{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"710358cac670271b4c25e48936d1bee7c75e3fe96a68106f6ffaccab0e93fb94","created":"2026-10-03T07:18:08Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"53c3d2e0f4733d6c3ad1d6a7ca82c43fa064853b9ef46f0b691db5b11ba282e3","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"value","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"plasma.reconnection.nonthermal-spectrum","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"contested","n":"1","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 1e3, determine the index $p$ of dN/dgamma ~ 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":null,"references":"","settled_by":"3D particle-in-cell simulations converged in system size, with an analytic acceleration model reproducing $p\\ \\text{and}\\ \\gamma_{\\mathrm{max}}$.","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":"c1057caf785ec309864fe9c3911636cf72981d9ad70fccb8c56b4c4d20d44a4f"},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"7a3c3da52d98b1b0c99f2116837abc63d51b510baf99f987f54daf9e22cacdec","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"f0576a05046ad72a6a3e127e52638d1885b7f82fd6de7f35d32ff306bec99636","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"y22C3ZAkBPyOhGH7IH19QET56VzEgT1ciWf57XMlsSD5LdPUakwk2rIwrPDBSDoElwmjTRrNz82HRej9gfahDg"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"7a3c3da52d98b1b0c99f2116837abc63d51b510baf99f987f54daf9e22cacdec","leaf_index":1862}