10.7910/DVN/FR7CG2 L. G. Suttle, J. D. Hare, S. V. Lebedev, A. Ciardi, N. F. Loureiro, G. C. Burdiak, J. P. Chittenden, T. Clayson, J. W. D. Halliday, N. Niasse, D. Russell, F. Suzuki-Vidal, E. Tubman, T. Lane, J. Ma, T. Robinson, R. A. Smith, N. Stuart Stuart Harvard Dataverse 2018 Physics astrophysics high-energy-density laboratory reconnection shocks Z-pinches 2018-11-02 10.7910/DVN/FR7CG2/I3MAOL 971336 application/pdf 1.0 Custom terms specific to this dataset This work presents a magnetic reconnection experiment in which the kinetic, magnetic and thermal properties of the plasma each play an important role in the overall energy balance and structure of the generated reconnection layer. Magnetic reconnection occurs during the interaction of continuous and steady flows of super-Alfvénic, magnetized, aluminum plasma, which collide in a geometry with two-dimensional symmetry, producing a stable and long-lasting reconnection layer. Optical Thomson scattering measurements show that when the layer forms, ions inside the layer are more strongly heated than electrons, reaching temperatures of $T_i \sim \bar Z_e &gt; \sim 300 eV$ – much greater than can be expected from strong shock and viscous heating alone. Later in time, as the plasma density in the layer increases, the electron and ion temperatures are found to equilibrate, and a constant plasma temperature is achieved through a balance of the heating mechanisms and radiative losses of the plasma. Measurements from Faraday rotation polarimetry also indicate the presence of significant magnetic field pile-up occurring at the boundary of the reconnection region, which is consistent with the super-Alfvénic velocity of the inflows. <a href="http://library.psfc.mit.edu/catalog/reports/2010/18ja/18ja001/abstract.php">PSFC REPORT PSFC/JA-18-1</a><br /><br />This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant No. EP/N013379/1, and by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Awards No. DE-F03-02NA00057, DE-SC-0001063 and DE-NA-0003764. A.C. and N.F.L. were supported by LABEX Plas@Par with French state funds managed by the ANR within the Investissements d’Avenir programme under reference ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02. N.F.L. was supported by the NSF-DOE partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering, Award No. DE-SC-0016215.