How Well Do We Understand Magnetic Reconnection?

  • Dieter Biskamp
Chapter
Part of the Lecture Notes in Physics book series (LNP, volume 612)

Abstract

The present status of the theory of magnetic reconnection is reviewed. Quasi-Alfvénic processes arise, when the mechanism for magnetic diffusion is localized around the X-point. This is shown in the simple model of resistive MHD with arti.cially localized resistivity (it is well known that a uniform resistivity distribution leads to a macro-current sheet and slow reconnection dynamics). When collisionless effects dominate characterized by certain intrinsic plasma scale-lengths, localization comes about through the dispersion of hydromagnetic waves at wavelengths below these scales. As a consequence fast reconnection should be possible under most plasma conditions. Most of the energy released by reconnection is predicted to go into ion bulk motion, though the details of energy partition between ions and electrons and of the efficiency of suprathermal particle production are still under investigation. While energetic electrons may be generated by the runaway effect in the diffusion region, any super-Alfvénic ions seem to be due to some mechanism not related directly to the reconnection process.

Keywords

Magnetic Reconnection Reconnection Process Reconnection Rate Localize Resistivity Reconnection Region 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003

Authors and Affiliations

  • Dieter Biskamp
    • 1
  1. 1.Centre for Interdisciplinary Plasma ScienceMax-Planck-Institut für PlasmaphysikGarchingGermany

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