Multi-plasmoid magnetic reconnection initiated by kinetic instabilities in colliding laser-produced plasmas

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection enables the explosive conversion of magnetic field energy to plasma kinetic energy in plasmas ranging from laboratory to astrophysical environments. A challenge has been to understand how reconnection proceeds rapidly in large systems, though theory and simulations have shown reconnection rates to be greatly enhanced by plasmoid instabilities, which break a long current sheet into a hierarchy of shorter reconnection layers. Here we show experiments with colliding magnetized laser-produced plasmas obtaining extended current sheets (L/di ~ 100, where di is the ion skin depth) and low dissipation (high Lundquist number S= μ0LVA/η ~ 1000). The current sheet is observed to break up into a chain of a large number (~20) of magnetic islands. Proton radiography and optical shadowgraphy observe the size and temporal growth of island structures, which merge into larger structures over the course of the interaction. We discuss astrophysical implications of these observations and reconnection experiments at NIF at even larger system size.

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Presenters

  • Will Randolph Fox

    Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton Univ, PPPL

Authors

  • Will Randolph Fox

    Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton Univ, PPPL

  • Gennady Fiksel

    Univ of Michigan - Ann Arbor

  • Daniel J Haberberger

    University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Univ of Rochester LLE, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester, Univ of Rochester

  • Derek Schaeffer

    Princeton Univ, Univ of California - Los Angeles, University of California, Los Angeles, Princeton University, Princeton Univ

  • Jackson VH Matteucci

    Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton Univ

  • Michael J Rosenberg

    University of Rochester, Univ of Rochester, Univ of Rochester LLE, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Lab for Laser Energetics

  • S. X. Hu

    Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester, University of Rochester, Univ of Rochester, Univ of Rochester LLE, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

  • Andrew Howard

    University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Univ of Rochester LLE

  • Dmitri A Uzdensky

    Univ of Colorado - Boulder

  • Hye-Sook Park

    Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Kirill Lezhnin

    Princeton University, Princeton Univ

  • Amitava Bhattacharjee

    Princeton University, Princeton Univ, Princeton Univ, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton Univ, LANL, PPPL, UC-Berkeley, UCLA and UW-Madison

  • Kai Germaschewski

    University of New Hampshire, Princeton Plasma Phys Lab