Laboratory Study of Fast Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection in the New VTF Closed Magnetic Configuration

A new magnetic configuration utilizing in-vessel coils has been implemented in the Versatile Toroidal Facility at MIT [1] for the study of magnetic reconnection in the collisionless regime ($n_e\sim10^{18}$ m$^{-3}$ and $T_e\sim60$eV) . In a range of the available parameter regime the reconnection process occurs in rapid bursts, with Alfvenic outflow velocities. The abrupt onset of these reconnection events provides a unique opportunity to address the ``fast trigger problem in reconnection.'' We will present our preliminary analysis of the magnetic and electrostatic structures of the reconnection region during these spontaneous reconnection events.\\[1ex] [1] J. Egedal, et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 71, 3351 (2000).