ISSN:
1089-7666
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
A comprehensive laboratory experiment has been proposed to investigate the fundamental 3-D physics of magnetic reconnection regions and their associated hydromagnetic flows. Two toroidal plasma rings, with equal or opposite magnetic helicity, are formed and then brought together, contacting along a toroidally symmetric line. This research addresses three important questions: (1) How does magnetic helicity affect reconnection? (2) Will three-dimensional processes arise spontaneously and modify the usual Sweet–Parker or Petschek picture of two-dimensional reconnection where the global configuration is that of an axisymmetric X-point line? (3) How does the reconnection rate respond to global forcing? In a preliminary experiment carried out at the University of Tokyo [Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 721 (1990)], the direction of the toroidal field plays an important role in the merging process. It is found that plasmas of opposite helicity merge appreciably faster than those of similar helicity. It is also found that the reconnection rate is proportional to the external force suggesting that magnetic reconnection, in the present experiment, is a forced phenomenon. A comparison of the present experimental data with 2-D computer simulation results is made.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.859607
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