Magnetic reconnection and plasmoid formation in three-dimensional accretion flows around black holes

Understand

Magnetic reconnection is thought to be one of the main energy-dissipation mechanisms fueling energy to the plasma in the vicinity of a black hole.

• Indeed, plasmoids formed through magnetic reconnection may play a key role in $\gamma$-ray, X-ray and near-infrared flares from the black hole at the center of our galaxy, SgrA*.
• We report the results of three-dimensional general-relativistic ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulations modelling magnetic reconnection in accretion flows around astrophysical black holes.
• As an important difference with similar works, our accretion discs have an initial dipolar magnetic-field configuration with loops of alternating polarity.