Lunar-relevant mini-magnetospheres

The scientific paper, "Laboratory Study of Magnetic Reconnection in Lunar-relevant Mini-magnetospheres", reports on an experiment that simulated the interaction between the solar wind and the Moon's mini-magnetospheres. The authors created a mini-magnetosphere in the laboratory using a laser-driven plasma, and they observed magnetic reconnection, a fundamental process in space plasmas. The researchers found that the reconnection was driven by kinetic effects, through what is known as the electron pressure anisotropy. They also observed Hall fields, which are electric fields created by the difference in motion between ions and electrons. By comparing their experimental results to satellite data and computer simulations, they concluded that the reconnection process observed in the laboratory is relevant to what happens in lunar mini-magnetospheres.

Basic Plasma Science Facility: https://plasma.physics.ucla.edu

Article being discussed: Lucas Rovige, Filipe D. Cruz, Robert S. Dorst, Jessica J. Pilgram, Carmen G. Constantin, Stephen Vincena, Fábio Cruz, Luis O. Silva, Christoph Niemann, and Derek B. Schaeffer, “Laboratory Study of Magnetic Reconnection in Lunar-relevant Mini-magnetospheres,” The Astrophysical Journal 969:124, 8pp, (2024); https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad4fff

The Basic Plasma Science Facility is a Collaborative Research Facility that is primarily funded by the US Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences program, with additional funding from the National Science Foundation.