Kinetic energy partitions in electron–ion PIC simulations of ABC fields

Abstract

We explore the kinetic energy partitions between electrons and ions in the 2-D magnetostatic equilibria called Arnold–Beltrami–Childress (ABC) fields, using particle-in-cell (PIC) numerical simulations. We cover a wider range of ion–electron temperature combinations and get different results compared to previous studies of the Harris-layer-type magnetic reconnection simulations. We find that the initial ion–electron enthalpy ratio is an important indicator. The particle species that dominates the total enthalpy will also dominate the kinetic energy gains and the momentum distribution peaks, but the other species have higher nonthermal energy fractions because both species show similar maximum energies.

Keywords

• acceleration of particles
• magnetic reconnection
• relativisitc processes
• simulations