Experimental mitigation of fast magnetic reconnection in multiple interacting laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

The meeting of astrophysical plasmas and their magnetic fields creates many reconnection sites. We experimentally compare the reconnection rate of laser-driven magnetic reconnection when it takes place at a single site and multiple sites. For a single site, where the ram pressure dominates the magnetic pressure, the measured reconnection rate exceeds the well-established rate of 0.1. However, in the case of multiple close-by sites, we observed a reduction of the reconnection rate. Hybrid-PIC simulations support this observation and suggest that the distortion of the Hall field as well as the concomitant obstruction of one of the outflows are detrimental to the magnetic reconnection rate.