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Title: The two-fluid dynamics and energetics of the asymmetric magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2];  [5];  [2];  [6]
  1. Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States). Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.
  2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  4. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)
  5. Univ. of Bergen, Bergen (Norway)
  6. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in magnetized plasma where magnetic energy is converted to plasma energy. Despite huge differences in the physical size of the reconnection layer, remarkably similar characteristics are observed in both laboratory and magnetosphere plasmas. Here we present the comparative study of the dynamics and physical mechanisms governing the energy conversion in the laboratory and space plasma in the context of two-fluid physics, aided by numerical simulations. In strongly asymmetric reconnection layers with negligible guide field, the energy deposition to electrons is found to primarily occur in the electron diffusion region where electrons are demagnetized and diffuse. A large potential well is observed within the reconnection plane and ions are accelerated by the electric field toward the exhaust region. In conclusion, the present comparative study identifies the robust two-fluid mechanism operating in systems over six orders of magnitude in spatial scales and over a wide range of collisionality.

Research Organization:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-09CH11466; 89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1489227
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1489968
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-31065; PII: 7680
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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  • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States) https://doi.org/10.11578/1562000
dataset January 2017
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Cited By (2)

Statistical Analysis of Ions in Two-Dimensional Plasma Turbulence journal September 2019
Statistical analysis of ions in two-dimensional plasma turbulence text January 2019

Figures / Tables (10)

Fig. 1(p. 4)figure Fig. 1
Table 1(p. 4)table Table 1
Fig. 2(p. 6)figure Fig. 2
Fig. 3(p. 7)figure Fig. 3
Fig. 4(p. 8)figure Fig. 4
Fig. 5(p. 9)figure Fig. 5
Fig. 6(p. 10)figure Fig. 6
Table 2(p. 10)table Table 2
Fig. 7(p. 11)figure Fig. 7
Fig. 8(p. 11)figure Fig. 8

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