Session GP1 - Poster Session IV.
POSTER session, Tuesday afternoon, October 30
Exhibit Hall B,
Magnetic reconnection is an important mechanism for converting magnetic energy into plasma thermal energy, and is thought to heat the solar corona and accelerate particles in the earth's magnetosphere. The main objective of the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) is to study the fundamental physics of magnetic reconnection in a laboratory environment. Current sheets that are formed in the MRX contain features such as density gradients and strong cross-field currents, which can drive a variety of unstable fluctuations^1. Recent experiments studied high frequency oscillations in the electrostatic and magnetic fields associated with current sheet formation and reconnection. These oscillations were identified as lower hybrid drift instabilities^2. Low frequency oscillations were also observed near the end of reconnection, but were not fully characterized. The objective of the present study is to measure the properties of these oscillations, and to try to understand their role in the reconnection process.
^1M. Yamada et al., Phys. Plasmas, vol.7, 1781 (2000) ^2T. Carter, submitted to PRL.