HR: 14:25h
AN: SM13C-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Coupled Reconnection Sites and Magnetic Energy Release in a Laboratory Plasma
AU: * Prager, S C
EM: scprager@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, 1150 University Ave. , Madison, WI 53711 United States
AU: Brower, D
EM: brower@mail.utexas.edu
AF: University of California at Los Angeles, Electrical Engineering Department, Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States
AU: Choi, S
EM: shchoi2@students.wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, 1150 University Ave. , Madison, WI 53711 United States
AU: Craig, D
EM: dcraig@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, 1150 University Ave. , Madison, WI 53711 United States
AU: Ding, W
EM: wding@wisc.edu
AF: University of California at Los Angeles, Electrical Engineering Department, Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States
AU: Fiksel, G
EM: gfiksel@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, 1150 University Ave. , Madison, WI 53711 United States
AU: Sarff, J
EM: jssarff@wisc.edu
AF: University of Wisconsin - Madison and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, 1150 University Ave. , Madison, WI 53711 United States
AB: In a toroidal laboratory plasma (the MST reversed field pinch) spontaneous reconnection occurs at various locations, driven by MHD tearing instabilities. The spontaneous reconnection then drives reconnection at an additional location (through a nonlinear coupling process) in a sudden burst in time. When, and only when, both spontaneous and driven reconnection are present, we observe sudden macroscopic changes in the plasma behavior; a decrease in magnetic energy, heating of ions, and transport of momentum, all occurring within 100 §s. Thus, we conclude that coupled spontaneous and driven reconnection introduces physical effects, beyond those arising from single reconnection.
DE: 2723 Magnetic reconnection (7526, 7835)
DE: 2772 Plasma waves and instabilities (2471)
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005