Electron Vortex Flows, Vortex Topology, and Angular Momentum in Magnetic Reconnection

We explore the nature of electron flows and energy balance in finite-B reconnection. Theoretical restrictions on the electron momentum arise from following the constraints placed on the non-ideal electric field by the necessary and sufficient condition for reconnection.

We find that electron and field angular momentum and a change in vortex connections underpin the physics of a change in field line connectivity. At ion and electron scales, we demonstrate that finite B reconnection requires electron vorticity, and electron dissipation and diffusion are related to the electron vorticity.Other researchers have identified electron vortex structures at reconnection regions in space observations and in simulations. We compare the theoretical constraints to 3D numerical PIC simulations of the electron and field angular momentum.