314 research outputs found
Self-Feeding Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection on Macroscopic Scales
Within a MHD approach we find magnetic reconnection to progress in two
entirely different ways. The first is well-known: the laminar Sweet-Parker
process. But a second, completely different and chaotic reconnection process is
possible. This regime has properties of immediate practical relevance: i) it is
much faster, developing on scales of the order of the Alfv\'en time, and ii)
the areas of reconnection become distributed chaotically over a macroscopic
region. The onset of the faster process is the formation of closed circulation
patterns where the jets going out of the reconnection regions turn around and
forces their way back in, carrying along copious amounts of magnetic flux
Multi-beam Energy Moments of Multibeam Particle Velocity Distributions
High resolution electron and ion velocity distributions, f(v), which consist
of N effectively disjoint beams, have been measured by NASA's Magnetospheric
Multi-Scale Mission (MMS) observatories and in reconnection simulations.
Commonly used standard velocity moments generally assume a single
mean-flow-velocity for the entire distribution, which can lead to
counterintuitive results for a multibeam f(v). An example is the (false)
standard thermal energy moment of a pair of equal and opposite cold particle
beams, which is nonzero even though each beam has zero thermal energy. By
contrast, a multibeam moment of two or more beams has no false thermal energy.
A multibeam moment is obtained by taking a standard moment of each beam and
then summing over beams. In this paper we will generalize these notions,
explore their consequences and apply them to an f(v) which is sum of
tri-Maxwellians. Both standard and multibeam energy moments have coherent and
incoherent forms. Examples of incoherent moments are the thermal energy
density, the pressure and the thermal energy flux (enthalpy flux plus heat
flux). Corresponding coherent moments are the bulk kinetic energy density, the
RAM pressure and the bulk kinetic energy flux. The false part of an incoherent
moment is defined as the difference between the standard incoherent moment and
the corresponding multibeam moment. The sum of a pair of corresponding coherent
and incoherent moments will be called the undecomposed moment. Undecomposed
moments are independent of whether the sum is standard or multibeam and
therefore have advantages when studying moments of measured f(v).Comment: 27 single-spaced pages. Three Figure
Spontaneous transition to a fast 3D turbulent reconnection regime
We show how the conversion of magnetic field energy via magnetic reconnection
can progress in a fully three-dimensional, fast, volume-filling regime. An
initial configuration representative of many laboratory, space and
astrophysical plasmas spontaneously evolves from the well-known regime of slow,
resistive reconnection to a new regime that allows to explain the rates of
energy transfer observed in jets emitted from accretion disks, in stellar/solar
flare processes as well as in laboratory plasmas. This process does not require
any pre-existing turbulence seed which often is not observed in the host
systems prior to the onset of the energy conversion. The dynamics critically
depends on the interplay of perturbations developing along the magnetic field
lines and across them, a process possible only in three-dimensions. The
simulations presented here are the first able to show this transition in a
fully three-dimensional configuration.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Influence of the Lower Hybrid Drift Instability on the onset of Magnetic Reconnection
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional kinetic simulation results reveal the
importance of the Lower-Hybrid Drift Instability LHDI to the onset of magnetic
reconnection. Both explicit and implicit kinetic simulations show that the LHDI
heats electrons anisotropically and increases the peak current density. Linear
theory predicts these modifications can increase the growth rate of the tearing
instability by almost two orders of magnitude and shift the fastest growing
modes to significantly shorter wavelengths. These predictions are confirmed by
nonlinear kinetic simulations in which the growth and coalescence of small
scale magnetic islands leads to a rapid onset of large scale reconnection
Signatures of Secondary Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection Driven by Kink Instability of a Flux Rope
The kinetic features of secondary magnetic reconnection in a single flux rope
undergoing internal kink instability are studied by means of three-dimensional
Particle-in-Cell simulations. Several signatures of secondary magnetic
reconnection are identified in the plane perpendicular to the flux rope: a
quadrupolar electron and ion density structure and a bipolar Hall magnetic
field develop in proximity of the reconnection region. The most intense
electric fields form perpendicularly to the local magnetic field, and a
reconnection electric field is identified in the plane perpendicular to the
flux rope. An electron current develops along the reconnection line in the
opposite direction of the electron current supporting the flux rope magnetic
field structure. Along the reconnection line, several bipolar structures of the
electric field parallel to the magnetic field occur making the magnetic
reconnection region turbulent. The reported signatures of secondary magnetic
reconnection can help to localize magnetic reconnection events in space,
astrophysical and fusion plasmas
Modeling the Large Scale Structures of Astrophysical Jets in the Magnetically Dominated Limit
We suggest a new approach that could be used for modeling both the large
scale behavior of astrophysical jets and the magnetically dominated explosions
in astrophysics. We describe a method for modeling the injection of magnetic
fields and their subsequent evolution in a regime where the free energy is
magnetically dominated. The injected magnetic fields, along with their
associated currents, have both poloidal and toroidal components, and they are
not force free. The dynamic expansion driven by the Lorentz force of the
injected fields is studied using 3-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic
simulations. The generic behavior of magnetic field expansion, the interactions
with the background medium, and the dependence on various parameters are
investigated.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, May 10, 2006 issue, 12 figures total (3 color
figures
Interaction between dust grains near a conducting wall
The effect of the conducting electrode on the interaction of dust grains in a
an ion flow is discussed. It is shown that two grains levitating above the
electrode at the same height may attract one another. This results in the
instability of a dust layer in a plasma sheath.Comment: 9 pages. 3 figures. Submitted to Plasma Physics Report
Current knowledge on functionality and potential therapeutic uses of donkey milk
The increase of knowledge on the composition of donkey milk has revealed marked similarities to human milk, which led to a growing number of investigations focused on testing the potential effects of donkey milk in vitro and in vivo. This paper examines the scientific evidence regarding the beneficial effects of donkey milk on human health. Most clinical studies report a tolerability of donkey milk in 82.6–98.5% of infants with cow milk protein allergies. The average protein content of donkey milk is about 18 g/L. Caseins, which are main allergenic components of milk, are less represented compared to cow milk (56% of the total protein in donkey vs. 80% in cow milk). Donkey milk is well accepted by children due to its high concentration of lactose (about 60 g/L). Immunomodulatory properties have been reported in one study in humans and in several animal models. Donkey milk also seems to modulate the intestinal microbiota, enhance antioxidant defense mechanisms and detoxifying enzymes activities, reduce hyperglycemia and normalize dyslipidemia. Donkey milk has lower calorie and fat content compared with other milks used in human nutrition (fat ranges from 0.20% to 1.7%) and a more favourable fatty acid profile, being low in saturated fatty acids (3.02 g/L) and high in alpha-linolenic acid (about 7.25 g/100 g of fat). Until now, the beneficial properties of donkey milk have been mostly related to whey proteins, among which β-lactoglobulin is the most represented (6.06 g/L), followed by α-lactalbumin (about 2 g/L) and lysozyme (1.07 g/L). So far, the health functionality of donkey milk has been tested almost exclusively on animal models. Furthermore, in vitro studies have described inhibitory action against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. From the literature review emerges the need for new randomized clinical trials on humans to provide stronger evidence of the potential beneficial health effects of donkey milk, which could lead to new applications as an adjuvant in the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases, malnutrition, and aging
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