Screenshot from NASA’s 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 realign. The process produces a high-energy explosion 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.
Scientists employed twelve high-powered laser beams to simulate miniature solar flares in order to investigate the underlying mechanisms of magnetic reconnection, a fundamental astronomical phenomenon.
Contrary to popular belief, the universe is not empty. Despite the phrase “the vast emptiness of space,” the universe is full of various substances such as charged particles, gases, and cosmic rays. While celestial objects may appear to be scarce, the universe is teeming 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 magnetic fields—as in two magnetic fields going in opposite directions—collide, break, and realign. As innocuous as it sounds, it is far from a calm process.
“This phenomenon is seen everywhere in the universe. At home, you can see them in solar flares or in Earth’s magnetosphere. When a solar flare builds up and appears to ‘pinch’ out a flare, that is a magnetic reconnection,” explains Taichi Morita, assistant professor at Kyushu University’s Faculty of Engineering Sciences and first author of the study. “In fact, auroras are formed as a result of charged particles expelled from the magnetic reconnection in Earth’s magnetic field.”
Nonetheless, despite its common occurrence, many of the mechanisms behind the phenomena are a mystery. Studies are being conducted, such as in NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, where magnetic reconnections are studied in real-time by satellites sent into Earth’s magnetosphere. However, things such as the speed of reconnection or how energy from the magnetic field is converted and distributed to the particles in the plasmaPlasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid, and gas. It is an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons. It was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>plasma remain unexplained.
An alternative to sending satellites into space is to use lasers and artificially generate plasma arcs that produce magnetic reconnections. However, without suitable laser strength, the generated plasma is too small and unstable to study the phenomena accurately.
“One facility that has the required power is Osaka University’s Institute for Laser Engineering and their Gekko XII laser. It’s a massive 12-beam, high-powered laser that can generate plasma stable enough for us to study,” explains Morita. “Studying astrophysical phenomena using high-energy lasers is called ‘laser astrophysics experiments,’ and it has been a developing methodology in recent years.”
In their experiments, reported in Physical Review E, the high-power lasers were used to generate two plasma fields with anti-parallel magnetic fields. The team then focused a low-energy laser into the center of the plasma where the magnetic fields would meet and where magnetic reconnection would theoretically occur.
“We are essentially recreating the dynamics and conditions of a solar flare. Nonetheless, by analyzing how the light from that low-energy laser scatters, we can measure all sorts of parameters from plasma temperature, velocity, ion valence, current, and plasma flow velocity,” continues Morita.
One of their key findings was recording the appearance and disappearance of electrical currents where the magnetic fields met, indicating magnetic reconnection. Additionally, they were able to collect data on the acceleration and heating of the plasma.
The team plans on continuing their analysis and hopes that these types of ‘laser astrophysics experiments’ will be more readily used as an alternative or complementary way to investigate astrophysical phenomena.
“This method can be used to study all sorts of things like astrophysical shockwaves, cosmic-ray acceleration, and magnetic turbulence. Many of these phenomena can damage and disrupt electrical devices and the human body,” concludes Morita. “So, if we ever want to be a spacefaring race, we must work to understand these common cosmic events.”
Reference: “Detection of current-sheet and bipolar ion flows in a self-generated antiparallel magnetic field of laser-produced plasmas for magnetic reconnection research” 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 study was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Source: SciTechDaily
