📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRTI) governs material transport and mixing in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas under the influence of gravity and magnetic fields. While magnetic reconnection is known to occur during MRTI evolution, its role in the evolution and energy dynamics remains poorly understood. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the role of reconnection in the two-dimensional MRTI dynamics, using high-resolution simulations. We establish that reconnection, through facilitating plume merger, relieving magnetic tension, and enabling continued instability growth, forms an essential component for the long-term instability evolution. To quantify the role of reconnection in energy dynamics, we develop a robust automated reconnection detection algorithm and perform a statistical analysis across a range of magnetic field strengths. We find that reconnection accounts for up to $80\%$ of the magnetic-to-kinetic energy transfer in the weak magnetic field regime, while contributing minimally ($\approx 3\%$) to magnetic energy dissipation. Our results establish magnetic reconnection as a critical mechanism that regulates large-scale MRTI dynamics, with implications for astrophysical plasmas and turbulent mixing in magnetized flows.