Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 265002 (2007) [4 pages]Temperature Gradients in Fast Collisionless Magnetic ReconnectionReceived 11 September 2006; published 27 June 2007 Temperature gradients are shown to deform and shift the magnetic islands that grow during fast collisionless reconnection when electron inertia decouples the plasma motion from the magnetic field. A kinetic electron model describes the collisionless processes during the reconnection of field lines originating in regions with different temperatures. Using a novel model of the reconnecting instability as a surface mode, the kinetic effects are treated analytically in the linear and nonlinear stages of the instability of a current-carrying low-β plasma slab in a strong magnetic guide field. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.265002
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.265002
PACS:
52.35.Vd, 52.35.Py
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