Two-dimensional fast reconnection in a fluid drift model

A simple scenario for two-dimensional reconnection is reexamined in the context of a fluid drift model which treats the pressure and parallel ion velocity independently. The rapid nonlinear establishment of an arbitrarily thin current sheet is unaffected for expected values of the plasma β of a few percent. Eventually the sound wave dynamics should enter to alter the results, but remains insignificant for reasonable β values (gas/magnetic pressure up to 0.1)