A new way of studying magnetic reconnection


Photographer: Illustration: Longqing Yi/Chalmers University of Technology

The picture shows the experiment setup. The laser (the red triangle on the right) hits the micro-scale film (the grey slab), which splits the beam like a knife. Electrons accelerate on both sides of the ‘knife’ and produce strong currents, along with extremely strong, anti-parallel magnetic fields. Magnetic reconnection occurs beyond the end of the film (the blue frame). The magnetic field is illustrated with black arrows. The boomerang-like structures illustrate the electrons in the different stages of the simulation. The rainbow colours represent the electrons’ transverse momenta.

Low resolution

Medium resolution

Original resolution

About Us

Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level. The university has 3100 employees and 10,000 students, and offers education in engineering, science, shipping and architecture. With scientific excellence as a basis, Chalmers promotes knowledge and technical solutions for a sustainable world. Through global commitment and entrepreneurship, we foster an innovative spirit, in close collaboration with wider society.Chalmers was founded in 1829 and has the same motto today as it did then: Avancez – forward. --- Images provided in Chalmers University of Technology press releases are, unless specified otherwise, free for download and publication as long as credit is given to the University and the individual creator. Cropping and rescaling of the images is permitted when required for adaptation to the publication’s format, but modifications that would influence the message and content of the original are not. The material is primarily intended for journalistic and informative use, to assist in communication and coverage of Chalmers’ research and education. Commercial usage, for example the marketing of goods and services, is not permitted. We kindly request credit to be given in the following format where possible: Image/Graphic/Illustration: Chalmers University of Technology | Name Surname

Subscribe