Experimental Study of Ion Heating and Acceleration During Magnetic Reconnection

Hsu, S.C. ; Carter, T.A. ; Fiksel, G. ; Ji, H. ; Kulsrud, R.M. ; Yamada, M.

Princeton University. Plasma Physics Laboratory.

关键词: Acceleration;    Heating;    Spitzer Theory;    70 Plasma Physics And Fusion Technology;    Magnetic Reconnection;   

DOI  :  10.2172/766638
RP-ID  :  PPPL-3499
RP-ID  :  AC02-76CH03073
RP-ID  :  766638

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Ion heating and acceleration has been studied in the well-characterized reconnection layer of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment [M. Yamada et al., Phys. Plasmas 4, 1936 (1997)]. Ion temperature in the layer rises substantially during null-helicity reconnection in which reconnecting field lines are anti-parallel. The plasma out flow is sub-Alfvonic due to a downstream back pressure. An ion energy balance calculation based on the data and including classical viscous heating indicates that the ions are heated largely due to non-classical mechanisms. The Ti rise is much smaller during co-helicity reconnection in which field lines reconnect obliquely. This is consistent with a slower reconnection rate and a smaller resistivity enhancement over the Spitzer value. These observations indicate strongly that non-classical dissipation mechanisms can play an important role both in heating the ions and in facilitating the reconnection process.