Reconnection experiments with flux ropes near 3D magnetic nulls

Depending on the topology and geometry of the magnetic field, a rich collection of magnetic reconnection scenarios is possible in 3D including reconnection at magnetic nulls. Nulls have been reported in the solar corona [1] and in Earth's magnetosphere [2], yet there are a limited number of laboratory observations. At the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) we have implemented a new magnetic geometry with a pair of 3D null points in the background toroidal field. In the nominal symmetric configuration a field line connects the nulls. We form a flux rope along this field line and observe the rope rapidly restructuring and rewiring as the nulls develop. A suit of diagnostics will be deployed and results presented for the dynamics of the geometry. \\[1ex] [1] Fletcher et al., Astrophys. J. 554, 451(2001).\\[0ex] [2] Xiao et al., Nat. Phys. 2, 478 (2006).