3D simulation of lower-hybrid drift waves in strong guide field asymmetric reconnection in laboratory experiments
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- University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States); Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
The magnetic reconnection experiment has recently seen short wavelength ([Formula: see text]) lower-hybrid waves near the electron diffusion region in strong guide field reconnection. Based on plasma parameters from the experiment, we perform a three-dimensional fully kinetic simulation in order to investigate the generation of the lower-hybrid waves and their effects on the reconnection process. We find that the low-beta regions around the reconnection site are unstable to the lower-hybrid drift instability propagating in the outflow direction, driven by the difference between the electron and ion outflows. The waves modify the electron distributions, leading to periodic opening and closing of gaps in electron velocity space, and provide a small contribution to the anomalous resistivity. Finally, the simulation results are discussed in the context of space observations and laboratory experiments.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-09CH11466
- OSTI ID:
- 1974417
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 30; ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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