シートプラズマを用いた磁気リコネクションの実験的研究

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Magnetic reconnection is an important phenomenon in the solar terrestrial physics, astronomy and control fusion. We performed the magnetic reconnection experiment on the laboratory plasma, in which sheet plasma is produced by an original technology of Tokai University. Using j×B force, a neutral line can be made by approaching the plasma from the upper and lower sides. In this configuration we aimed to measure how magnetic field and plasma parameters, i.e., electron temperature and electron density, would change. Abrupt change of magnetic field structure occurred at the time of t=0.2-0.4msec after the injection of plasma in our experiment. In close association with this magnetic field change, the electron temperature change occurred strongly also. Generally speaking, the time scale of magnetic reconnection is about 10 times of Alfven time τ_A, where τ_A can be found from Alfven speed V_A and scale length L. The obtained time τ_A is about 0.02msec, so the value l0 τ_A suits well with the time scale of the abrupt change in our experiment. It can be concluded that the magnetic reconnection can be identified in our laboratory plasma.
東海大学の論文