Abstract
Physical processes in solar wind plasma lead to magnetic reconnections and the formation of magnetic islands. The role of these processes is especially great in the vicinity of the front of the interplanetary shock wave. An analytical description of such processes requires the solution of the system of nonlinear equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The paper continues studies of previous years concerning the analysis of the powerful acceleration of particles of solar wind. In the paper, a two-dimensional stationary system of nonlinear MHD equations for a thin layer located before the front of the interplanetary shock wave is considered. The solution is constructed in three cases: (1) in the absence of magnetic reconnections; (2) in the presence of magnetic reconnections; (3) with the simultaneous effect of reconnections and contractings of magnetic islands. In all three cases, explicit expressions for the main parameters of the solar wind are found. It is established that, in the vicinity of the shock front, the magnetic reconnection is the main factor of accelerating the particles of the solar wind.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W. H. Matthaues, J. J. Ambrosiano, and M. L. Goldstein, “Particle Acceleration by Turbulent Magnetohydrodynamic Reconnection,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 53 (15), 1449 (1984).
G. P. Zank, J. A. Le Roux, G. M. Webb, A. Dosch, and O. Khabarova, “Particle Acceleration Via Reconnection Processes in the Supersonic Solar Wind,” Astrophys. J. 797 (28), (2014) 797/1/28.
J. A. Le Roux, G. P. Zank, G. M. Webb, and O. Khabarova, “A Kinetic Transport Theory for Particle Acceleration and Transport in Regions of Multiple Contracting and Reconnecting Inertial-Scale Flux Ropes,” Astrophys. J. 801 (112), (2015).
G. P. Zank, P. Hunana, P. Mostafavi, J. A. Le Roux, Gang Li, G. M. Webb, O. Khabarova, A. Cummings, E. Stone, and R. Decker, “Diffusive Shock Acceleration and Reconnection Acceleration Processes,” Astrophys. J. 814 (137), (2015).
R. Nemiroff and J. Bonnell, “The Sun’s Heliosphere and Heliopause,” Astronomy Picture of the Day (24.06.2002).
L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (Pergamon Press, 1984).
E. Priest and T. Forbes, Magnetic Reconnection. MHD Theory and Application (University press, Cambridge, 2000).
E. R. Priest, “Introduction to Solar System MHD,” in: Advances in Solar Magnetohydrodynamics (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1991), pp. 1–24.
E. N. Parker, “Sweet’s Mechanism for Merging Magnetic Field in Conduction Fluids,” J. Geophys. Res. 62 (4), 509–520 (1957).
I. S. Veselovsky [Veselovskii], “Heliopsphere and Solar Wind: Some Modern Concepts and Topical Issues,” in: Modern Problems of Space Mechanics and Physics (Fizmatlit, Moscow, 2003), pp. 447–464.
V. V. Baranov, “Effect of the Interstellar Medium on the Heliosphere Structure” (in Russian), Soros Educational J. (11), 73–79 ( 1996).
I. A. Molotkov and N. A. Ryabova, “Analysis of Powerful Local Acceleration of Solar Wind Particles,” Geomagnetism and Aeronomy 57 (4), 384–388 (2017).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Molotkov, I.A. Analysis of Magnetic Reconnections and Compression of Magnetic Islands in the Solar Wind. Russ. J. Math. Phys. 25, 233–238 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1061920818020073
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1061920818020073