The electron canonical battery effect in magnetic reconnection: Completion of the electron canonical vorticity framework
Abstract
A widespread practice in studying magnetic reconnection is to examine the electron momentum equation. Here, we present an alternative, ab initio framework that examines the motion of the electron canonical vorticity, which is the curl of the electron canonical momentum. The competition between just two terms—the convective term and the electron canonical battery term—determines the dynamics of electron canonical vorticity and equivalently the electron physics down to first principles. To demonstrate the power of this approach, the growth, saturation, stability, and morphology of the electron diffusion region are explained within the electron canonical vorticity framework. The framework provides a clear distinction between reconnection models where the frozen-in property of the magnetic field is violated by electron inertia and by pressure tensor effects such as electron viscosity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.5122225
Entities
People
- Paul M. Bellan
- Young Dae Yoon
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- California Institute of Technology
- United States Department of Energy