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Three‐dimensional structure of magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma
Author(s) -
Cothran C. D.,
Landreman M.,
Brown M. R.,
Matthaeus W. H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl016497
Subject(s) - spheromak , magnetic reconnection , physics , helicity , magnetohydrodynamics , magnetohydrodynamic drive , magnetic helicity , plasma , merge (version control) , inertial frame of reference , computational physics , classical mechanics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , information retrieval
The local three‐dimensional structure of magnetic reconnection has been measured for the first time in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) laboratory plasma at the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment. An array of 600 magnetic probes which resolve ion inertial length and MHD time scale dynamics on a single shot basis measured the magnetic structure of partial spheromak merging events. Counter‐helicity spheromaks merge rapidly, and reconnection activity clearly self‐generates a local component of B which breaks the standard 2D symmetry at the ion inertial scale. Consistent with prior results, no reconnection is observed for co‐helicity merging.