Studying Magnetic Reconnection with Synchrotron Polarization Statistics

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process for releasing magnetic energy in space physics and astrophysics. At present, the usual way to investigate the reconnection process is through analytical studies or first-principle numerical simulations. This paper is the first to understand the turbulent magnetic reconnection process by exploring the nature of magnetic turbulence. From the perspective of radio synchrotron polarization statistics, we study how to recover the properties of the turbulent magnetic field by considering the line of sight along different directions of the reconnection layer. We find that polarization intensity statistics can reveal the spectral properties of reconnection turbulence. This work opens up a new way of understanding turbulent magnetic reconnection.

Keywords

• Magnetohydrodynamics
• Interplanetary turbulence
• Interstellar medium
• Computational methods
• Magnetohydrodynamical simulations