Acceleration of charged particles in magnetic reconnection: Solar flares, the magnetosphere, and solar wind
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Date
1986-03
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Citation of Original Publication
Goldstein, M. L., W. H. Matthaeus, and J. J. Ambrosiano. “Acceleration of Charged Particles in Magnetic Reconnection: Solar Flares, the Magnetosphere, and Solar Wind.” Geophysical Research Letters 13, no. 3 (1986): 205–8. https://doi.org/10.1029/GL013i003p00205.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain Mark 1.0
Public Domain Mark 1.0
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Abstract
A possible source of free energy available for accelerating charged particles is conversion of magnetic energy to particle energy in reconnecting magnetic fields. Recent simulations using test particles suggests that reconnection may efficiently accelerate particles to the maximum energies that are observed in several astrophysical contexts. A simple analytic formula is used in conjunction with the simulation results to predict the maximum energy achievable in a particular plasma environment with the result that in solar flares reconnection is capable of accelerating particles to several GeV. In magnetospheric substorms the predicted maximum can reach several hundred keV, and near magnetic sector crossings in the solar wind the maximum energy can approach 100 keV.