Laboratory Study of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

H Ji; J Yoo; W Fox; M Yamada; M Argall; J Egedal; Y-H Liu; R Wilder; S Eriksson; W Daughton; K Bergstedt; S Bose; J Burch; R Torbert; J Ng; L-J Chen

doi:10.1007/s11214-023-01024-3

Laboratory Study of Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Space Sci Rev. 2023;219(8):76. doi: 10.1007/s11214-023-01024-3. Epub 2023 Nov 15.

Authors

H Ji^{1

2}, J Yoo², W Fox², M Yamada², M Argall³, J Egedal⁴, Y-H Liu⁵, R Wilder⁶, S Eriksson⁷, W Daughton⁸, K Bergstedt¹, S Bose², J Burch⁹, R Torbert³, J Ng^{10

11

2}, L-J Chen¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, 08544 New Jersey USA.
² Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, 08543 New Jersey USA.
³ Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, 8 College Road, Durham, 03824 New Hampshire USA.
⁴ Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, 53706 Wisconsin USA.
⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 17 Fayerweather Hill Road, Hanover, 03755 New Hampshire USA.
⁶ Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, 701 S. Nedderman Drive, Arlington, 76019 Texas USA.
⁷ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, 80303 Colorado USA.
⁸ Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, 87545 New Mexico USA.
⁹ Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, 78238 Texas USA.
¹⁰ Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Drive, College Park, 20742 Maryland USA.
¹¹ Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 130, Greenbelt, 20771 Maryland USA.

Abstract

A concise review is given on the past two decades' results from laboratory experiments on collisionless magnetic reconnection in direct relation with space measurements, especially by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Highlights include spatial structures of electromagnetic fields in ion and electron diffusion regions as a function of upstream symmetry and guide field strength, energy conversion and partitioning from magnetic field to ions and electrons including particle acceleration, electrostatic and electromagnetic kinetic plasma waves with various wavelengths, and plasmoid-mediated multiscale reconnection. Combined with the progress in theoretical, numerical, and observational studies, the physics foundation of fast reconnection in collisionless plasmas has been largely established, at least within the parameter ranges and spatial scales that were studied. Immediate and long-term future opportunities based on multiscale experiments and space missions supported by exascale computation are discussed, including dissipation by kinetic plasma waves, particle heating and acceleration, and multiscale physics across fluid and kinetic scales.

Keywords: Laboratory experiment; Magnetic reconnection; Magnetospheric MultiScale.

Publication types

Review