Nonadiabatic scattering and transport at the spindle cusp

When magnetohydrodynamics is used to describe plasma flow across a separatrix to open field lines, the transport is modeled by a diffusion equation with a sink for particles on the open lines. In that case, it is assumed that plasma is carried to and from the separatrix by diffusive processes. The purpose of this note is to discuss the nonadiabatic processes occurring at a spindle cusp to transfer plasma across a separatrix. After an ion is delivered to the vicinity of the separatrix by diffusion it enters the spindle cusp and will skip back and forth across the separatrix, producing a structured transport not seen with MHD