Magnetic reconnection model of X-ray plasmas in the Galactic center Original Research Article

A new model, the magnetic reconnection model, is proposed to explain the heating of the superhot plasmas of Galactic center. In this model, the magnetic field is amplified by the rotation of the Galactic gas disk, and expand from the disk to outside by the Parker instability. The expanding magnetic loop collides with ambient field lines and induces magnetic reconnection in which the magnetic energy is efficiently converted into the thermal energy of the plasmas. MHD numerical simulations of the amplification process by the nonlinear magnetorotational instability and of the heating process by magnetic reconnection driven by the Parker instability are shown.