Magnetic reconnection is closely associated with numerous astrophysical plasma explosion phenomena, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms in the solar-terrestrial space. During this process, magnetic energy is converted into plasma thermal energy and kinetic energy. However, the inconsistency between the reconnection timescale predicted by the classical Sweet–Parker model and the duration of solar flares has led to significant interest in the study of the reconnection rate. In laboratory experiments, we generate magnetic reconnection by irradiating solid planar targets with intense lasers, and analyze the reconnection rate as well as the lifetime of the current sheet during this process. Numerical simulations are employed to determine the reconnection rate under the experimental conditions. Based on the obtained reconnection rate, the reconnection timescale is calculated and compared with the experimentally observed current sheet lifetime, thereby validating theoretical models of magnetic reconnection.

Intense laser fields,plasma,magnetic reconnection,X-ray streak camera