Turbulence-driven anisotropic electron tail generation during magnetic reconnection

DuBois, A. M.; Scherer, A.; Almagri, A. F.; Anderson, J. K.; Pandya, M. D.; Sarff, J. S.

doi:10.1063/1.5016240

Title: Turbulence-driven anisotropic electron tail generation during magnetic reconnection

Journal Article · Tue Mar 13 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5016240· OSTI ID:1524585

DuBois, A. M. ^[1]; Scherer, A. ^[1]; Almagri, A. F. ^[1];

^[1]; Pandya, M. D. ^[1]; Sarff, J. S. ^[1]

Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Physics

Magnetic reconnection (MR) plays an important role in particle transport, energization, and acceleration in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. In the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch, discrete MR events release large amounts of energy from the equilibrium magnetic field, a fraction of which is transferred to electrons and ions. Previous experiments revealed an anisotropic electron tail that favors the perpendicular direction and is symmetric in the parallel. New profile measurements of x-ray emission show that the tail distribution is localized near the magnetic axis, consistent modeling of the bremsstrahlung emission. The tail appears first near the magnetic axis and then spreads radially, and the dynamics in the anisotropy and diffusion are discussed. The data presented imply that the electron tail formation likely results from a turbulent wave-particle interaction and provides evidence that high energy electrons are escaping the core-localized region through pitch angle scattering into the parallel direction, followed by stochastic parallel transport to the plasma edge. Finally, new measurements also show a strong correlation between high energy x-ray measurements and tearing mode dynamics, suggesting that the coupling between core and edge tearing modes is essential for energetic electron tail formation.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: FC02-05ER54814; PHY08-21899

OSTI ID:: 1524585

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1425714

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 5; ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 4 works

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