NPG Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics NPG Nonlin. Processes Geophys. 1607-7946 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/npg-18-727-2011 The evolution of electron current sheet and formation of secondary islands in guide field reconnection Huang C. 1 2 Lu Q. 1 Yang Z. 1 Wu M. 1 Dong Q. 3 Wang S. 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Basic Plasma Physics, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China 20 10 2011 18 5 727 733 Copyright: © 2011 C. Huang et al. 2011 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/18/727/2011/npg-18-727-2011.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/18/727/2011/npg-18-727-2011.pdf

Two-dimensional (2-D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed to investigate the evolution of the electron current sheet (ECS) in guide field reconnection. The ECS is formed by electrons accelerated by the inductive electric field in the vicinity of the X line, which is then extended along the <i>x</i> direction due to the imbalance between the electric field force and Ampere force. The tearing instability is unstable when the ECS becomes sufficiently long and thin, and several seed islands are formed in the ECS. These tiny islands may coalesce and form a larger secondary island in the center of the diffusion region.

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