Reconnection research has often focused on the dynamics and effect of a single reconnection site – in the domain of study reconnection occurs at a single location. However, in the MST experiment reconnection occurs at many locations in the plasma. The helical structure of the reconnecting field is different at each site. From experimental observations and theory, we have discovered that the effect of multiple reconnections is not just a superposition of the effects of the individual reconnections. Rather, the nonlinear coupling between the reconnecting fields can amplify the self-organization of the plasma that results from reconnection. For example, it is observed in experiment that momentum transport and ion heating (see figure) from reconnection is strongly enhanced from coupling between multiple reconnections (a three-wave coupling process).

Magnetic reconnection events, showing the reconnecting magnetic field in the plasma core (black line in top figure) and at the edge (red line). When, and only when, both reconnections occur simultaneously the temperature of the ions increases suddenly (bottom figure).

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