Abstract
The possibility of studying non-thermal electron energization in laser-driven
plasma experiments of magnetic reconnection is studied using two- and
three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is demonstrated that
non-thermal electrons with energies more than an order of magnitude larger than
the initial thermal energy can be produced in plasma conditions currently
accessible in the laboratory. Electrons are accelerated by the reconnection
electric field, being injected at varied distances from the X-points, and in
some cases trapped in plasmoids, before escaping the finite-sized system.
Trapped electrons can be further energized by the electric field arising from
the motion of the plasmoid. This acceleration gives rise to a non-thermal
electron component that resembles a power-law spectrum, containing up to \~ 8\%
of the initial energy of the interacting electrons and \~ 24 \% of the initial
magnetic energy. Estimates of the maximum electron energy and of the plasma
conditions required to observe suprathermal electron acceleration are provided,
paving the way for a new platform for the experimental study of particle
acceleration induced by reconnection.
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