Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Laboratory Study of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Journal Article · · Space Science Reviews
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [2];  [10];  [3];  [11];  [12]
  1. Princeton University, NJ (United States); Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  2. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  3. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  4. University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI (United States)
  5. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)
  6. University of Texas at Arlington, TX (United States)
  7. University of Colorado at Boulder, CO (United States)
  8. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  9. Princeton University, NJ (United States)
  10. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)
  11. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  12. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
A concise review is given on the past two decades’ results from laboratory experiments on collisionless magnetic reconnection in direct relation with space measurements, especially by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Highlights include spatial structures of electromagnetic fields in ion and electron diffusion regions as a function of upstream symmetry and guide field strength, energy conversion and partitioning from magnetic field to ions and electrons including particle acceleration, electrostatic and electromagnetic kinetic plasma waves with various wavelengths, and plasmoid-mediated multiscale reconnection. Combined with the progress in theoretical, numerical, and observational studies, the physics foundation of fast reconnection in collisionless plasmas has been largely established, at least within the parameter ranges and spatial scales that were studied. Immediate and long-term future opportunities based on multiscale experiments and space missions supported by exascale computation are discussed, including dissipation by kinetic plasma waves, particle heating and acceleration, and multiscale physics across fluid and kinetic scales.
Research Organization:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-09CH11466
OSTI ID:
2217302
Journal Information:
Space Science Reviews, Journal Name: Space Science Reviews Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 219; ISSN 0038-6308
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (178)

On the electron diffusion region in planar, asymmetric, systems: diffusion region in asymmetric systems journal December 2014
In situ properties of small and large flux ropes in the solar wind journal September 2014
Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause: Waves Associated With Reconnection journal June 2016
MMS observations of large guide field symmetric reconnection between colliding reconnection jets at the center of a magnetic flux rope at the magnetopause: Large Guide Field Reconnection at Flux Rope Center journal June 2016
Estimates of terms in Ohm's law during an encounter with an electron diffusion region: ESTIMATES OF TERMS IN OHM'S LAW journal June 2016
Drift waves, intense parallel electric fields, and turbulence associated with asymmetric magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause: Waves and Turbulence in Reconnection journal April 2017
Waves in the innermost open boundary layer formed by dayside magnetopause reconnection journal March 2017
Enhanced electron mixing and heating in 3‐D asymmetric reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause journal March 2017
Electron heating and energy inventory during asymmetric reconnection in a laboratory plasma: ASYMMETRIC RECONNECTION IN LABORATORY journal September 2017
MMS Examination of FTEs at the Earth's Subsolar Magnetopause journal February 2018
Magnetic Reconnection, Turbulence, and Particle Acceleration: Observations in the Earth's Magnetotail journal April 2018
Particle energization in space plasmas: towards a multi-point, multi-scale plasma observatory journal December 2021
Electron Physics of Asymmetric Magnetic Field Reconnection journal November 2010
Particle Acceleration by Magnetic Reconnection in Geospace journal November 2023
HelioSwarm: A Multipoint, Multiscale Mission to Characterize Turbulence journal November 2023
Lessons from laboratory experiments on reconnection journal January 1986
Magnetic field-line reconnexion by localized enhancement of resistivity: Part 1. Evolution in a compressible MHD fluid journal June 1977
Transition in electron physics of magnetic reconnection in weakly collisional plasma journal November 2014
Regulation of the normalized rate of driven magnetic reconnection through shocked flux pileup journal June 2021
The role of electron dissipation on the rate of collisionless magnetic reconnection journal October 1998
Geospace Environment Modeling magnetic reconnection challenge: Simulations with a full particle electromagnetic code journal March 2001
Geospace Environmental Modeling (GEM) Magnetic Reconnection Challenge journal March 2001
Suprathermal electron acceleration in magnetic reconnection journal November 2001
Observation of lower hybrid drift instability in the diffusion region at a reconnecting magnetopause: LHDI AT RECONNECTING MAGNETOPAUSE journal December 2002
Observation of Electrostatic Solitary Waves associated with reconnection on the dayside magnetopause boundary: OBSERVATION OF ELECTROSTATIC SOLITARY WAVES journal March 2003
Cluster observations of electron holes in association with magnetotail reconnection and comparison to simulations journal January 2005
Cluster observations of an intense normal component of the electric field at a thin reconnecting current sheet in the tail and its role in the shock-like acceleration of the ion fluid into the separatrix region: ELECTRIC FIELDS AT THE RECONNECTION REGION journal September 2005
An obliquely propagating electromagnetic drift instability in the lower hybrid frequency range: OBLIQUE ELECTROMAGNETIC DRIFT INSTABILITY journal August 2005
New insights into dissipation in the electron layer during magnetic reconnection journal January 2008
Evidence of an extended electron current sheet and its neighboring magnetic island during magnetotail reconnection: EXTENDED ELECTRON CURRENT SHEET DURING RECONNECTION journal December 2008
Observation of waves near lower hybrid frequency in the reconnection region with thin current sheet: LOWER HYBRID WAVES WITH RECONNECTION journal February 2009
Average properties of the magnetic reconnection ion diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail: The 2001-2005 Cluster observations and comparison with simulations: AVERAGE ION DIFFUSION REGION STRUCTURE journal August 2010
Comparison of a statistical model for magnetic islands in large current layers with Hall MHD simulations and Cluster FTE observations: MAGNETIC ISLANDS journal September 2011
Three-dimensional, impulsive magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma: 3-D IMPULSIVE RECONNECTION journal January 2013
Whistler Wave Generation by Anisotropic Tail Electrons During Asymmetric Magnetic Reconnection in Space and Laboratory journal August 2018
Energy Conversion by Parallel Electric Fields During Guide Field Reconnection in Scaled Laboratory and Space Experiments journal December 2018
The Role of the Parallel Electric Field in Electron-Scale Dissipation at Reconnecting Currents in the Magnetosheath journal August 2018
Magnetic Reconnection in Three Dimensions: Modeling and Analysis of Electromagnetic Drift Waves in the Adjacent Current Sheet journal December 2019
Lower Hybrid Drift Waves During Guide Field Reconnection journal November 2020
Statistical Properties of Magnetic Structures and Energy Dissipation during Turbulent Reconnection in the Earth's Magnetotail journal September 2020
Large Amplitude Electrostatic Proton Plasma Frequency Waves in the Magnetospheric Separatrix and Outflow Regions During Magnetic Reconnection journal March 2021
Lower‐Hybrid‐Drift Vortices in the Electron‐Scale Magnetic Reconnection Layer journal November 2020
Laboratory Verification of Electron‐Scale Reconnection Regions Modulated by a Three‐Dimensional Instability journal June 2021
Observations of Electron Vorticity and Phase Space Holes in the Magnetopause Reconnection Separatrix journal August 2022
New kinetic evidence for the near-Earth reconnection journal September 1996
Auroral and geomagnetic events at cusp/mantle latitudes in the prenoon sector during positive IMF By conditions: Signatures of pulsed magnetopause reconnection journal April 1997
Structure of the dissipation region during collisionless magnetic reconnection journal May 1998
ISEE observations of flux transfer events at the dayside magnetopause journal January 1979
Hall current effect on tearing mode instability journal June 1983
Direct observations of passages of the distant neutral line (80-140 R E ) following substorm pnsets: ISEE-3 journal October 1984
Magnetic field line reconnection experiments: 6. Magnetic turbulence journal January 1984
Force balance near an X line in a collisionless plasma journal January 1990
Sweet's mechanism for merging magnetic fields in conducting fluids journal December 1957
Theoretical models of magnetic field line merging journal January 1975
A review of anomalous resistivity for the ionosphere journal January 1977
Experimental onset threshold and magnetic pressure pile-up for 3D reconnection journal May 2009
Electron acceleration from contracting magnetic islands during reconnection journal October 2006
A current filamentation mechanism for breaking magnetic field lines during reconnection journal June 2011
Conversion of magnetic energy in the magnetic reconnection layer of a laboratory plasma journal September 2014
The two-fluid dynamics and energetics of the asymmetric magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas journal December 2018
Direct observations of anomalous resistivity and diffusion in collisionless plasma journal May 2022
Magnetotail plasma eruptions driven by magnetic reconnection and kinetic instabilities journal June 2023
Non-thermal electron acceleration from magnetically driven reconnection in a laboratory plasma journal January 2023
Ion and electron acoustic bursts during anti-parallel magnetic reconnection driven by lasers journal March 2023
First-principles theory of the rate of magnetic reconnection in magnetospheric and solar plasmas journal April 2022
Magnetic reconnection in the era of exascale computing and multiscale experiments journal February 2022
Plasma generation and confinement in a toroidal magnetic cusp journal September 2000
Electromagnetic properties of the lower-hybrid drift instability in a thin current sheet journal August 2003
Experimental Study of Magnetic Flux Transfer at the Hyperbolic Neutral Point journal November 1970
Space Charge Waves in Cylindrical Plasma Columns journal November 1959
An electromagnetic drift instability in the magnetic reconnection experiment and its importance for magnetic reconnection journal August 2005
Two fluid effects on three-dimensional reconnection in the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment with comparisons to space data journal May 2006
Experimental study of two-fluid effects on magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma with variable collisionality journal May 2006
Scaling of asymmetric magnetic reconnection: General theory and collisional simulations journal October 2007
Driven magnetic reconnection near the Dreicer limit journal May 2010
Laboratory observations of electron energization and associated lower-hybrid and Trivelpiece–Gould wave turbulence during magnetic reconnection journal July 2010
Phase diagram for magnetic reconnection in heliophysical, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas journal November 2011
Observations of electron phase-space holes driven during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma journal March 2012
In-plane electric fields in magnetic islands during collisionless magnetic reconnection journal November 2012
A review of pressure anisotropy caused by electron trapping in collisionless plasma, and its implications for magnetic reconnection journal June 2013
Electromagnetic instability of thin reconnection layers: Comparison of three-dimensional simulations with MRX observations journal June 2013
Experimental observation of 3-D, impulsive reconnection events in a laboratory plasma journal January 2014
Debye scale turbulence within the electron diffusion layer during magnetic reconnection journal March 2014
Bulk ion acceleration and particle heating during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma journal May 2014
Study of energy conversion and partitioning in the magnetic reconnection layer of a laboratory plasmaa) journal May 2015
Understanding the dynamics and energetics of magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma: Review of recent progress on selected fronts journal May 2016
General theory of the plasmoid instability journal October 2016
Two-stage bulk electron heating in the diffusion region of anti-parallel symmetric reconnection journal October 2016
Electromagnetic fluctuations during guide field reconnection in a laboratory plasma journal May 2018
Energy transfer and electron energization in collisionless magnetic reconnection for different guide-field intensities journal December 2018
Whistler wave generation by electron temperature anisotropy during magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause journal May 2019
Nonlinear studies of m =1 modes in high‐temperature plasmas journal November 1992
Experimental investigation of three‐dimensional magnetic reconnection by use of two colliding spheromaks journal October 1993
Anomalous transport properties associated with the lower-hybrid-drift instability journal January 1975
Externally driven magnetic reconnection and a powerful magnetic energy converter journal January 1979
Fast reconnection in high temperature plasmas journal January 1995
The generalized Ohm’s law in collisionless magnetic reconnection journal March 1997
Study of driven magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma journal May 1997
Experimental studies of magnetic reconnection journal May 1999
The diffusion region in collisionless magnetic reconnection journal May 1999
Recent progress on particle acceleration and reconnection physics during magnetic reconnection in the magnetically-dominated relativistic regime journal August 2020
Prospectus on electron acceleration via magnetic reconnection journal October 2020
Probe measurements of electric field and electron density fluctuations at megahertz frequencies using in-shaft miniature circuits journal March 2021
The acceleration of charged particles and formation of power-law energy spectra in nonrelativistic magnetic reconnection journal May 2021
Guide field effects on the distribution of plasmoids in multiple scale reconnection journal September 2021
Preface for frontiers of magnetic reconnection research in heliophysical, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas journal July 2022
3D simulation of lower-hybrid drift waves in strong guide field asymmetric reconnection in laboratory experiments journal April 2023
Super-Fermi acceleration in multiscale MHD reconnection journal April 2023
The Generation of Nonthermal Particles in the Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection of Pair Plasmas journal November 2001
Experimental Observation of Energetic Ions Accelerated by Three-dimensional Magnetic Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal September 2002
Simulations of Particle Acceleration Beyond the Classical Synchrotron Burnoff Limit in Magnetic Reconnection: an Explanation of the crab Flares journal June 2013
Advances in petascale kinetic plasma simulation with VPIC and Roadrunner journal July 2009
Distribution of Plasmoids in Post-Coronal mass Ejection Current Sheets journal June 2013
Reconnection of Quasi-Singular Current Sheets: the “Ideal” Tearing mode journal December 2013
Exact Nonlinear Plasma Oscillations journal November 1957
Low-Frequency Instabilities in Magnetic Pulses journal November 1971
Identification of the Electron-Diffusion Region during Magnetic Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal August 2008
Laboratory Observation of Electron Phase-Space Holes during Magnetic Reconnection journal December 2008
Laboratory Observation of Localized Onset of Magnetic Reconnection journal June 2010
Laboratory Measurements of Electrostatic Solitary Structures Generated by Beam Injection journal September 2010
Fast Magnetic Reconnection in the Plasmoid-Dominated Regime journal December 2010
New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection journal May 2011
Ion and Electron Heating Characteristics of Magnetic Reconnection in a Two Flux Loop Merging Experiment journal October 2011
Influence of the Lower-Hybrid Drift Instability on Magnetic Reconnection in Asymmetric Configurations journal May 2012
Lower Hybrid Drift Waves: Space Observations journal July 2012
Quantitative Study of Guide-Field Effects on Hall Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal October 2012
Distribution of Plasmoids in High-Lundquist-Number Magnetic Reconnection journal December 2012
Laboratory Study of Hall Reconnection in Partially Ionized Plasmas journal January 2013
Observation of Ion Acceleration and Heating during Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal May 2013
Energy Partition in Magnetic Reconnection in Earth’s Magnetotail journal May 2013
Laboratory Study of Magnetic Reconnection with a Density Asymmetry across the Current Sheet journal August 2014
Electron and Ion Heating Characteristics during Magnetic Reconnection in the MAST Spherical Tokamak journal November 2015
Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellites Observations of Parallel Electric Fields Associated with Magnetic Reconnection journal June 2016
Experimental Demonstration of the Collisionless Plasmoid Instability below the Ion Kinetic Scale during Magnetic Reconnection journal June 2016
Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of the Electron Diffusion Region of Large Guide Field Magnetic Reconnection journal July 2016
Laboratory Observation of Resistive Electron Tearing in a Two-Fluid Reconnecting Current Sheet journal August 2016
Anomalous Heating and Plasmoid Formation in a Driven Magnetic Reconnection Experiment journal February 2017
Experimental Verification of the Role of Electron Pressure in Fast Magnetic Reconnection with a Guide Field journal March 2017
Spacecraft Observations of Oblique Electron Beams Breaking the Frozen-In Law During Asymmetric Reconnection journal January 2018
Pressure Tensor Elements Breaking the Frozen-In Law During Reconnection in Earth’s Magnetotail journal November 2019
Electron Heating by Debye-Scale Turbulence in Guide-Field Reconnection journal January 2020
Lower-Hybrid Drift Waves Driving Electron Nongyrotropic Heating and Vortical Flows in a Magnetic Reconnection Layer journal July 2020
Energy Flux Densities near the Electron Dissipation Region in Asymmetric Magnetopause Reconnection journal December 2020
Electron Acceleration during Macroscale Magnetic Reconnection journal March 2021
Structure of a Perturbed Magnetic Reconnection Electron Diffusion Region in the Earth’s Magnetotail journal November 2021
Laboratory Observations of Electron Heating and Non-Maxwellian Distributions at the Kinetic Scale during Electron-Only Magnetic Reconnection journal January 2022
Anomalous Resistivity and Electron Heating by Lower Hybrid Drift Waves during Magnetic Reconnection with a Guide Field journal April 2024
Conversion of Magnetic Energy to Plasma Kinetic Energy During Guide Field Magnetic Reconnection in the Laboratory journal May 2024
Experiments on Magnetic-Field-Line Reconnection journal April 1979
Measurement and Instability Analysis of Three-Dimensional Anisotropic Electron Distribution Functions journal June 1985
Interplanetary Magnetic Field and the Auroral Zones journal January 1961
Magnetic reconnection of plasma toroids with cohelicity and counterhelicity journal August 1990
Ion-Controlled Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection journal November 1995
Experimental Test of the Sweet-Parker Model of Magnetic Reconnection journal April 1998
Local Measurement of Nonclassical Ion Heating during Magnetic Reconnection journal April 2000
Single-Particle Dynamics in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection journal May 2001
Measurement of Lower-Hybrid Drift Turbulence in a Reconnecting Current Sheet journal December 2001
Evidence of Diffusion Regions at a Subsolar Magnetopause Crossing journal June 2002
Dynamical Plasma Response during Driven Magnetic Reconnection journal April 2003
Electromagnetic Fluctuations during Fast Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal March 2004
Nonlinear Evolution of the Lower-Hybrid Drift Instability in a Current Sheet journal September 2004
Experimental Verification of the Hall Effect during Magnetic Reconnection in a Laboratory Plasma journal July 2005
Laser-Induced Fluorescence Measurement of the Ion-Energy-Distribution Function in a Collisionless Reconnection Experiment journal December 2005
Onset and Saturation of the Kink Instability in a Current-Carrying Line-Tied Plasma journal January 2006
Magnetic reconnection journal March 2010
Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space journal May 2016
Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space journal November 2018
Magnetic Reconnection in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas journal September 2009
Understanding the dynamics and energetics of magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma: Review of recent progress on selected fronts dataset January 2016
Electron heating and energy inventory during asymmetric reconnection in a laboratory plasma
  • Yoo, Jongsoo; Na, Byungkeun; Jara-Almonte, Jonathan
  • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States) https://doi.org/10.11578/1562000
dataset January 2017
Whistler wave generation by anisotropic tail electrons during asymmetric magnetic reconnection in space and laboratory dataset January 2018
Statistical properties of magnetic structures and energy dissipation during turbulent reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail dataset January 2020
Probe measurements of electric field and electron density fluctuations at megahertz frequencies using in-shaft miniature circuits dataset January 2021
A Novel Method to Train Classification Models for Structure Detection in In-situ Spacecraft Data preprint April 2023
Magnetic Reconnection book April 2022
Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection and Waves: Progress Review journal November 2019
Characteristics of Multi-scale Current Sheets in the Solar Wind at 1 au Associated with Magnetic Reconnection and the Case for a Heliospheric Current Sheet Avalanche journal July 2022
Core Electron Heating by Triggered Ion Acoustic Waves in the Solar Wind journal March 2022