Dissipation in relativistic pair-plasma reconnection: revisited

Basic properties of relativistic magnetic reconnection in electron-positron pair plasmas are investigated by using a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. We first revisit a problem by Hesse and Zenitani (2007 Phys. Plasmas 14 112102), who examined the kinetic Ohm’s law across the X line. We formulate a relativistic Ohm’s law by decomposing the stress-energy tensor. Then, the role of the new term, called the heat-flow inertial term, is examined in the PIC simulation data. We further evaluate the energy balance in the reconnection system. These analyses demonstrate physically transparent ways to diagnose relativistic kinetic data.