Energy dissipation during magnetic reconnection in the Keda linear magnetized plasma device

Abstract

This paper investigates energy dissipation during electron-scale magnetic reconnection with laboratory experiments. Magnetic fields with opposite directions are generated by two parallel identical pulsed currents in our Keda linear magnetized plasma device. Magnetic reconnection is realized in the rising phase of the pulsed currents. The ramp-up rate of the pulsed current is found to be proportional to the inflow speed, providing a method to modify the reconnection drive. The incoming magnetic energy and its dissipation into plasma energy have been estimated in the vicinity of the X line. It is found that the plasma energy converted from the incoming electromagnetic energy increases with the increasing reconnection drive, while the conversion ratio remains almost unchanged, which is about 10%.