Global Extended MHD Studies of Fast Magnetic Reconnection
Authors: J.A. Breslau and S.C. Jardin
Date of PPPL Report: September 2002
Published in: Physics of Plasmas 10, No. 5 (May 2003) 1291-1298.
Recent experimental and theoretical results have led to two lines of thought regarding the physical processes underlying fast magnetic reconnection. One is based on the traditional Sweet-Parker model but replaces the Spitzer resistivity with an enhanced resistivity caused by electron scattering by ion acoustic turbulence. The other includes the finite gyroradius effects that enter Ohm's law through the Hall and electron pressure gradient terms. A 2-D numerical study, conducted with a new implicit parallel two-fluid code, has helped to clarify the similarities and differences in predictions between these two models and provides some insight into their respective ranges of validity.