Abstract
Astrophysical plasmas can have parameters vastly different from the more studied laboratory and space plasmas. In particular, the magnetic fields can be the dominant component of the plasma, with energy-density exceeding the particle rest-mass energy density. Magnetic fields then determine the plasma dynamical evolution, energy dissipation and acceleration of non-thermal particles. Recent data coming from astrophysical high energy missions, like magnetar bursts and Crab nebula flares, point to the importance of magnetic reconnection in these objects.
In this review we outline a broad spectrum of problems related to the astrophysical relevant processes in magnetically dominated relativistic plasmas. We discuss the problems of large scale dynamics of relativistic plasmas, relativistic reconnection and particle acceleration at reconnecting layers, turbulent cascade in force-fee plasmas. A number of astrophysical applications are also discussed.
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Notes
The estimates of the tearing mode in highly relativistic plasmas (see Sect. 3.1) indicate that the mode growth rate (surprisingly) follows the non-relativistic scaling.
The LV99 model is radically different from its predecessors which also appealed to the effects of turbulence. For instance, unlike Speiser (1970) and Jacobson and Moses (1984) the model does not appeal to changes of microscopic properties of plasma. The nearest progenitor to LV99 was the work of Matthaeus and Lamkin (1985, 1986), who studied the problem numerically in 2D MHD and who suggested that magnetic reconnection may be fast due to a number of turbulence effects, e.g. multiple X points and turbulent EMF. However, these papers did not address the important role of magnetic field-line wandering, and did not obtain a quantitative prediction for the reconnection rate, as did LV99.
Magnetic reconnection is universally defined as fast when it does not depend on resistivity.
One may question the application of the field wondering concept to relativistic case. However, LV99 expression for Δ (and therefore also reconnection rates) was re-derived in ELV11 without appealing to this concept.
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Lyutikov, M., Lazarian, A. Topics in Microphysics of Relativistic Plasmas. Space Sci Rev 178, 459–481 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-013-9989-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-013-9989-2