X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection

Details X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection

2005-07-28

arxiv.org/abs/physics/0507206v1

Phys.Rev.Lett.95:235003,2005

Physics

Plasma Physics

revtex4, 4 pages, 18 figures

Scientific paper

10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.235003

We study the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode in slab geometry in two dimensions. We show that, in the strongly driven regime (large Delta'), a collapse of the X-point occurs once the island width exceeds a certain critical value ~1/Delta'. A current sheet is formed and the reconnection is exponential in time with a growth rate ~eta^1/2, where eta is the resistivity. If the aspect ratio of the current sheet is sufficiently large, the sheet can itself become tearing-mode unstable, giving rise to secondary islands, which then coalesce with the original island. The saturated state depends on the value of Delta'. For small Delta', the saturation amplitude is ~Delta' and quantitatively agrees with the theoretical prediction. If Delta' is large enough for the X-point collapse to have occured, the saturation amplitude increases noticeably and becomes independent of Delta'.

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