title: Identification of the electron-diffusion region during magnetic reconnection in a laboratory plasma.
abstract: We report the first identification of the electron-diffusion region, where demagnetized electrons are accelerated to super-Alfvénic speed, in a reconnecting laboratory plasma. The width of the electron-diffusion region scales with the electron skin depth [ approximately (5.5-7.5)c/omega_{pe}] and the peak electron outflow velocity scales with the electron Alfvén velocity [ approximately (0.12-0.16)V_{eA}], independent of ion mass.
authors.affiliation: Center for Magnetic Self-organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hantao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Stefan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kulsrud