Magnetic reconnection in a magnetohydrodynamic plasma

Magnetic reconnection is important because of its connection with the topology of field lines. In general, a change in topology means a change of equilibrium, and a release of energy, such as occurs in solar flares. In the context of the solar flare two models for magnetic reconnection, the Sweet–Pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of Plasmas 1998-05, Vol.5 (5), p.1599-1606
Main Author: Kulsrud, Russell M.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Magnetic reconnection is important because of its connection with the topology of field lines. In general, a change in topology means a change of equilibrium, and a release of energy, such as occurs in solar flares. In the context of the solar flare two models for magnetic reconnection, the Sweet–Parker and the Petschek mechanism are presented. The pros and cons of these two models are presented. The role of anomalous resistivity in the Sweet–Parker model is discussed. The bearing of a laboratory experiment and a boundary layer analysis of the problem are described.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.872827