2011/09/04 by Olindo Zanotti, Michael Dumbser, Zanotti, Olindo +1
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #Magnetic confinement fusion research #Superconducting Materials and Applications #astro-ph.HE #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1109.0746
4 pages, 2 figures. Proceedings of "Advances in Computational Astrophysics: methods, tools and outcomes" (Cefalu', June 13-17, 2011)
arxiv created 2011/09/04 · openalex publication_date 2011/09/04 · arxiv updated 2011/09/06 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present the results of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical numerical simulations of relativistic magnetic reconnection, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of Petschek-type configurations with high Lundquist numbers, S ~ 105-108. The numerical scheme adopted, allowing for unprecedented accuracy for this type of calculations, is based on high order finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin methods as recently proposed by Dumbser & Zanotti (2009). The possibility of producing high Lorentz factors is discussed, by studying the effects produced on the dynamics by different magnetization and resistivity regimes. We show that Lorentz factors close to ~4 can be produced for a plasma magnetization parameter sigma=20. Moreover, we find that the Sweet-Parker layers are unstable, generating secondary magnetic islands, but only for S>Sc~108, much larger than what is reported in the Newtonian regime.