Magnetic reconnection driven by Gekko XII lasers with a Helmholtz capacitor-coil target
- Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)
- Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)
- Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)
- IFSA Collaborative Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)
We demonstrate a novel plasma device for magnetic reconnection, driven by Gekko XII lasers irradiating a double-turn Helmholtz capacitor-coil target. Optical probing revealed an accumulated plasma plume near the magnetic reconnection outflow. The background electron density and magnetic field were measured to be approximately 10{sup 18 }cm{sup −3} and 60 T by using Nomarski interferometry and the Faraday effect, respectively. In contrast with experiments on magnetic reconnection constructed by the Biermann battery effect, which produced high beta values, our beta value was much lower than one, which greatly extends the parameter regime of laser-driven magnetic reconnection and reveals its potential in astrophysical plasma applications.
- OSTI ID:
- 22599030
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 23, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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