Tests and limits of Vlasov code simulations and its application to null-helicity and co-helicity reconnection
Abstract
Magnetic reconnection is an important process in many space plasmas (e.g. geomagnetic substorms, coronal mass ejections). The large scale structure of these phenomena is usually described within MHD. Reconnection requires a non ideal region (resistivity) in the plasma. The cause of a non ideal behaviour in localized regions could for example be anomalous resistivity in thin current sheets. The formation of these thin current sheets can be understand within the framework of MHD. The further evolution of the current sheets cannot be investigated with MHD, because the sheet width becomes comparable with kinetic scales like the ion gyro radius and kinetic effects have to be taken into account. For many space plasmas, the kinetic processes are collisionless and can thus be described by the Vlasov equation. A code to solve the Vlasov equation has been developed and we report first results obtained with the code. To test the accuracy and limits of our code we carry out several consistency checks, which can be compared with analytic results, in particular phase mixing and Landau damping. We also apply our Vlasov code to collisionless magnetic reconnection in the magnetospheric plasma sheet and at the magnetopause.
- Publication:
-
Space Plasma Simulation
- Pub Date:
- 2001
- Bibcode:
- 2001sps..proc...58W