region. Although plasma jets from reconnection have previously been reported, the physical processes that underlie jet formation have remained poorly understood because of the scarcity of in situ observations of the minuscule diffusion region. Theoretically, both resistive and collisionless processes can initiate reconnection, but which process dominates in the magnetosphere is still debated. Here we report the serendipitous encounter of the Wind spacecraft with an active reconnection diffusion region, in which are detected key processes predicted by models of collisionless reconnection. The data therefore demonstrate that collisionless reconnection occurs in the magnetotail.     

A UNIFIED MODEL FOR SOLAR FLARES

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Design and demonstration of a 0.22 THz gyrotron oscillator

Gyrotrons are the most powerful terahertz sources and have potential applications in many areas. A terahertz gyrotron oscillator with a pulsed solenoid producing up to an 8 T magnetic field has been designed, constructed and tested. In a 7.96 T magnetic field, 3 kW output power radiations at 0.22 THz frequency have been generated. Supported by the State Key Development Program of Basic Research of China (Grant No. 2007CB310400) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 1067611)     

A magnetic reconnection X-line extending more than 390 Earth radii in the solar wind

Magnetic reconnection in a current sheet converts magnetic energy into particle energy, a process that is important in many laboratory, space and astrophysical contexts. It is not known at present whether reconnection is fundamentally a process that can occur over an extended region in space or whether it is patchy and unpredictable in nature. Frequent reports of small-scale flux ropes and flow channels associated with reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere raise the possibility that reconnection is intrinsically patchy, with each reconnection X-line (the line along which oppositely directed magnetic field lines reconnect) extending at most a few Earth radii (R(E)), even though the associated current sheets span many tens or hundreds of R(E). Here we report three-spacecraft observations of accelerated flow associated with reconnection in a current sheet embedded in the solar wind flow, where the reconnection X-line extended at least 390R(E) (or 2.5 x 10(6) km). Observations of this and 27 similar events imply that reconnection is fundamentally a large-scale process. Patchy reconnection observed in the Earth's magnetosphere is therefore likely to be a geophysical effect associated with fluctuating boundary conditions, rather than a fundamental property of reconnection. Our observations also reveal, surprisingly, that reconnection can operate in a quasi-steady-state manner even when undriven by the external flow.     

Recent progresses in theoretical studies and satellite observations for collisionless magnetic reconnection

As an essential mechanism in large scale fast magnetic energy releases and field reconfigurations processes in space,astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas,magnetic reconnection,particularly collisionless magnetic reconnection,has been studied for more than 65 years.Many progresses have been achieved in recent years and basic features of the process have been well understood,largely due to more and more satellite observation data available in the last decade.However,a few outstanding issues are still remained unresolved.We in the paper review the development of collisionless magnetic reconnection studies and major achievements in recent years,and also briefly discuss the open questions remained to be answered in studies of collisionless magnetic reconnection.     

Extended magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause from detection of bi-directional jets

Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts magnetic energy into bi-directional plasma jets; it is believed to be the dominant process by which solar-wind energy enters the Earth's magnetosphere. This energy is subsequently dissipated by magnetic storms and aurorae. Previous single-spacecraft observations revealed only single jets at the magnetopause--while the existence of a counter-streaming jet was implicitly assumed, no experimental confirmation was available. Here we report in situ two-spacecraft observations of bi-directional jets at the magnetopause, finding evidence for a stable and extended reconnection line; the latter implies substantial entry of the solar wind into the magnetosphere. We conclude that reconnection is determined by large-scale interactions between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, rather than by local conditions at the magnetopause.     

Transport of solar wind into Earth's magnetosphere through rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices

Establishing the mechanisms by which the solar wind enters Earth's magnetosphere is one of the biggest goals of magnetospheric physics, as it forms the basis of space weather phenomena such as magnetic storms and aurorae. It is generally believed that magnetic reconnection is the dominant process, especially during southward solar-wind magnetic field conditions when the solar-wind and geomagnetic fields are antiparallel at the low-latitude magnetopause. But the plasma content in the outer magnetosphere increases during northward solar-wind magnetic field conditions, contrary to expectation if reconnection is dominant. Here we show that during northward solar-wind magnetic field conditions-in the absence of active reconnection at low latitudes-there is a solar-wind transport mechanism associated with the nonlinear phase of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This can supply plasma sources for various space weather phenomena.     

The early-warning effects of assimilation of the observations over the large-scale slope of the “World Roof” on its downstream weather forecasting

To improve the numerical simulation of the severe snow storms occurred in the south of China and the middle/lower reaches of Changjiang River during January of 2008, the observations from the automatic weather stations (AWS) over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) and its surrounding areas were assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasts (WRF) model using multi-cycle 3-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR). Due to the large-scale special topography of the QXP and its surrounding areas which may reach up to the mid-troposphere, the AWS located at different height on the deep slope of the plateau are different to those located on plains and take a role analogous in some extent to that of radio soundings in obtaining the vertical “profile” information of the atmosphere, and have the advantages in the aspects of sampling frequency, location/height fixing, and synchronization. The information captured by these AWS may carry the early-warning “strong signals” in the upstream sensitive area for the downstream weather systems to the east of the plateau and thus the assimilation of these AWS data is expected to lead to significant improvements on the simulation of the severe weather system occurred in its downstream areas through adjusting the 3-dimensional structures of the atmospheric thermal-dynamics for the initial conditions of the model. This study indicates that the assimilated information of moisture, temperature and pressure carried in the observations of AWS over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surrounding areas is very important and useful in the forecasting of precipitation in its downstream areas. Supported Jointly by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 90502003 and 40625017), LaSW Project (Grant No. 2008LASWZI04), the Key Project of AMS (Grant No. 2008Z006), the JICA Program and the International Sci-Tech Cooperative Project (Grant No. 2007DFB20210)     

Rapid magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere mediated by whistler waves

Magnetic reconnection has a crucial role in a variety of plasma environments in providing a mechanism for the fast release of stored magnetic energy. During reconnection the plasma forms a 'magnetic nozzle', like the nozzle of a hose, and the rate is controlled by how fast plasma can flow out of the nozzle. But the traditional picture of reconnection has been unable to explain satisfactorily the short timescales associated with the energy release, because the flow is mediated by heavy ions with a slow resultant velocity. Recent theoretical work has suggested that the energy release is instead mediated by electrons in waves called 'whistlers', which move much faster for a given perturbation of the magnetic field because of their smaller mass. Moreover, the whistler velocity and associated plasma velocity both increase as the 'nozzle' becomes narrower. A narrower nozzle therefore no longer reduces the total plasma flow-the outflow is independent of the size of the nozzle. Here we report observations demonstrating that reconnection in the magnetosphere is driven by whistlers, in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.     

Electron density hole and quadruple structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> during collisionless magnetic reconnection

In collisionless reconnection,the magnetic field near the separatrix is stronger than that around the X-line,so an electron-beam can be formed and flows toward the X-line,which leads to a decrease of the electron density near the separatrix.Having been accelerated around the X-line,the electrons flow out along the magnetic field lines in the inner side of the separatrix.A quadruple structure of the Hall magnetic field By is formed by such a current system.A 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation code is used ...     

Low-frequency waves in magnetic reconnection

The characteristics of low-frequency waves in magnetic reconnection are studied using two-dimensional hybrid simulation code. In a coordinate system moving with fluid,the time series of a magnetic field perpendicular to the magnetic reconnection plane,By, is transformed into the power spectrum via fast Fourier transformation,while the wave propagation direction and polarization are determined by minimum variance analysis of the electric field.The results show that low-frequency Alfvén ion-cyclotron waves dominate the reconnection area.These waves have frequencies 0-1Ωp(where Ωp is the local proton gyro frequency)and all are left-handed circularly polarized.Among these waves,large-amplitude turbulence,with frequencies of 0-0.6Ωp and isotropic propagation,dominates the outflow regions.This can cause the reversal of By in the quadrupole structure.In the inflow regions, dominant waves,propagating mainly parallel to the ambient magnetic field,have higher frequencies and smaller amplitudes.The frequency of the main peak of wave energy is usually higher than 0.5Ωp.     

Numerical study of magnetic reconnection process near interplanetary current sheet

The third order accurate upwind compact difference scheme has been applied to the numerical study of the magnetic reconnection process possibly occurring near the interplanetary current sheet, under the framework of the two-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Our results here show that the driven reconnection near the current sheet can occur within 10—30 min for the interplanetary high magnetic Reynolds number, R_M =2 000—10 000, the stable magnetic reconnection structure can be formed in hour-order of magnitude, and there are some ba- sic properties such as the multiple X-line reconnections, vortical velocity structures, filament current systems, splitting and collapse of the high-density plasma bulk. These results are helpful in understanding and identifying the magnetic reconnection phenomena near the interplanetary current sheets.     

Plasma sheet stretching accompanied by field aligned energetic ion fluxes observed by the NUADU instrument aboard TC-2

The NUADU (NeUtral Atom Detector Unit) instrument aboard TC-2 recorded 4л solid angle images of charged particles (E >180 keV) spiraling around the magnetic field lines in the near-Earth plasma sheet (at ~ -7 RE, equatorial dawn-to-night side) during a geomagnetic storm (Dst =-219 nT) on August 24, 2005. Energetic ion beam events characterized by symmetrical, ring-like, solid angle distributions around ambient magnetic field lines were observed during a 34-minute traversal of the plasma sheet by the TC-2 spacecraft. Also, observations during these multiple crossings of the plasma sheet were monitored by the magnetometer experiment (FGM) aboard the same spacecraft. During each crossing, a whistler-mode chorus enhancement was observed in the anisotropic area by the TC-2 low frequency electromagnetic wave detector (LFEW/TC-2) at a frequency just above that of the local lower hybrid wave. A comparison of the ion pitch angle distribution (PAD) map with the ambient magnetic field shows that an enhancement in the field aligned energetic ion flux was accompanied by tailward stretching of the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet. In contrast, the perpendicular ion-flux enhancement was accompanied by a signature indicating the corresponding shrinkage of the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet. Since both parallel ion-flux and perpendicular ion-flux enhancements occurred intermittently, the data were interpreted to imply a dynamical, oscillatory process of the magnetic field line (stretching and shrinking) in the near-Earth plasma sheet, which might have acted to help establish an interaction region in this area which would support continuous aurora-substorm triggering during the ongoing magnetic storm. The whistler-mode chorus may have been produced due to ion gyro-resonance during particle pitch angle diffusion after the plasma sheet compression.     

磁螺度以及在太阳物理上的应用

磁螺度应用到天体物理尤其是太阳物理上,从而变为一个热门的领域.螺度用以描述磁场的复杂结构,例如磁场的扭曲、缠绕、连结、编辫,作为一个物理量,与能量不同,在完全理想的磁流体力学(MHD)中,它是一个守恒量.在磁重联过程中,螺度近似守恒,应用到太阳大气上,可以计算磁螺度的传输.最近的观测发现在太阳上螺度存在南北半球的不对称性,北半球主要为负螺度,南半球正螺度占优势;阐述了在太阳大气不同层次这种不对称性的表现形式,并介绍了对这种规律的有代表性的解释;介绍了国际国内螺度研究的最新进展,指出了有待于解决的一些关键问题.     

宇宙等离子体中调制相互作用

该文对等离子体天体物理中的强湍动进行了评述并强调地等离子体的基本相互作用。分析了控制湍动现象的Ｚａｋｈａｒｏｖ方程讨论了天体物理中一些有些兴趣的课题，诸如加速、爆发、有动力所引发的磁重联，等离激元所诱发的自生场以及自引力系统的非线性结构。