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Author(s):
T.-H. Watanabe, T. Sato and T. Hayashi
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Title:
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation on Co- and Counter-helicity Merging of Spheromaks and Driven Magnetic Reconnection
Date of publication:
Aug. 1996
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Key words:
spheromak, FRC, magnetic reconnection, MHD simulation
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Abstract:
A magnetohydrodynamic relaxation process of spheromak merging is studied by means of an axi-symmetric numerical simulation. As a result of counter-helicity merging, a field-reversed configuration is obtained in the final state, while a larger spheromak is formed after co-helicity merging. In the counter-helicity case, a clear pressure profile of which iso-surfaces coincide with flux surfaces is generated by thermal transport of a poloidal flow that is induced by driven reconnection. It is also found that a sharp pressure gradient formed at the edge of a current sheet causes a bouncing motion of spheromaks. According to the bounce motion, the reconnection rate changes repeatedly. As is shown by the TS-3 experiments, furthermore, strong acceleration of a toroidal flow and reversal of a toroidal field are observed in the counter-helicity merging.
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