Kinetic turbulence drives MHD equilibrium change via 3D reconnection

Kinetic turbulence drives MHD equilibrium change via 3D reconnection

Cross-scale coupling from magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) to non-MHD scales is important in interpreting observations of explosive events in nature, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms1,2. Experiments and observations also link it to the emergence of energetic particles and X-rays3. However, how this multi-scale physics affects the abrupt onset of reconnection remains unknown. Here we report observations from laboratory experiments involving …