Anomalous Resistivity and Electron Heating by Lower Hybrid Drift Waves during Magnetic Reconnection with a Guide Field

Journal Article · 03 April 2024 · Physical Review Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.132.145101 · OSTI ID:2341782

Yoo, Jongsoo  ^[1]; Ng, Jonathan  ^[2]; Ji, Hantao  ^[3]; Bose, Sayak  ^[1]; Goodman, Aaron  ^[4]; Alt, Andrew ^[4]; Chen, Li-Jen  ^[5]; Shi, Peiyun  ^[1]; Yamada, Masaaki  ^[1]

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1. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
2. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
3. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
4. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
5. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)

The lower hybrid drift wave (LHDW) has been a candidate for anomalous resistivity and electron heating inside the electron diffusion region of magnetic reconnection. In a laboratory reconnection layer with a finite guide field, quasielectrostatic LHDW (ES-LHDW) propagating along the direction nearly perpendicular to the local magnetic field is excited in the electron diffusion region. ES-LHDW generates large density fluctuations ($$δn_{\text e}$$, about 25% of the mean density) that are correlated with fluctuations in the out-of-plane electric field ($$δE_Y$$, about twice larger than the mean reconnection electric field). With a small phase difference (~ 30°) between two fluctuating quantities, the anomalous resistivity associated with the observed ES-LHDW is twice larger than the classical resistivity and accounts for 20% of the mean reconnection electric field. After we verify the linear relationship between $$δn_{\text e}$$ and $$δE_Y$$, anomalous electron heating by LHDW is estimated by a quasilinear analysis. The estimated electron heating is about 2.6 ± 0.3 MW / m³, which exceeds the classical Ohmic heating of about 2.0 ± 0.2 MW / m³. This LHDW-driven heating is consistent with the observed trend of higher electron temperatures when the wave amplitude is larger. Finally, presented results provide the first direct estimate of anomalous resistivity and electron heating power by LHDW, which demonstrates the importance of wave-particle interactions in magnetic reconnection.

• 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: 2341782
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 2474430
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 132; ISSN 0031-9007
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English