Bulletin of the American Physical Society
55th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics
Volume 58, Number 16
Monday–Friday, November 11–15, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session DI3: Reconnection |
Hide Abstracts |
Chair: Scott Robertson, University of Colorado-Boulder Room: Plaza F |
Monday, November 11, 2013 3:00PM - 3:30PM |
DI3.00001: Studies of Magnetic Reconnection in Colliding Laser-Produced Plasmas Invited Speaker: Michael Rosenberg Novel images of magnetic fields and measurements of electron and ion temperatures have been obtained in the magnetic reconnection region of high-$\beta $, laser-produced plasmas. Experiments using laser-irradiated foils produce expanding, hemispherical plasma plumes carrying MG Biermann-battery magnetic fields, which can be driven to interact and reconnect. Thomson-scattering measurements of electron and ion temperatures in the interaction region of two colliding, magnetized plasmas show no thermal enhancement due to reconnection, as expected for $\beta \sim 8$ plasmas. Two different proton radiography techniques used to image the magnetic field structures show deformation, pileup, and annihilation of magnetic flux. High-resolution images reveal unambiguously reconnection-induced jets emerging from the interaction region and show instabilities in the expanding plasma plumes and supersonic, hydrodynamic jets due to the plasma collision. Quantitative magnetic flux data show that reconnection in experiments with asymmetry in the scale size, density, temperature, and plasma flow across the reconnection region occurs less efficiently than in similar, symmetric experiments. This result is attributed to disruption of the Hall mechanism mediating collisionless reconnection. The collision of plasmas carrying parallel magnetic fields has also been probed, illustrating the deformation of magnetic field structures in high-energy-density plasmas in the absence of reconnection. These experiments are particularly relevant to high-$\beta $ reconnection environments, such as the magnetopause. This work was performed in collaboration with C. Li, F. S\'{e}guin, A. Zylstra, H. Rinderknecht, H. Sio, J. Frenje, and R. Petrasso (MIT), I. Igumenshchev, V. Glebov, C. Stoeckl, and D. Froula (LLE), J. Ross and R. Town (LLNL), W. Fox (UNH), and A. Nikroo (GA), and was supported in part by the NLUF, FSC/UR, U.S. DOE, LLNL, and LLE. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, November 11, 2013 3:30PM - 4:00PM |
DI3.00002: 3D instabilities connected with reconnection in full 3D PIC simulations Invited Speaker: Giovanni Lapenta Kinetic reconnection is characterized by a distinct behavior of electrons and ions with regions of strong relative speeds between the species. Electrons can flow at great speed relative to ions and can be characterized by a strong non-gyrotropy and anisotropy. When studied in full three dilensions, these electron peculiar properties can drive numerous instabilities that have been investigated by the suggested speaker and his collaborators in a number of recent published papers. Two regions have received most attention: 1) the separatrices where instabilities are caused by the electron flow and the electron phase space features, 2) the downstream fronts where an interchange instability leads to strong energy exchanges and secondary reconnection. In both situations the ions are demagnitezed but the electrons are not and their behaviour is rich in full kinetic processes. At the separatrices, two types of instabilities have been observed. The electron phase space is characterized by multiple populations at relative drifts (electron beams) and the whole electron species is drifting with respect to the ions. This condition is subject to different streaming instabilities. Additionally, the separatrices are regions of intense density and flow shear, with free energy available to drive Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instabilities. In the downstream fronts of reconnection, a density gradient develops in conditions where the acceleration is directed unfavourably for stability, leading to ballooning and interchange-type instabilities. Both cases are of great importance for the upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission that is bent on finding and analyzing the regions where the electron scale physics is dominant. The processes discussed above can provide key information for the operation of the mission and the interpretation of its results. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, November 11, 2013 4:00PM - 4:30PM |
DI3.00003: Particle heating and acceleration during collisionless reconnection in a laboratory plasma Invited Speaker: Jongsoo Yoo Particle heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection is studied in the collisionless plasma of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). For ion heating and acceleration, the role of the in-plane (Hall) electric field is emphasized. An in-plane electrostatic potential profile is established by electron acceleration near the X-point. The potential profile shows a well structure along the direction normal to the reconnection current sheet that becomes deeper and wider downstream as its boundary expands along the separatrices where the in-plane electric field is strongest. The Hall electric field ballistically accelerates ions near the separatrices toward the outflow direction. After ions are accelerated, they are heated as they travel into the high-pressure downstream region due to an effect called re-magnetization [1]. Electrons are also significantly heated during reconnection. The electron temperature sharply increases across the separatrices and peaks just outside of the electron diffusion region. Classical Ohmic dissipation based on the perpendicular Spitzer resistivity is too small to compensate for the energy loss by parallel heat conduction, indicating the presence of anomalous electron heating. Finally, a total energy inventory is calculated based on analysis of the Poynting, enthalpy, flow energy, and heat flux in the measured diffusion layer. More than half of the incoming magnetic energy is converted to particle energy during reconnection. \\[4pt] [1] Yoo \textit{et al.} \textit{Phys. Rev. Lett.} \textbf{110}, 215007, 2013 [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, November 11, 2013 4:30PM - 5:00PM |
DI3.00004: Gamma-ray Flares in the Crab Nebula: A Case of Relativistic Reconnection? Invited Speaker: Benoit Cerutti The Crab Nebula was formed after the collapse of a massive star about a thousand years ago, leaving behind a pulsar that inflates a bubble of ultra-relativistic electron-positron pairs permeated with magnetic field. The observation of brief but bright flares of energetic gamma rays suggests that pairs are accelerated to PeV energies within a few days; such rapid acceleration cannot be driven by shocks. In this talk, I will argue that the flares may be the smoking gun of magnetic dissipation in the Nebula. Using 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations, I will show that the observations are consistent with relativistic magnetic reconnection, where pairs are subject to strong radiative cooling. The Crab flares may highlight the importance of magnetic reconnection in astrophysical sources. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700