Magnetotail reconnection with guide field

Details Magnetotail reconnection with guide field Magnetotail reconnection with guide field

Dec 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agufmsm11b..03f&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #SM11B-03

Physics

2700 Magnetospheric Physics (6939)

Scientific paper

Magnetic reconnection in the collisionless regime is studied on the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) at MIT. The detailed evolution of the profiles of plasma density, current density, and electrostatic potential at the onset of driven reconnection is measured experimentally. The VTF device facilitates experiments with two distinct sets of boundary conditions: an open configuration for which the field lines intersect the vacuum vessel walls, and a closed configuration for which the magnetic field lines form closed loops inside the device. Both configurations are operated with a strong guide magnetic field. In the open configuration all electrons follow trapped trajectories. Our experimental and numerical studies reveal how the trapped electrons control the size of the reconnection region and mediate fast reconnection. This mechanism is found to be consistent with unique spacecraft observations by WIND in the deep magnetotail [1]. I will discuss our experimental observations of magnetic reconnection in the open configuration, provide a theoretical explanation, and apply the theory to the spacecraft observations. [1] M Oieroset, RP Lin, TD Phan, DE Larson, and SD Bale, (2002) Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 195001. [2] J Egedal, M Oieroset, W Fox and RP Lin, (2005) Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 025006.

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