ABSTRACT
Recent work by
Dr. Wiechen and myself resulted in the first 3D self
consistent multi-fluid simulations of magnetic reconnection in a dusty
plasma. Utilization of the DENISIS multi-fluid code was essential to this
task. We found that a Harris-like current sheet yielded a poor equilibrium
in a dusty plasma. A ballistic relaxation technique was employed to
relax the Harris-like current sheet into a pseudo equilibrium. A
perturbation was then applied to this current sheet to initiate
reconnection. We studied a variety of resistive models and found that
a parameter-dependent resistivity yielded a 26% decrease in magnetic energy
while a static resistive model yielded a 20% decrease. Of particular
interest were the large dust-neutral relative velocities produced by
reconnection. We examined the possibility of aerodynamic drag heating of the
particles. We suggest future work in order to evaluate the role magnetic
reconnection may play in protosolar nebulae. This work was recently
accepted for publication in the Journal of Plasma Physics.
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