Particle-in-cell simulations of electron energization in laser-driven magnetic reconnection

Electrons can be energized during laser-driven magnetic reconnection, and the energized electrons form three super-Alfvenic electron jets in the outflow region (Lu et al 2014 New J. Phys. 16 083021). In this paper, by performing two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we find that the electrons can also be significantly energized before magnetic reconnection occurs. When two plasma bubbles with toroidal magnetic fields expand and squeeze each other, the electrons in the magnetic ribbons are energized through betatron acceleration due to the enhancement of the magnetic field, and an electron temperature anisotropy T-e perpendicular to > T-e parallel to develops. Meanwhile, some electrons are trapped and bounced repeatedly between the two expanding/approaching bubbles and get energized through a Fermi-like process. The energization before magnetic reconnection is more significant (or important) than that during magnetic reconnection.