Magnetic Reconnection Experiments on the MAGPIE Pulsed Power Generator

Magnetic reconnection is a relaxation mechanism through which energy stored in magnetic flux is dissipated, leading to bulk plasma heating, plasma acceleration, and the generation of fast particles. In this presentation we will provide an overview of results obtained using a versatile, pulsed power driven platform for magnetic reconnection experiments [1, 2]. The platform uses the MAGPIE generator to produce plasma inflows (u$_{\mathrm{in}}$ $\approx $ 50 kms$^{\mathrm{-1}})$ that carry a strong azimuthal magnetic field (B$_{\mathrm{in}}$ \textasciitilde 3 T) and persist for many hydrodynamic timescales (T$_{\mathrm{total\thinspace \thinspace }}\approx $ 500 ns \textgreater \textgreater T$_{\mathrm{hydro}} \quad \approx $ 10 ns). Experiments are diagnosed with a suite of high spatial and temporal resolution diagnostics including laser interferometry, Thomson scattering, and Faraday rotation imaging.Notable results obtained using this platform include observation of the semi-collisional plasmoid instability, anomalous heating within the reconnection layer, and measurements of a power balance which demonstrates that magnetic energy is efficiently dissipated by the reconnection process. [1] L. G. Suttle et al. PRL 2016, [2] J. D. Hare et al. PRL 2017