TY - GEN
T1 - Electromagnetic perturbations in the reconnecting current sheet in MRX
AU - Dorfman, Seth
AU - Ji, Hantao
AU - Yamada, Masaaki
AU - Ren, Yang
AU - Gerhardt, Stefan
AU - Kulsrud, Russell
AU - McGeehan, Brendan
AU - Wang, Yansong
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process in which magnetic field lines break and reconnect, converting magnetic field energy into particle kinetic energy. Electromagnetic fluctuations, which may play a role in fast reconnection, are studied from both an experimental and theoretical standpoint. The waves, which are in the lower hybrid range of frequencies, may be produced by a plasma instability known as the oblique lower hybrid drift instability. When the electron drift velocity is large, the theory predicts coupling between whistler and acoustic waves in the ion frame that may lead to an instability in the vicinity of the current sheet. On the experimental side, an antenna placed in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is used to apply perturbations, and their propagation characteristics are measured. Results from a 2mm diameter antenna indicate that any induced fluctuations are confined to the current sheet and are preferentially excited in the direction of electron flow within the layer. Preliminary data from a 2cm diameter antenna shows a wave propagating in the electron flow direction at the local electron drift velocity. Thus electron drift appears to play a crucial role in the appearance of fluctuations.
AB - Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process in which magnetic field lines break and reconnect, converting magnetic field energy into particle kinetic energy. Electromagnetic fluctuations, which may play a role in fast reconnection, are studied from both an experimental and theoretical standpoint. The waves, which are in the lower hybrid range of frequencies, may be produced by a plasma instability known as the oblique lower hybrid drift instability. When the electron drift velocity is large, the theory predicts coupling between whistler and acoustic waves in the ion frame that may lead to an instability in the vicinity of the current sheet. On the experimental side, an antenna placed in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is used to apply perturbations, and their propagation characteristics are measured. Results from a 2mm diameter antenna indicate that any induced fluctuations are confined to the current sheet and are preferentially excited in the direction of electron flow within the layer. Preliminary data from a 2cm diameter antenna shows a wave propagating in the electron flow direction at the local electron drift velocity. Thus electron drift appears to play a crucial role in the appearance of fluctuations.
KW - Electromagnetic fluctuations
KW - Magnetic reconnection
KW - Oblique lower hybrid drift insta-bility
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U2 - 10.1063/1.2404562
DO - 10.1063/1.2404562
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:33847007307
SN - 0735403767
SN - 9780735403765
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 306
EP - 311
BT - THEORY OF FUSION PLASMAS
T2 - THEORY OF FUSION PLASMAS: Joint Varenna-Lausanne International Workshop
Y2 - 28 August 2006 through 1 September 2006
ER -