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Title: A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly-driven plasmas

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection, the annihilation and rearrangement of magnetic fields in a plasma, is a universal phenomenon that frequently occurs when plasmas carrying oppositely-directed field lines collide. In most natural circumstances the collision is asymmetric (the two plasmas having different properties), but laboratory research to date has been limited to symmetric configurations. Additionally, the regime of strongly-driven magnetic reconnection, where the ram pressure of the plasma dominates the magnetic pressure, as in several astrophysical environments, has also received little experimental attention. Thus, we have designed experiments to probe reconnection in asymmetric, strongly-driven, laser-generated plasmas. Here we show that, in this strongly-driven system, the rate of magnetic flux annihilation is dictated by the relative flow velocities of the opposing plasmas and is insensitive to initial asymmetries. Additionally, out-of-plane magnetic fields that arise from asymmetries in the three-dimensional plasma geometry have minimal impact on the reconnection rate, due to the strong flows.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center
  2. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  3. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics
  4. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1172522
Grant/Contract Number:  
NA0002035; NA0001857
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY

Citation Formats

Rosenberg, M. J., Li, C. K., Fox, W., Igumenshchev, I., Seguin, F. H., Town, R.P. J., Frenje, J. A., Stoeckl, C., Glebov, V., and Petrasso, R. D. A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly-driven plasmas. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1038/ncomms7190.
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Rosenberg, M. J., Li, C. K., Fox, W., Igumenshchev, I., Seguin, F. H., Town, R.P. J., Frenje, J. A., Stoeckl, C., Glebov, V., & Petrasso, R. D. A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly-driven plasmas. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7190
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Rosenberg, M. J., Li, C. K., Fox, W., Igumenshchev, I., Seguin, F. H., Town, R.P. J., Frenje, J. A., Stoeckl, C., Glebov, V., and Petrasso, R. D. Wed . "A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly-driven plasmas". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7190. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1172522.
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@article{osti_1172522,
title = {A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly-driven plasmas},
author = {Rosenberg, M. J. and Li, C. K. and Fox, W. and Igumenshchev, I. and Seguin, F. H. and Town, R.P. J. and Frenje, J. A. and Stoeckl, C. and Glebov, V. and Petrasso, R. D.},
abstractNote = {Magnetic reconnection, the annihilation and rearrangement of magnetic fields in a plasma, is a universal phenomenon that frequently occurs when plasmas carrying oppositely-directed field lines collide. In most natural circumstances the collision is asymmetric (the two plasmas having different properties), but laboratory research to date has been limited to symmetric configurations. Additionally, the regime of strongly-driven magnetic reconnection, where the ram pressure of the plasma dominates the magnetic pressure, as in several astrophysical environments, has also received little experimental attention. Thus, we have designed experiments to probe reconnection in asymmetric, strongly-driven, laser-generated plasmas. Here we show that, in this strongly-driven system, the rate of magnetic flux annihilation is dictated by the relative flow velocities of the opposing plasmas and is insensitive to initial asymmetries. Additionally, out-of-plane magnetic fields that arise from asymmetries in the three-dimensional plasma geometry have minimal impact on the reconnection rate, due to the strong flows.},
doi = {10.1038/ncomms7190},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = ,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}
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Journal Article:
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7190
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Cited by: 44 works
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Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1 FIG. 1: Magnetic field configurations and experimental setup a Magnetic fields at the magnetopause, where the solar wind drives asymmetric reconnection between the interplanetary magnetic field and the Earth’s magnetosphere, bear similarities to b magnetic fields and flows in the asymmetric reconnection experiments. c In the experiments, the distance betweenmore » the backlighter capsule and the CH foil was 1 cm, while the distance between the mesh and the foil was 0.2 cm. The distance between the backlighter and the CR-39 proton detector was 27-28 cm, so the magnification was $M$=27-28. The relative timing of laser onset of the two foil drive beams was varied from $∆t$=0 to $∆t$=0.7 ns.« less
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      Figures / Tables found in this record:

      FIG. 1 (p. 10)figure
      TABLE I (p. 10)table
      FIG. 2 (p. 11)figure
      FIG. 3 (p. 11)figure
      FIG. 4 (p. 12)figure
      TABLE II (p. 12)table
      FIG. 5 (p. 13)figure
      TABLE III (p. 13)table
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