Particle transport and acceleration in structured plasma turbulence

The fundamental mechanisms responsible for particle acceleration in space and astrophysical plasmas remain largely elusive. Coherent structures, such as reconnecting current sheets and flux ropes/plasmoids, may cooperate to accelerate particles in several ways through, for example, the reconnection electric field or drift terms. On top of this, possible trapping effects in such coherent structures may lead to extremely powerful particle energization. In this talk, I will review some of these mechanisms. Then, I will discuss recent numerical results investigating particle transport and acceleration in fully-developed magnetohydrodynamics turbulence, as well as nearby a turbulent large-scale flux rope. When trapped in the flux rope or in large-scale structures generated by turbulence, particles experience an exponential acceleration. Finally, I will also comment on the applicability of these results in space and astrophysical contexts.