Formation of Plasmoid Chains in Fusion Relevant Plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates plasmoid chain formation in fusion-relevant plasmas through numerical simulations, revealing a transition from linear to nonlinear reconnection regimes and identifying plasmoid chains as a faster reconnection mechanism.

Contribution

First to explore plasmoid chain formation in the Taylor problem context with detailed numerical simulations.

Findings

Plasmoid chains form during magnetic reconnection in the studied plasma model.

Transition from Sweet-Parker to plasmoid-dominated reconnection observed.

Faster reconnection regime identified with plasmoid chains instead of Rutherford phase.

Abstract

The formation of plasmoid chains is explored for the first time within the context of the Taylor problem, in which magnetic reconnection is driven by a small amplitude boundary perturbation in a tearing-stable slab plasma equilibrium. Numerical simulations of a magnetohydrodynamical model of the plasma show that for very small plasma resistivity and viscosity, the linear inertial phase is followed by a nonlinear Sweet-Parker evolution, which gives way to a faster reconnection regime characterized by a chain of plasmoids instead of a slower Rutherford phase.