Magnetic reconnection happens when anti-parallel magnetic fields– in this case, discovered in solar flares– collide, break, and straighten. As the name recommends, magnetic reconnection is when 2 anti-parallel magnetic fields– as in 2 magnetic fields going in opposite instructions– collide, break, and straighten. When a solar flare builds up and appears to pinch out a flare, that is a magnetic reconnection,” describes Taichi Morita, assistant professor at Kyushu Universitys Faculty of Engineering Sciences and initially author of the study. “In reality, auroras are formed as an outcome of charged particles expelled from the magnetic reconnection in Earths magnetic field.”
Things such as the speed of reconnection or how energy from the magnetic field is transformed and dispersed to the particles in the plasma stay unusual.
Screenshot from NASAs Conceptual Image Lab on “Magnetic Reconnection Throughout the Solar System.” Magnetic reconnection occurs when anti-parallel magnetic fields– in this case, found in solar flares– collide, break, and straighten. The process produces a high-energy surge that flings particles across space. Credit: NASA Conceptual Image Lab
Scientists use powerful laser beams to create miniature solar flares in order to study the process of magnetic reconnection.
Researchers utilized twelve high-powered laser beams to replicate miniature solar flares in order to investigate the underlying systems of magnetic reconnection, a fundamental astronomical phenomenon.
Contrary to common belief, the universe is not empty. Regardless of the phrase “the huge vacuum of space,” deep space has lots of various substances such as charged particles, gases, and cosmic rays. While celestial things may appear to be scarce, deep space is bursting with activity.
One such driver of particles and energy through space is a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. As the name suggests, magnetic reconnection is when two anti-parallel electromagnetic fields– as in two magnetic fields going in opposite directions– clash, break, and realign. As innocuous as it sounds, it is far from a calm process.
” This phenomenon is seen all over in deep space. At house, you can see them in solar flares or in Earths magnetosphere. When a solar flare builds up and appears to pinch out a flare, that is a magnetic reconnection,” discusses Taichi Morita, assistant professor at Kyushu Universitys Faculty of Engineering Sciences and initially author of the study. “In truth, auroras are formed as a result of charged particles expelled from the magnetic reconnection in Earths magnetic field.”
However, in spite of its common occurrence, a lot of the systems behind the phenomena are a secret. Studies are being carried out, such as in NASAs Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, where magnetic reconnections are studied in real-time by satellites sent into Earths magnetosphere. However, things such as the speed of reconnection or how energy from the magnetic field is transformed and distributed to the particles in the plasma remain unusual.
An option to sending out satellites into area is to use lasers and synthetically generate plasma arcs that produce magnetic reconnections. Without suitable laser strength, the created plasma is unstable and too little to study the phenomena precisely.
” One center that has the necessary power is Osaka Universitys Institute for Laser Engineering and their Gekko XII laser. Its an enormous 12-beam, high-powered laser that can produce plasma steady enough for us to study,” discusses Morita. “Studying astrophysical phenomena utilizing high-energy lasers is called laser astrophysics experiments, and it has been an establishing method recently.”
In their experiments, reported in Physical Review E, the high-power lasers were utilized to produce two plasma fields with anti-parallel electromagnetic fields. The group then focused a low-energy laser into the center of the plasma where the magnetic fields would satisfy and where magnetic reconnection would in theory happen.
” We are basically recreating the dynamics and conditions of a solar flare. However, by analyzing how the light from that low-energy laser scatters, we can determine all sorts of parameters from plasma temperature, speed, ion valence, existing, and plasma flow velocity,” continues Morita.
One of their key findings was recording the appearance and disappearance of electrical currents where the electromagnetic fields satisfied, showing magnetic reconnection. In addition, they were able to collect information on the acceleration and heating of the plasma.
The group plans on continuing their analysis and hopes that these kinds of laser astrophysics experiments will be more easily used as an alternative or complementary method to investigate astrophysical phenomena.
” This technique can be used to study all sorts of things like astrophysical shockwaves, cosmic-ray velocity, and magnetic turbulence. Numerous of these phenomena can damage and interrupt electrical gadgets and the human body,” concludes Morita. “So, if we ever want to be a spacefaring race, we should work to understand these common cosmic occasions.”
Referral: “Detection of current-sheet and bipolar ion streams in a self-generated antiparallel electromagnetic field of laser-produced plasmas for magnetic reconnection research study” by T. Morita, T. Kojima, S. Matsuo, S. Matsukiyo, S. Isayama, R. Yamazaki, S. J. Tanaka, K. Aihara, Y. Sato, J. Shiota, Y. Pan, K. Tomita, T. Takezaki, Y. Kuramitsu, K. Sakai, S. Egashira, H. Ishihara, O. Kuramoto, Y. Matsumoto, K. Maeda and Y. Sakawa, 10 November 2022, Physical Review E.DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevE.106.055207.
The research study was moneyed by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.