Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments

An evolution of magnetic reconnection behavior, from fast jets to the slowing of reconnection and the establishment of a stable current sheet, has been observed in strongly driven, β ≲ 20 laser-produced plasma experiments. This process has been inferred to occur alongside a slowing of plasma inflows...

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Main Authors: Fox, W., Stoeckl, C., Li, Chikang, Zylstra, Alex Bennett, Seguin, Fredrick Hampton, Frenje, Johan A., Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan, Petrasso, Richard D.
Outros Autores: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Formato: Artigo
Idioma:English
Publicado em: American Physical Society 2015
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97127
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6919-4881
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0489-7479
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1020-3501
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author Fox, W.
Stoeckl, C.
Li, Chikang
Zylstra, Alex Bennett
Seguin, Fredrick Hampton
Frenje, Johan A.
Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan
Petrasso, Richard D.
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Fox, W.
Stoeckl, C.
Li, Chikang
Zylstra, Alex Bennett
Seguin, Fredrick Hampton
Frenje, Johan A.
Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan
Petrasso, Richard D.
author_sort Fox, W.
collection MIT
description An evolution of magnetic reconnection behavior, from fast jets to the slowing of reconnection and the establishment of a stable current sheet, has been observed in strongly driven, β ≲ 20 laser-produced plasma experiments. This process has been inferred to occur alongside a slowing of plasma inflows carrying the oppositely directed magnetic fields as well as the evolution of plasma conditions from collisionless to collisional. High-resolution proton radiography has revealed unprecedented detail of the forced interaction of magnetic fields and super-Alfvénic electron jets (V[subscript jet] ~ 20V[subscript A]) ejected from the reconnection region, indicating that two-fluid or collisionless magnetic reconnection occurs early in time. The absence of jets and the persistence of strong, stable magnetic fields at late times indicates that the reconnection process slows down, while plasma flows stagnate and plasma conditions evolve to a cooler, denser, more collisional state. These results demonstrate that powerful initial plasma flows are not sufficient to force a complete reconnection of magnetic fields, even in the strongly driven regime.
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spelling mit-1721.1/971272022-10-03T09:38:20Z Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments Fox, W. Stoeckl, C. Li, Chikang Zylstra, Alex Bennett Seguin, Fredrick Hampton Frenje, Johan A. Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan Petrasso, Richard D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center Li, Chikang Zylstra, Alex Bennett Seguin, Fredrick Hampton Frenje, Johan A. Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan Petrasso, Richard D. An evolution of magnetic reconnection behavior, from fast jets to the slowing of reconnection and the establishment of a stable current sheet, has been observed in strongly driven, β ≲ 20 laser-produced plasma experiments. This process has been inferred to occur alongside a slowing of plasma inflows carrying the oppositely directed magnetic fields as well as the evolution of plasma conditions from collisionless to collisional. High-resolution proton radiography has revealed unprecedented detail of the forced interaction of magnetic fields and super-Alfvénic electron jets (V[subscript jet] ~ 20V[subscript A]) ejected from the reconnection region, indicating that two-fluid or collisionless magnetic reconnection occurs early in time. The absence of jets and the persistence of strong, stable magnetic fields at late times indicates that the reconnection process slows down, while plasma flows stagnate and plasma conditions evolve to a cooler, denser, more collisional state. These results demonstrate that powerful initial plasma flows are not sufficient to force a complete reconnection of magnetic fields, even in the strongly driven regime. United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-NA0001857) University of Rochester. Laboratory for Laser Energetics (Grant 415935-G) National Laser User’s Facility (Grant DE-NA0002035) University of Rochester. Fusion Science Center (Grant 5-24431) 2015-05-29T17:58:23Z 2015-05-29T17:58:23Z 2015-05 2014-12 2015-05-26T22:00:26Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0031-9007 1079-7114 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97127 Rosenberg, M. J., C. K. Li, W. Fox, A. B. Zylstra, C. Stoeckl, F. H. Seguin, J. A. Frenje, and R. D. Petrasso. “Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments.” Physical Review Letters 114, no. 20 (May 2015). © 2015 American Physical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6919-4881 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0489-7479 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1020-3501 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.205004 Physical Review Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society
spellingShingle Fox, W.
Stoeckl, C.
Li, Chikang
Zylstra, Alex Bennett
Seguin, Fredrick Hampton
Frenje, Johan A.
Rosenberg, Michael Jonathan
Petrasso, Richard D.
Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title_full Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title_fullStr Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title_full_unstemmed Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title_short Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments
title_sort slowing of magnetic reconnection concurrent with weakening plasma inflows and increasing collisionality in strongly driven laser plasma experiments
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97127
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6919-4881
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0489-7479
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1020-3501
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