Abstract
We present a detailed study of magnetic reconnection in a quasi-two-dimensional pulsed-power driven laboratory experiment. Oppositely directed magnetic fields (), advected by supersonic, sub-Alfvénic carbon plasma flows (), are brought together and mutually annihilate inside a thin current layer (). Temporally and spatially resolved optical diagnostics, including interferometry, Faraday rotation imaging, and Thomson scattering, allow us to determine the structure and dynamics of this layer, the nature of the inflows and outflows, and the detailed energy partition during the reconnection process. We measure high electron and ion temperatures (, ), far in excess of what can be attributed to classical (Spitzer) resistive and viscous dissipation. We observe the repeated formation and ejection of plasmoids, consistent with the predictions from semicollisional plasmoid theory.
- Received 27 September 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.085001
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