Quantitative study of the self-consistent fast reconnection with anomalous resistivity

The quantitative feature of the fast reconnection development consistent with simultaneous growth of anomalous resistivity is numerically studied. An anomalous resistivity eta such that deta(Vsub(D)/dVsub(D)=ksub(R)) > O for Vsub(D) > Vsub(c) is assumed, where Vsub(D) is the absolute value of the relative electrin-ion drift velocity and Vsub(c) the threshold value for occurrence of current-driven instability. It is found that: for the smaller value of ksub(R) the drift velocity Vsub(D) becomes significantly larger so that effective anomalous resistivity grows locally near X-type neutral points; hence, the energy conversion rate associated with the fast reconnection process has a very weak dependence on ksub(R). This implies, that, once the anomalous resistivity is available, the fast reconnection can build up by enhancing the anomalous resistivity, leading to rapid annihilation of initially antiparallel magnetic fields. It is hence concluded that the nonlinear coupling between the macroscopic reconnection flow and the microscopic plasma turbulence will be very fundamental for catastrophic events occurring in high-temperature plasmas. (author)