Electron response in gyrofluid simulations of magnetic reconnection

We investigate the behaviour of an electron population during the evolution of a spontaneous collisionless magnetic reconnection event, reproduced by a two-dimensional version of a Hamiltonian gyrofluid model. This model can be applied in electromagnetic problems where nonlinear effects are important, such as the sawtooth crash in the core of fusion devices. The electron dynamics in the presence of the reconnection fields is reconstructed by means of a test particle code, based on a relativistic Hamiltonian guiding centre formulation of the electron motion. The moments of the electron distribution function and the effects determined by the peculiar structure of the parallel electric field on the electron temperature in the reconnection region are reconstructed and compared with the corresponding quantities evolved by the fluid reconnection model.