Experimental Verification of the Role of Electron Pressure in Fast Magnetic Reconnection with a Guide Field.
Phys Rev Lett
; 118(12): 125002, 2017 Mar 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28388178
ABSTRACT
We report detailed laboratory observations of the structure of a reconnection current sheet in a two-fluid plasma regime with a guide magnetic field. We observe and quantitatively analyze the quadrupolar electron pressure variation in the ion-diffusion region, as originally predicted by extended magnetohydrodynamics simulations. The projection of the electron pressure gradient parallel to the magnetic field contributes significantly to balancing the parallel electric field, and the resulting cross-field electron jets in the reconnection layer are diamagnetic in origin. These results demonstrate how parallel and perpendicular force balance are coupled in guide field reconnection and confirm basic theoretical models of the importance of electron pressure gradients for obtaining fast magnetic reconnection.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos