Frozen flux violation, electron demagnetization and magnetic reconnection

We argue that the analogue in collisionless plasma of the collisional diffusion region of magnetic reconnection is properly defined in terms of the demagnetization of the plasma electrons that enable “frozen flux” slippage to occur. This condition differs from the violation of the “frozen-in” condition, which only implies that two fluid effects are involved, rather than the necessary slippage of magnetic flux as viewed in the electron frame. Using 2D Particle In Cell (PIC) simulations, this approach properly finds the saddle point region of the flux function. Our demagnetization conditions are the dimensionless guiding center approximation expansion parameters for electrons which we show are observable and determined locally by the ratio of non-ideal electric to magnetic field strengths. Proxies for frozen flux slippage are developed that (a) are measurable on a single spacecraft, (b) are dimensionless with theoretically justified threshold values of significance, and (c) are shown in 2D simulations to recover distinctions theoretically possible with the (unmeasurable) flux function. A new potentially observable dimensionless frozen flux rate, ΛΦ, differentiates significant from anecdotal frozen flux slippage. A single spacecraft observable, ϒ, is shown with PIC simulations to be essentially proportional to the unobservable local Maxwell frozen flux rate. This relationship theoretically establishes electron demagnetization in 3D as the general cause of frozen flux slippage. In simple 2D cases with an isolated central diffusion region surrounded by separatrices, these diagnostics uniquely identify the traditional diffusion region (without confusing it with the two fluid “ion-diffusion” region) and clarify the role of the separatrices where frozen flux violations do occur but are not substantial. In the more complicated guide and asymmetric 2D cases, substantial flux slippage regions extend out along, but inside of, the preferred separatrices, demonstrating that ΛΦ ≠ 0 violations are present over significant distances (in ion inertial units) from the separator identified by the 2D flux function; these violations are, however, generally weaker than seen at known separators in 2D simulations.