title: Single-particle dynamics in collisionless magnetic reconnection.
abstract: The role of single-particle dynamics in driven magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasmas is investigated experimentally and analytically. The trapping of particle orbits in the magnetic cusp is observed to allow fast reconnection in the absence of a macroscopic current layer, at a rate identical to that of vacuum. The development of an electrostatic potential structure around the magnetic X line during reconnection is predicted theoretically and observed experimentally.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egedal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fasoli