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Energetic electron generation by magnetic reconnection in laboratory laser-plasma interactions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2012

Q.-L. DONG,
D.-W. YUAN,
S.-J. WANG,
Y. T. LI,
X. LIU,
S. E. JIANG,
Y. K. DING,
K. DU,
M.-Y. YU and
X.-T. HE
...Show all authors
Q.-L. DONG
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 260405, China (qldong@aphy.iphy.ac.cn)Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
D.-W. YUAN
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
S.-J. WANG
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
Y. T. LI
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
X. LIU
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
S. E. JIANG
Affiliation:
Research Center for Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
Y. K. DING
Affiliation:
Research Center for Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
K. DU
Affiliation:
Research Center for Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
M.-Y. YU
Affiliation:
Institute for Fusion Theory and Simulation, Physics Department, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China (mmyu@zju.edu.cn)Institute for Theoretical Physics I, Ruhr University, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
X.-T. HE
Affiliation:
Institute for Fusion Theory and Simulation, Physics Department, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China (mmyu@zju.edu.cn)Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100094, China
Y. J. TANG
Affiliation:
Research Center for Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China
J. Q. ZHU
Affiliation:
National Laboratory on High Power Lasers and Physics, Shanghai 201800, China
G. ZHAO
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Z.-M. SHENG
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, ChinaKey Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MoE) and Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China (zmsheng@sjtu.edu.cn and jzhang1@sjtu.edu.cn)
J. ZHANG
Affiliation:
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, ChinaKey Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MoE) and Department of Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China (zmsheng@sjtu.edu.cn and jzhang1@sjtu.edu.cn)
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Abstract

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The magnetic reconnection (MR) configuration was constructed by using two approaching laser-produced plasma bubbles. The characteristics of the MR current sheet were investigated. The driving energy of the laser pulse affects the type of the current sheet. The experiments present “Y-type” and “X-type” current sheets for larger and smaller driving energy, respectively. The energetic electrons were found to be well-collimated. The formation and ejection of plasmoid from the “Y-type” current sheet was expected to enhance the number of accelerated electrons.

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