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Particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection is a long-standing topic in space, solar, and astrophysical plasmas. Recent 3D particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection show that particles can leave flux ropes due to 3D field-line chaos, allowing particles to access additional acceleration sites, gain more energy through Fermi acceleration, and develop a power-law energy distribution. This 3D effect does not exist in traditional 2D simulations, where particles are artificially confined to magnetic islands due to their restricted motions across field lines. Full 3D simulations, however, are prohibitively expensive for most studies. Here, we attempt to reproduce 3D results in 2D simulations by introducing ad hoc pitch-angle scattering to a small fraction of the particles. We show that scattered particles are able to transport out of 2D islands and achieve more efficient Fermi acceleration, leading to a significant increase of energetic particle flux. We also study how the scattering frequency influences the nonthermal particle spectra. This study helps achieve a complete picture of particle acceleration in magnetic reconnection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In strongly magnetized astrophysical plasma systems, magnetic reconnection is believed to be the primary process during which explosive energy release and particle acceleration occur, leading to significant high-energy emission. Past years have witnessed active development of kinetic modeling of relativistic magnetic reconnection, supporting this magnetically dominated scenario. A much less explored issue in studies of relativistic reconnection is the consequence of three-dimensional dynamics, where turbulent structures are naturally generated as various types of instabilities develop. This paper presents a series of three-dimensional, fully kinetic simulations of relativistic turbulent magnetic reconnection (RTMR) in positronâ€"electron plasmas with system domains much larger than kinetic scales. Our simulations start from a force-free current sheet with several different modes of long-wavelength magnetic field perturbations, which drive additional turbulence in the reconnection region. Because of this, the current layer breaks up and the reconnection region quickly evolves into a turbulent layer filled with coherent structures such as flux ropes and current sheets. We find that plasma dynamics in RTMR is vastly different from its 2D counterpart in many aspects. The flux ropes evolve rapidly after their generation, and can be completely disrupted by the secondary kink instability. This turbulent evolution leads to superdiffusive behavior of magnetic field lines as seen in MHD studies of turbulent reconnection. Meanwhile, nonthermal particle acceleration and the timescale for energy release can be very fast and do not depend strongly on the turbulence amplitude. The main acceleration mechanism is a Fermi-like acceleration process supported by the motional electric field, whereas the nonideal electric field acceleration plays a subdominant role. We also discuss possible observational implications of three-dimensional RTMR in high-energy astrophysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic reconnection is a primary driver of particle acceleration processes in space and astrophysical plasmas. Understanding how particles are accelerated and the resulting particle energy spectra are among the central topics in reconnection studies. We review recent advances in addressing this problem in nonrelativistic reconnection that is relevant to space and solar plasmas and beyond. We focus on particle acceleration mechanisms, particle transport due to 3D reconnection physics, and their roles in forming power-law particle energy spectra. We conclude by pointing out the challenges in studying particle acceleration and transport in a large-scale reconnection layer and the relevant issues to be addressed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized astrophysical plasma environments is believed to be the primary process for fast energy release and particle energization. Currently, there is strong interest in relativistic magnetic reconnection in that it may provide a new explanation for high-energy particle acceleration and radiation in strongly magnetized astrophysical systems. We review recent advances in particle acceleration and reconnection physics in the magnetically dominated regime. Much discussion is focused on the physics of particle acceleration and power-law formation as well as the reconnection rate problem. In addition, we provide an outlook for studying reconnection acceleration mechanisms and kinetic physics in the next step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]