Study of electron exhaust jet and current-driven instabilities in kinetic magnetic reconnection using laser-powered capacitor coils

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas that rapidly releases magnetic energy. Plasma kinetic instabilities often play an important role in the required dissipation. We conducted kilojoule laser-powered kinetic reconnection experiments with capacitor-coils [1-3] to study electron outflow jets using collective Thomson scattering. Thomson scattering shows the existence of electron-acoustic waves (EAW) with phase velocity near the electron thermal speed, which suggests a non-Maxwellian distribution overcoming Landau damping. We also observed bursty and asymmetric ion-acoustic waves (IAW), confirming the existence of the electron jet and the current-driven ion-acoustic instabilities (IAI). The amplitude of both EAW and IAW exhibits correlated bursts with a frequency that matches the lower-hybrid frequency. Specially designed local Particle-In-Cell simulation shows that the current-driven IAI can form a double layer and induce electron two-stream instability generating EAW that are consistent with the measurements. Our experiments and simulations demonstrate that the electron outflow jet is unstable and can dissipate energy through electron-ion coupling. The combination of collective Thomson scattering and the laser-powered experiments opened up a new avenue to study kinetic physics in reconnection. 

 

[1] L. Gao et al., Ultrafast proton radiography of the magnetic fields generated by a laser-driven coil current. Physics of Plasmas, 23(4):043106, 2016. 

[2] A. Chien et al., Study of a magnetically driven reconnection platform using ultrafast proton radiography. Physics of Plasmas, 26:062113, 2019. 

[3] A. Chien et al., Direct measurement of non-thermal electron acceleration from magnetically driven reconnection in a laboratory plasma, submitted.

*This work was supported by DOE Office of Science under the contract number DE-SC0020103 (HEDLP) and Academic and Industrial Basic Science Experiments (AIBS) at OMEGA laser facility.

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Presenters

  • Shu Zhang

    • Princeton University

Authors

  • Shu Zhang

    • Princeton University

  • Abraham Chien

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Hantao Ji

    • Princeton University

  • Lan Gao

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
    • PPPL
    • Princeton University

  • Kenneth Hill

    • Princeton University
    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Eric Blackman

    • Rochester Institute of Technology
    • University of Rochester

  • Russell K Follett

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester
    • University of Rochester
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics - Rochester
    • University of Rochester Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Computer Science
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics

  • Dustin H Froula

    • University of Rochester
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester
    • Lab for Laser Energetics
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

  • Joe D Katz

    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics
    • University of Rochester
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

  • William S Daughton

    • Los Alamos Natl Lab
    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Chikang Li

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
    • MIT

  • Andrew Birkel

    • MIT
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
    • PSFC, MIT

  • Richard Petrasso

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
    • MIT

  • John D Moody

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • LLNL
    • Lawrence Livermore National Lab

  • Hui Chen

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • LLNL