1.
Phys Rev Lett
; 89(23): 235002, 2002 Dec 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12485015
ABSTRACT
Spontaneous acceleration of ions to suprathermal energies is observed during magnetic reconnection in the Mega-Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST). A high-energy tail is observed in the ion-distribution function following each internal reconnection event in Ohmic discharges. This phenomenon is explained in terms of runaway ion acceleration in the electric field induced by the reconnection.