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Some comments on magnetic field reconnection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

E. R. Priest  and
S. W. H. Cowley
E. R. Priest
Affiliation:
Applied Mathematics Department, The University, St. Andrews, Scotland
S. W. H. Cowley
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Imperial College, London
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Abstract

Some comments are made about how to determine the speed with which magnetic flux is carried towards an X-type neutral point and reconnected. Conditions in the diffusion region near the neutral point are also investigated, with the conclusion that the streamlines and magnetic field lines cannot both be locally hyperbolic. Instead, two distinct modes may be possible. In the first, the magnetic field lines are straight, and the diffusion region does not differ greatly from that described by Parker (1963). In the second, the fluid velocity components increase cubically away from the neutral point with the result that, for a given reconnection rate, the diffusion region is typically five times greater than in the Parker model.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , October 1975 , pp. 271 - 282
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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References

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