Our hosts discuss a paper that reports on an experiment using the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) to study the effects of magnetic reconnection on ions. The experiment used two kink-unstable flux ropes, which are current-carrying columns of plasma that collide and cause magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection is a process that converts stored magnetic energy into particle energy. The experiment observed a field-aligned ion beam with energies up to 15 eV that was correlated with the collision of the ropes and was not heated. The study was supported by 3D gyrokinetic particle simulations which demonstrated that the ion acceleration was caused by a combination of inductive and space charge electric fields, resulting in a non-local acceleration of ions. The authors claim that this is the first experimental observation of a field-aligned ion beam produced by magnetic reconnection.

Basic Plasma Science Facility: https://plasma.physics.ucla.edu

Article being discussed: S. W. Tang, W. Gekelman, and R. D. Sydora, "Experimental observation of a field-aligned ion beam produced by magnetic reconnection of two flux ropes," Phys. Plasmas 30, 082104 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0138350

The Basic Plasma Science Facility is a Collaborative Research Facility that is primarily funded by the US Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences program, with additional funding from the National Science Foundation.