Hamiltonian Model for Electron Heating by Electromagnetic Waves during Magnetic Reconnection with a Strong Guide Field

Abstract

Some recent published works have provided an exhaustive characterization of the plasma dynamics during magnetic reconnections in the presence of a magnetic guide field in MRX laboratory plasmas, including an assessment of the mechanisms that convert from magnetic energy to plasma kinetic energy. Among other results, the measurements indicate the existence of a correlation between the electron temperature and the generation of a spectrum of electric oscillations during the reconnection. In this work, we adapt to MRX conditions the well-known stochastic particle heating mechanism, frequently adopted in the astrophysical literature to justify ion heating by low-frequency large-amplitude electromagnetic waves. We show that, under MRX conditions. it may potentially provide a relevant contribution to electron energization.

Keywords

• magnetic reconnection
• electron heating
• electron–wave interaction
• Hamiltonian model
• laboratory plasmas
• MRX device