Non-Thermal Electron Energization from Magnetic Reconnection in Laser-Driven Plasmas

Abstract

The possibility of studying non-thermal electron energization in laser-driven plasma experiments of magnetic reconnection is studied using two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is demonstrated that non-thermal electrons with energies more than an order of magnitude larger than the initial thermal energy can be produced in plasma conditions currently accessible in the laboratory. Electrons are accelerated by the reconnection electric field, being injected at varied distances from the X-points, and in some cases trapped in plasmoids, before escaping the finite-sized system. Trapped electrons can be further energized by the electric field arising from the motion of the plasmoid. This acceleration gives rise to a non-thermal electron component that resembles a power-law spectrum, containing up to ~ 8% of the initial energy of the interacting electrons and ~ 24 % of the initial magnetic energy. Estimates of the maximum electron energy and of the plasma conditions required to observe suprathermal electron acceleration are provided, paving the way for a new platform for the experimental study of particle acceleration induced by reconnection.

14 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

References in corpus (5)

• Instability of current sheets and formation of plasmoid chains
• Formation of Hard Power-laws in the Energetic Particle Spectra Resulting from Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection
• The Mechanisms of Electron Heating and Acceleration during Magnetic Reconnection
• One-to-one direct modeling of experiments and astrophysical scenarios: pushing the envelope on kinetic plasma simulations
• Magnetic reconnection in plasma under inertial confinement fusion conditions driven by heat flux effects in Ohm's law

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection in the Laboratory
• Kinetic simulation of magnetic field generation and collisionless shock formation in expanding laboratory plasmas
• Direct measurement of non-thermal electron acceleration from magnetically driven reconnection in a laboratory plasma
• Biermann battery-mediated magnetic reconnection in 3-D colliding plasmas
• Relativistic magnetic reconnection driven by a laser interacting with a micro-scale plasma slab
• Electromagnetic Burst Generation during Annihilation of Magnetic Field in Relativistic Laser-Plasma Interaction
• Two-stage electron acceleration by 3D collisionless guide field magnetic reconnection
• Anomalous plasma acceleration in colliding high-power laser-produced plasmas
• Nonthermal electron and ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection in large laser-driven plasmas