Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aps..apr.d1027c&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, APS April Meeting, April 22-26, 2006, abstract #D1.027
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
The mechanism triggering the onset of fast magnetic reconnection, the driver of solar eruptions and fusion device disruptions, has long been elusive. A catastrophe model for the explosive onset of fast magnetic reconnection has been proposed. The crux of the model is that both the Sweet-Parker and Hall reconnection solutions are valid when the Sweet-Parker current sheet is thicker than the ion inertial length di, but the Sweet-Parker solution disappears catastrophically when the layer thins below di. Simulations confirm that the thinning of the current sheet occurs naturally during reconnection as convection increases the magnetic field just upstream of the dissipation region, eventually leading to explosive onset. We interpret the disappearance of the Sweet-Parker solution as a saddle-node bifurcation and confirm its signatures with simulations. Earlier numerical results have been extended to include a guide field. We explore the model's potential impact on the explosive onset of magnetic reconnection in solar eruptions and sawtooth crashes.
Cassak Paul
Drake James
Eckhardt Bruno
Shay Michael
No associations
LandOfFree
Bifurcation Model for the Onset of Fast Magnetic Reconnection does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Bifurcation Model for the Onset of Fast Magnetic Reconnection, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bifurcation Model for the Onset of Fast Magnetic Reconnection will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1158486