Title: Ion heating and magnetic flux pile-up in a magnetic reconnection experiment with super-Alfvénic plasma inflows

Abstract

This work presents a magnetic reconnection experiment in which the kinetic, magnetic and thermal properties of the plasma each play an important role in the overall energy balance and structure of the generated reconnection layer. Magnetic reconnection occurs during the interaction of continuous and steady flows of super-Alfvénic, magnetized, aluminum plasma, which collide in a geometry with two-dimensional symmetry, producing a stable and long-lasting reconnection layer. Optical Thomson scattering measurements show that when the layer forms, ions inside the layer are more strongly heated than electrons, reaching temperatures of T_i~$$ \overline{Z}\ $$T_e≳300 eV – much greater than can be expected from strong shock and viscous heating alone. Later in time, as the plasma density in the layer increases, the electron and ion temperatures are found to equilibrate, and a constant plasma temperature is achieved through a balance of the heating mechanisms and radiative losses of the plasma. Conclusively, measurements from Faraday rotation polarimetry also indicate the presence of significant magnetic field pile-up occurring at the boundary of the reconnection region, which is consistent with the super-Alfvénic velocity of the inflows

Authors:

Suttle, L. G. ^[1]; Hare, J. D.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7090-828X"

Lebedev, S. V.  ^[1];

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Ciardi, A. ^[2]; Loureiro, N. F.  ^[3];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-9755-6563"

Burdiak, G. C. ^[1]; Chittenden, J. P. ^[1]; Clayson, T. ^[1]; Halliday, J. W. D. ^[1]; Niasse, N. ^[1]; Russell, D. ^[1]; Suzuki-Vidal, F.  ^[1];

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Tubman, E.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-8059-9871"

Lane, T. ^[4]; Ma, J. ^[5]; Robinson, T. ^[1]; Smith, R. A. ^[1]; Stuart, N.  ^[1]

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-2882-2500"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
2. Sorbonne Univ., Paris (France)
3. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
4. West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
5. Northwest Inst. of Nuclear Technology, Xi'an (China)

Publication Date:

Tue Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Research Org.:

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP); USDOE Office of Legacy Management (LM), Office of Field Operations

OSTI Identifier:

1499656

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1432579

Grant/Contract Number:  

NA0003764; F03-02NA00057; NA-0003764; SC-0001063

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Physics of Plasmas

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 25; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:

American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY