Proton and Electron Heating in Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection

Magnetic Reconnection occurs when opposing magnetic fields collide and convert magnetic energy into kinetic and thermal energy. In a turbulent environment, magnetic reconnection modifies the cascade of energy of the system, and reconnection then produces a turbulent outflow, meaning that there must be a connection between the two processes. Studying reconnection in the environment of the solar wind, we can gain insight into the magnetic field structure in a turbulent environment. In previous studies the pressure strain has been shown to have a characteristic conversion between internal energy and fluid energy of the plasma at reconnection sites (Bandyopadhyay 2021). In particular, electrons are shown to be heated more than ions at these sites. A 2.5D VPIC (Vector Particle-in-Cell) simulation with solar-wind like parameters has been produced. The pressure strain calculations of the simulation have been completed and the magnetic fields along certain reconnection sites are displayed. In the future, reconnection sites can be found through calculating the saddle points of the magnetic vector potential (A). From there, the pressure strain analysis can be continued to calculate the heating of electrons and ions, which will then be compared to MMS data.