Abstract
Fast reconnection due to turbulent dissipation has long been hypothesized. This classic idea is critically examined in 3D reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, by taking into account the backreaction of small-scale magnetic fields. We find that the backreaction leads to such a dramatic reduction in a global reconnection rate as to recover the original Sweet-Parker scaling. In 2D limit, the global reconnection rate is shown to be enhanced over the Sweet-Parker result by a factor of magnetic Mach number. These results are consequences of mean square magnetic potential balance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 407-412 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Physics Letters, Section A: General, Atomic and Solid State Physics |
| Volume | 291 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 27 Nov 2001 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 Dec 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We thank E. Zweibel for bringing this problem to our attention and E. Zweibel and A.S. Ware for stimulating discussions. This research was supported by US DOE FG03-88ER 53275. P.H. Diamond also acknowledges partial support from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY99-07949 to the Institute for Theoretical Physics at U.C.S.B., where part of this work was performed. E. Kim acknowledges partial support from HAO/NCAR where part of this work was completed.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
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