Experimental Study of the Two-Scale Structure of the Electron Diffusion Layer and MRX Scaling

Details Experimental Study of the Two-Scale Structure of the Electron Diffusion Layer and MRX Scaling Experimental Study of the Two-Scale Structure of the Electron Diffusion Layer and MRX Scaling

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmsm23c..03y&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #SM23C-03

Physics

2723 Magnetic Reconnection (7526, 7835), 7526 Magnetic Reconnection (2723, 7835), 7835 Magnetic Reconnection (2723, 7526)

Scientific paper

The most recent results from the analysis of the electron diffusion layer in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) are presented along with insights into the two-fluid physics of the reconnection layer. Recent 2D numerical simulations for the magnetic reconnection layer [1], demonstrate a two-scale diffusion layer in which an electron diffusion layer of the width of the electron skin depth (~1.5 c/ωpe) resides inside of the ion diffusion layer. In the reconnecting current sheet in MRX, the electron diffusion region is verified and demagnetized electrons are found to accelerate in the outflow direction [2]. The measured width of the electron diffusion region scales with the electron skin depth (~ 6- 8c/ωpe), and is much wider than 2D simulation results on collisionless reconnection. The electron outflow scales with the electron Alfv'en velocity (0.15VA). While the electron outflow seems to be slowed down by enhanced dissipation in the electron diffusion region, the exact cause of the widening of the electron diffusion region is being studied[3]. Finally, MRX scaling [4] will be re-examined in which the reconnection rate increases rapidly when the ion skin depth becomes larger than the Sweet-Parker width demonstrating a clear linear dependence on λmfp/L. *Research Supported by DoE, NSF and NASA. 1. i.e. W. Daughton et al, Phys. Plasmas, 13, 072101 (2006) 2. Y. Ren et al, Phys. rev. Letts. 101, 085003, (2008) 3. S. Dorfman et al, to be published in Phys. Plasmas (2008) 4. M. Yamada et al, Phys. Plasmas, 13, 052119 (2006)

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