title: Quantitative study of guide-field effects on Hall reconnection in a laboratory plasma.
abstract: The effect of guide field on magnetic reconnection is quantitatively studied by systematically varying an applied guide field in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX). The quadrupole field, a signature of two-fluid reconnection at zero guide field, is altered by a finite guide field. It is shown that the reconnection rate is significantly reduced with increasing guide field, and this dependence is explained by a combination of local and global physics: locally, the in-plane Hall currents are reduced, while globally guide field compression produces an increased pressure both within and downstream of the reconnection region.
authors.affiliation: Center for Magnetic Self-Organization and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Tharp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dorfman
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoo