TY - JOUR
T1 - Fast magnetic reconnection in laser-produced plasma bubbles
AU - Fox, W.
AU - Bhattacharjee, A.
AU - Germaschewski, K.
PY - 2011/5/27
Y1 - 2011/5/27
N2 - Recent experiments have observed magnetic reconnection in high-energy-density, laser-produced plasma bubbles, with reconnection rates observed to be much higher than can be explained by classical theory. Based on fully kinetic particle simulations we find that fast reconnection in these strongly driven systems can be explained by magnetic flux pileup at the shoulder of the current sheet and subsequent fast reconnection via two-fluid, collisionless mechanisms. In the strong drive regime with two-fluid effects, we find that the ultimate reconnection time is insensitive to the nominal system Alfvén time.
AB - Recent experiments have observed magnetic reconnection in high-energy-density, laser-produced plasma bubbles, with reconnection rates observed to be much higher than can be explained by classical theory. Based on fully kinetic particle simulations we find that fast reconnection in these strongly driven systems can be explained by magnetic flux pileup at the shoulder of the current sheet and subsequent fast reconnection via two-fluid, collisionless mechanisms. In the strong drive regime with two-fluid effects, we find that the ultimate reconnection time is insensitive to the nominal system Alfvén time.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.215003
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.215003
M3 - Article
C2 - 21699307
AN - SCOPUS:79960642451
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 106
JO - Physical review letters
JF - Physical review letters
IS - 21
M1 - 215003
ER -