Abstract
This chapter mainly deals with magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasmas, where the temperature of the current sheet exceeds the rest mass energy and the Alfvén velocity is close to the speed of light. Magnetic reconnection now receives a great deal of interest for its role in many astrophysical systems such as pulsars, magnetars, galaxy clusters, and active galactic nucleus jets. We review recent advances that emphasize the roles of reconnection in high-energy astrophysical phenomena.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 521-533 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Space Science Reviews |
Volume | 173 |
Issue number | 1-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Nov 2012 |
Keywords
- Astrophysics
- Magnetic reconnection
- Particle acceleration
- Relativistic plasma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science