Identification of a quasiseparatrix layer in a reconnecting laboratory magnetoplasma.
The concept of quasiseparatrix layers (QSLs) has emerged as a powerful tool to study the connectivity of magnetic field lines undergoing magnetic reconnection in solar flares. Although they have been used principally by the solar physics community until now, QSLs can be employed to shed light on all processes in which reconnection occurs. We present the first application of this theory to an experimental flux rope configuration. The three-dimensional data set acquired in this experiment makes the determination of the QSL possible.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. lawrence@physics.ucla.edu
Eric E
EE
Lawrence
Walter
W
Gekelman