Shear-driven magnetic reconnection in viscous resistive incompressible plasmas
- Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824-3525 (United States)
Planar magnetic reconnection, driven by shear flows in viscous resistive incompressible plasmas, is analyzed. Time-dependent profiles of the flow velocity and the reconnecting magnetic field are computed by solving the magnetohydrodynamic equations for disturbances of a magnetostatic configuration. The resulting asymptotic profiles for large times are characterized by boundary layers, formed at the boundaries of the region, rather than by a localized reconnecting current sheet within the region. Analysis of steady viscoresistive solutions confirms that a smooth solution, reached by a dynamically evolving system, must be nonlocalized. The results imply that at least two-dimensional shear flows are required for driving magnetic reconnection in viscous resistive plasmas.
- OSTI ID:
- 20860237
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 9; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2345178; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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