Electron-inertia effects on magnetic field reconnection driven by perturbations on boundaries

    Authors

    B. K. Shivamoggi

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Phys. Lett. A

    Keywords

    Physics, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    In this Letter, we consider electron-inertia effects on the magnetic field reconnection induced by perturbing the boundaries of a slab of plasma with a magnetic neutral surface inside. The subsequent evolution of the current sheet formed at the magnetic neutral surface via ideal MHD development is found to be divided into two distinct stages: (1) the electron-inertia stage for small times (when the current sheet is very narrow); (2) the resistive-diffusion stage for large times. The current sheet mainly undergoes exponential damping in the electron-inertia regime while the bulk of the diffusion occurs in the resistivity regime. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Physics Letters A

    Volume

    292

    Issue/Number

    1-2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2001

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    134

    Last Page

    140

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000173173700019

    ISSN

    0375-9601

    Share

    COinS