Multiscale Magnetic Reconnection, Phase Transition, Particle Heating and Acceleration, and the FLARE Project

POSTER

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection is widely recognized as a fundamental plasma process underlying many explosive and energetic phenomena observed throughout the Universe and laboratory fusion plasmas (Ji & Daughton 2011, Ji+ 2022). Here we summarize our recent progress. A thermodynamic phase transition from collisional Sweet-Parker reconnection to collisionless Hall reconnection has been identified (Jara-Almonte & Ji 2021). The phase transition occurs when the reconnection electric field reaches Dreicer electric field reduced by the square root of the ion-to-electron mass ratio including pair plasmas. Statistical properties of multiscale magnetotail reconnection have been studied by using MMS data and machine learning techniques are being developed (Bergstedt+2020, this meeting). Guide field effects on MHD plasmoids distributions and particle acceleration by large plasmoids are studied (Majeski+2021, this meeting). In MRX, ion heating and flow generation have been measured during guide field reconnection (Goodman+2021,2022). Electron acceleration, ion and electron acoustic bursts during low-beta reconnection by laser-powered capacitor coils have been detected (Chien+2022, Zhang+2022). The upcoming FLARE (Ji+2018) will study multiscale physics, reconnection onset and particle acceleration.

*Support by DoE, NASA and NSF is acknowledged.

Publication: H. Ji, W. Daughton, J. Jara-Almonte, A. Le, A. Stanier, and J. Yoo, "Magnetic reconnection in the era of exascale computing and multiscale experiments," Nature Reviews Physics 4, 263 (2022).
J. Jara-Almonte and H. Ji, "Thermodynamic Phase Transition in Magnetic Reconnection", Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 055102 (2021).
K. Bergstedt, H. Ji, J. Jara-Almonte, J. Yoo, R. Ergun, and L.-J. Chen, "Statistical Properties of Magnetic Structures and Energy Dissipation during Turbulent Reconnection in the Earth's Magnetotail", Geophys. Res. Lett 47, e2020GL088540 (2020).
S. Majeski, H. Ji, J. Jara-Almonte, and J. Yoo, "Guide Field Effects on the Distribution of Plasmoids in Multiple Scale Reconnection", Phys. Plasmas 28, 092106 (2021).
A. Goodman, J. Yoo, J. Jara-Almonte, and H. Ji, "Ion temperature measurements from tomographic reconstruction of Doppler spectra in the presence of multi-component flow in two dimensions", Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92, 063508 (2021).
A. Chien, L. Gao, S. Zhang, H. Ji, E. Blackman et al., "Direct measurement of non-thermal electron acceleration from magnetically driven reconnection in a laboratory plasma", submitted (2022).
S. Zhang, A. Chien, L. Gao, H. Ji, E. Blackman et al., "Ion and Electron Acoustic Bursts during Anti-Parallel Reconnection Driven by Lasers", submitted (2022).

Presenters

  • Hantao Ji

    • Princeton University

Authors

  • Hantao Ji

    • Princeton University

  • Andrew D Alt

    • Princeton University

  • Kendra A Bergstedt

    • Princeton University

  • Abraham Chien

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Eric G Blackman

    • Rochester Institute of Technology
    • University of Rochester

  • Sayak Bose

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • William S Daughton

    • Los Alamos Natl Lab

  • William R Fox

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Lan Gao

    • PPPL
    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Aaron Goodman

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Ari Le

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Stephen P Majeski

    • Princeton University

  • Adam J Stanier

    • Los Alamos Natl Lab

  • Masaaki Yamada

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University

  • Jongsoo Yoo

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

  • Shu Zhang

    • Princeton University