Relativistic reconnection

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Relativistic reconnection

• Yuri Lyubarsky
• Ben-Gurion University, Israel

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current sheet
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j
g
B
l
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shock
l
j
j
g1
g2
no dissipation
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shock
l
j
j
g1
g2
negligible dissipation
partial dissipation
total dissipation
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Total dissipation of alternating fields at the
shock if
Total dissipation in a freely expanding flow at
In pulsars
Termination shocks in PWNe at
Bow shocks in binary pulsars at
Dissipation at shocks in AGNs Levinson van
Putten 1997 in
GRBs Fan, Wei Zhang 2004
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Particle acceleration talks by Drake and Hoshino
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Reconnection at
inflow
outflow
resistivity
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current sheet in the pulsar wind
jet with tangled magnetic fields (Heinz
Begelman 2000)
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Petschek reconnection
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slow shock
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Time dependent reconnection Tolstykh, Semenov
Heyn, poster 48
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Relativistic Petschek reconnection in case
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B0
vin
2y
Bz,out
pressure balance
Gout
energy balance
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reconnection
force-free MHD turbulence
cascade
dissipation
Thompson Blaes 1998 Troischt Thompson 2004
Cho 2005 Luo Melrose 2006
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Conclusions
1. In freely expanding outflows, rB/l grows
with the distance however total dissipation
of alternating field generally occurs at too
large distance
2. Dissipation at the termination shock is a
plausible mechanism, at least in pulsar winds

• 3. Fast reconnection of tangled field is possible
  if lltR/g.
• At sgtgt1, magnetic energy is generally not
  transferred
• to the plasma. Dissipation via turbulent MHD
  cascade?