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Exact solutions for steady-state, planar, magnetic reconnection in an incompressible viscous plasma

Abstract
The exact planar reconnection analysis of Craig and Henton [Astrophys. J. 450, 280 (1995)] is extended to include the finite viscosity of the fluid and the presence of nonplanar components in the magnetic and velocity fields. It is shown that fast reconnection can be achieved for sufficiently small values of the kinematic viscosity. In particular, the dissipation rate is sustained by the strong amplification of planar magnetic field components advected toward the neutral point. By contrast, nonplanar field components are advected without amplification and so dissipate energy at the slow Sweet–Parker rate.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Fabling, R.B. & Craig, I.J. (1996). Exact solutions for steady-state, planar, magnetic reconnection in an incompressible viscous plasma. Physics of Plasmas, 3, 2243 .
Date
1996-06
Publisher
American Institute of Physics
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
Copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in the journal Physics of Plasmas and may be found at http://jmp.aip.org/jmp/top.jsp