Electron Acceleration in a Dynamically Evolved Current Sheet Under Solar Coronal Conditions

Abstract

Electron acceleration in a drastically evolved current sheet under solar coronal conditions is investigated via the combined 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and test-particle approaches. Having a high magnetic Reynolds number (105), the long, thin current sheet is torn into a chain of magnetic islands, which grow in size and coalesce with each other. The acceleration of electrons is explored in three typical evolution phases: when several large magnetic islands are formed (phase 1), two of these islands are approaching each other (phase 2), and almost merging into a “monster” magnetic island (phase 3). The results show that for all three phases electrons with an initial Maxwell distribution evolve into a heavy-tailed distribution and more than 20 % of the electrons can be accelerated higher than 200 keV within 0.1 second and some of them can even be energized up to MeV ranges. The lower-energy electrons are located away from the magnetic separatrices and the higher-energy electrons are inside the magnetic islands. The most energetic electrons have a tendency to be around the outer regions of the magnetic islands or to appear in the small secondary magnetic islands. It is the trapping effect of the magnetic islands and the distributions of Ep that determine the acceleration and spatial distributions of the energetic electrons.