Turbulence Properties of 3D Relativistic Kinetic Reconnection

The properties of reconnection-driven turbulence and sub-inertial scale kinetic turbulence are not well understood. Turbulent properties of kinetic reconnection layers may be relevant for particle acceleration and the tearing-mediated cascade in collisionless environments (such as the solar wind). However, statistical analysis of reconnection simulations is complicated by the coexistence of turbulent downstream and non-turbulent upstream regions. In this study, we perform fully kinetic simulations of 3D relativistic reconnection in the collisionless regime using the VPIC code. We examine particle acceleration statistics, turbulence spectra, and turbulence structure functions. We employ novel methods of smoothly isolating the turbulent region for statistical analysis, leading to new insights on the behavior of the turbulent cascade and scale-dependent anisotropy. Particle acceleration results will be discussed in a companion presentation. These findings are critical for understanding the properties of self-consistently generated turbulence in reconnection layers.