Particle acceleration in the presence of weak turbulence at an X-type neutral point

Burge, C.A., Petkaki, P. and MacKinnon, A.L. (2012) Particle acceleration in the presence of weak turbulence at an X-type neutral point. Solar Physics, 280(2), pp. 575-590. (doi: 10.1007/s11207-012-9963-2)

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Abstract

We simulate the likely noisy situation near a reconnection region by superposing many 2D linear reconnection eigenmodes. The superposition of modes on the steady state X-type magnetic field creates multiple X- and O-type neutral points close to the original neutral point and so increases the size of the non-adiabatic region. We study test particle trajectories of initially thermal protons in these fields. Protons become trapped in this region and are accelerated by the turbulent electric field to energies up to 1 MeV in time scales relevant to solar flares. Higher energies are achieved due to the interaction of particles with increasingly turbulent electric and magnetic fields.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:MacKinnon, Dr Alexander
Authors: Burge, C.A., Petkaki, P., and MacKinnon, A.L.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Interdisciplinary Science Education Technologies and Learning
Journal Name:Solar Physics
Publisher:Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
ISSN:0038-0938
ISSN (Online):1573-093x
Published Online:11 April 2012
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
First Published:First published in Solar Physics
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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