Magnetic reconnection in relativistic current sheets of pair plasmas

Seiji Zenitani, M. Hoshino

We present a three-dimensional particle simulation of
relativistic current sheets (RCS) of electron-positron plasmas.
In RCS, two macro-instabilities are important: magnetic reconnection and
the relativistic drift kink instability (RDKI) and it is obtained that
RCS with an ideal 3D Harris condition is unstable to the RDKI.
We also present another 3D simulation result
in modified Harris configuration with a current-aligned magnetic field
(the so-called "guide field").
In this case, the RDKI is stabilized by the magnetic tension force,
but obliquely-propagating modes dominate.
Brief discussion on these 3D instabilities and
triggering mechanism of reconnection is presented.