Research Division Seminar
Magnetic reconnection in partially ionized plasmas

Abstract

The phenomenon of magnetic reconnection in a magnetized plasma has been a subject of numerous studies over the past several decades in a variety of contexts, from high energy astrophysics, to solar and space physics, to laboratory-based experiments.  However, most magnetic reconnection studies have been devoted to exploring different collisionality regimes in a fully ionized single specie plasma.  Until recently, the physics of magnetic reconnection in partially, and weakly, ionized plasmas has received relatively little attention.  In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of the physical effects that partial ionization of the ambient medium may introduce in the dynamics of magnetic reconnection, with a particular focus on the environment of the lower solar atmosphere.