Out-of-plane shear flow effects on fast magnetic reconnection in a two-dimensional hybrid simulation model

Abstract

The effects of out-of-plane shear flows on fast magnetic reconnection are numerically investigated by a two-dimensional (2D) hybrid model in an initial Harris sheet equilibrium with flows. The equilibrium and driven shear flows out of the 2D reconnection plane with symmetric and antisymmetric profiles respectively are used in the simulation. It is found that the out-of-plane flows with shears in-plane can change the quadrupolar structure of the out-of-plane magnetic field and, therefore, modify the growth rate of magnetic reconnection. Furthermore, the driven flow varying along the anti-parallel magnetic field can either enhance or reduce the reconnection rate as the direction of flow changes. Secondary islands are also generated in the process with converting the initial X-point into an O-point.