Strongly Driven Magnetic Reconnection in a Magnetized High-Energy-Density Plasma

Magnetic reconnection in a magnetized high-energy-density plasma is characterized by measuring the dynamics of the plasma density and magnetic field between two counter-propagating and colliding plasma flows. The density and magnetic field were profiled using the 4$\omega$ angular filter refractometry and fast proton deflectometry diagnostics, respectively. The plasma flows are created by irradiating oppositely placed plastic targets with 1.8-kJ, 2-ns laser beams on the OMEGA EP Laser System. The two plumes are magnetized by an externally controlled magnetic field with an $x$-type null point geometry with B $=$ 0 at the midplane and B $=$ 8 T at the targets. The interaction region is pre-filled with a low-density background plasma. The counterflowing super-Alfv\'{e}nic plasma plumes sweep up and compress the magnetic field and the background plasma into a pair of magnetized ribbons, which collide, stagnate, and reconnect at the midplane, allowing for the first detailed observation of a stretched current sheet in laser-driven reconnection experiments. The measurements are in good agreement with first-principles particle-in-cell simulations. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944 and NLUF Grant DE-SC0008655.