Fast particle acceleration in three-dimensional relativistic reconnection

Understand

Magnetic reconnection is invoked as one of the primary mechanisms to produce energetic particles.

• We employ large-scale three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection in magnetically-dominated ($\sigma=10$) pair plasmas to study the energization physics of high-energy particles.
• We identify a novel acceleration mechanism that only operates in 3D.
• For weak guide fields, 3D plasmoids / flux ropes extend along the $z$ direction of the electric current for a length comparable to their cross-sectional radius.