2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Experimental research on magnetic reconnection with high-power laser-produced plasmas

Research Project

PDF

Project/Area Number	20H01881
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 14010:Fundamental plasma-related
Research Institution	Kyushu University
Principal Investigator	Morita Taichi 九州大学, 総合理工学研究院, 准教授 (30726401)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	松清修一九州大学, 総合理工学研究院, 教授 (00380709) 山崎了青山学院大学, 理工学部, 教授 (40420509) 有川安信大阪大学, レーザー科学研究所, 准教授 (90624255) 竹崎太智富山大学, 学術研究部工学系, 助教 (90824326)
Project Period (FY)	2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	磁気リコネクション / レーザー宇宙物理 / プラズマ計測 / レーザートムソン散乱計測 / 粒子加速
Outline of Final Research Achievements	By driving magnetic reconnection in laser-produced plasma and using plasma emission measurements to observe the expansion and collision of magnetized plasma behavior, we evaluated the relationship between the reconnection rate and plasma heating and acceleration by measuring the velocity distribution functions of electrons and ions using a two-directional laser Thomson scattering method. Magnetic reconnection was driven between laser spots, and plasma heating and acceleration were quantitatively clarified using the Thomson scattering method. Additionally, experiments were conducted to change the upstream plasma and magnetic field parameters by altering the distance between laser spots, revealing that the reconnection rate is not significantly dependent on upstream parameters and is approximately 0.1. The detection of accelerated electrons was also successful, but its interpretation remains for future research.
Free Research Field	プラズマ物理
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	レーザーを用いた磁気リコネクション研究は、これまでの磁場閉じ込めプラズマ、太陽観測、衛星のその場計測に加え、代替手段になり得るが、これまでは詳細なプラズマ計測の不足から、定量的な評価が難しかった。本研究の成果は、レーザーを用いた室内実験でも磁気リコネクションを定量的に検証できることを示している。宇宙プラズマ、核融合プラズマ、磁気圏プラズマ等様々な分野で共通の物理であり、代替研究手法としてレーザープラズマを用いたリコネクション研究が発展すれば、未知のリコネクション物理の解明につながると考えられる。