{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"6172975e9455ed93163719fe06447e6544fdaa5171de866bfecca089caa9327d","created":"2026-10-15T23:43:22Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":["ai:gpt-5.5"],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["7a3c3da52d98b1b0c99f2116837abc63d51b510baf99f987f54daf9e22cacdec","ce59fb6cd812fc05906d0c60a71c75ea22bc686bcf38e7c3ef7010834d98ee7b"],"salt":"2203ca051562e6401dab5cdceeb8317a06e32bb5969e80ee21791de770ef9473","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"value","assisted_by":["ai:gpt-5.5"],"external_id":"plasma.reconnection.nonthermal-spectrum","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"contested","n":"2","parents":[],"plain":"Reconnection in strongly magnetized astrophysical plasmas makes particles with a power-law energy distribution, few particles at high energy but many more than a thermal gas has. How steep that power law is and how high it extends is not settled.","posed_since":"","precise":"For relativistic pair-plasma or electron-ion reconnection with magnetization $\\sigma = B^2/(4 \\pi w)$ ($w$ = relativistic enthalpy density) from 1 to $10^{3}$, determine the index $p$ of $dN/dgamma \\sim \\gamma^{-p}$ and the high-energy cutoff $\\gamma_{\\max}$ as functions of $\\sigma$, guide field and system size $L/d_e$ in 3D, in the limit $L/d_e$ going to infinity. An answer is $p(\\sigma, B_g)$ and the scaling of $\\gamma_{\\max}$ with $L$, converged in system size.","problem_ref":"7a3c3da52d98b1b0c99f2116837abc63d51b510baf99f987f54daf9e22cacdec","references":"","settled_by":"3D particle-in-cell simulations converged in system size, with an analytic acceleration model reproducing $p\\ \\text{and}\\ \\gamma_{\\max}$.","status_note":"Particle-in-cell work through 2025 finds $p$ approaching $1 \\text{ to } 2$ at $\\sigma$ much larger than 1, but convergence with system size and the role of 3D effects are disputed.","title":"Power-law index and cutoff of particles accelerated by reconnection","topic_ref":null},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"2f4f6de166bbf7f5fd0d44e7ed64cef8c9c503fe6a22a3fd89ebe726c0611e82","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"cacdba6a576e11cbf444e1bda24f3cd6beae640b37529881c124711a5db03bb9","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"VkK-6Uy6Q3un5WxNJjakO3w-CxlkvvJyXfEXcTql4cYtdp4OksIn8BACBCdwooCLn0I6ZR9xOUJDfNP7rfXKDQ"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"2f4f6de166bbf7f5fd0d44e7ed64cef8c9c503fe6a22a3fd89ebe726c0611e82","leaf_index":3594}