Observation of quasi-electrostatic lower hybrid drift waves in the electron diffusion region of a laboratory reconnection layer

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physics process in magnetized plasma where a significant magnetic energy is converted to plasma kinetic energy while the topology of the field line changes. During magnetic reconnection, various waves are generated by available free energy sources. Among those waves, we study lower hybrid drift waves (LHDW) in the electron diffusion region of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). In particular, the quasi-electrostatic LHDW (ES-LHDW), which propagates perpendicular to the background magnetic field, is observed near the X-point during reconnection with a significant guide field (Bg ~ 0.7Brec). ES-LHDW is capable of generating anomalous resistivity by producing both density and electric field fluctuations. Here we analyze two wave packets in the electron diffusion region, one with fluctuations in both electric field and electron density, and the other with dominant fluctuations in the electric field. With linear analysis, we verify that both wave packets are related to ES-LHDW. We compare the local plasma and field parameters for two wave packets and will try to understand why one packet does not have sizable density fluctuations.