Experiments reveal that high-energy plasma events in the Solar System and beyond might be driven by magnetic fluctuations and turbulence that happen on very small scales

Merging of magnetic plasma ‘flux ropes’ is driven by turbulence

Most of the ordinary matter in the Universe is not solid, liquid or gas but plasma — a high-energy gas of electrons and ions. The coupling of plasmas to magnetic fields can cause unpredictable, explosive phenomena, such as eruptions of plasma on the surface of the Sun. However, the co-evolution of plasmas and magnetic fields is complex and challenging to understand. Writing in Nature, Park et al.¹ report an ingenious experiment that studies the merging of large magnetic plasma structures called flux ropes. The authors show that these mergers are driven by very small instabilities in the plasma, which create turbulence in the system.

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Nature 644, 48-50 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02253-y

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Jeffersson Agudelo Rueda