Spontaneous reconnection

Spontaneous magnetic reconstruction events such as the tearing-mode instability of a plane plasma sheet are characterized theoretically, reviewing the results of recent analytical investigations and numerical simulations, and illustrated with diagrams. Consideration is given to the basic configurations, application of the theory to the earth magnetic tail, laminar Vlasov theory, destabilization by fluctuations and ionospheric feedback, and reconnection of sheared magnetic fields and parallel electric fields. The macroscopic consequences of the spontaneous reconnection process are discussed, including control of magnetic topology, rapid dissipation of previously stored magnetic energy, plasmoid formation, the initiation of steady-state reconnection, and particle acceleration. 57 references