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[39.11] Robust Scalings in Compressible Flux Pile-Up Reconnection

Y.E. Litvinenko (University of NH), I.J.D. Craig (University of Waikato)

Flux pile-up magnetic reconnection is traditionally considered only for incompressible plasmas. We use a simple analytical argument to demonstrate that the pile-up scalings with electric resistivity are robust when plasma compressibility is taken into account. The argument makes it possible to understand why the transition from a highly compressible limit to the incompressible one is difficult to discern in typical simulations spanning a few decades in resistivity. Flux pile-up reconnection in a compressible plasma, however, can lead to anomalous resistivity in the current sheet and flare-like energy release in the solar corona.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
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