Guide Field Reconnection: Energy Transfer and Global Constraints in PIC and MHD Simulations

Using PIC and resistive MHD simulations of the Newton challenge problem with a guide field, we investigate energy conversion in low and high beta current sheets. The energy transfer from reconnection mainly consists of a redirection of Poynting flux and a generation of enthalpy flux, involving compressional heating and Joule dissipation, whereas only a small amount of energy gets converted to bulk flow energy. Joule heating appears to play a relatively larger role in low-beta current sheets than for high beta. We also investigate the conservation of global quantities on moving and reconnected field lines, such as mass, entropy and the displacement of field line footpoints.