Lower Hybrid Drift Waves and Associated Electron Heating during Guide Field Reconnection

Magnetic reconnection is one of the primary physical processes that determine the dynamical response of magnetospheric plasmas to the incoming solar wind. The physics of two-dimensional (2D), laminar kinetic processes, i.e., nested ion and electron diffusion regions, has been firmly established and successfully confirmed by recent Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations. The frontier of magnetic reconnection has moved beyond its 2D laminar models to understanding its 3D characteristics, including the generation and propagation of waves, as well as their possible roles in energizing ions and electrons. In particular, Lower Hybrid Drift Waves (LHDW) become a leading candidate to provide the needed dissipation within or near electron diffusion regions (EDRs) especially when the key controlling parameter of local plasma beta is sufficiently reduced by a more prevailing, finite guide field. Here we propose a collaborative research specifically on generation of LHDW and associated electron heating within or near the EDR during reconnection with a guide field. Motivated by the MMS data analyses, our proposed research is mainly based on the well-controlled and well-diagnosed laboratory experiments in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX), supported by 3D Particle-In-Cell (PIC) numerical simulations. We will systematically vary the strength of the guide field, current density and collisionality, and compare experimental results with predictions from a local, linear theoretical model and 3D nonlinear PIC simulations. We also propose direct measurements of anomalous resistivity from LHDW with an electrostatic probe specially designed for this project. The probe will provide data for a quantitative analysis on the possible role of LHDW in electron heating within and near the EDR. The obtained results will be used to interpret space data in order to address one of key questions on wave-particle interaction during reconnection.

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