3D non-driven magnetic reconnection at multiple separators

Separators are important topological features of magnetic configuration for magnetic reconnection, commonly found in the solar plasma. They are located at the boundary shared among four distinctive flux domains; therefore, current layers easily build up around them. This paper aims to explore non-driven magnetic reconnection at multiple separators since little information is available about it. We have done two sets of experiments: non-resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) relaxation and resistive MHD reconnection of a magnetic configuration consisting of two null points alongside their associated spines and three non-potential separators, which connect the same two null points. We used the LARE3D code for this purpose. The main current layers are formed along these separators where reconnection takes place. The reconnection occurs in two distinct phases: fast-strong and slow-weak. Most of the current dissipates at a fast rate, through Ohmic heating, during the fast-strong phase. The short-lived impulsive bursty reconnection events occur randomly in the slow-weak phase, while viscous heating exceeds Ohmic heating in this phase. The electric field component is parallel to field lines along the separators; likewise, the rate of reconnection along each of them evolved over time. However, work on separator reconnection has a strong potential to understand the underlying physics.

Extreme ultraviolet imaging of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection in a solar eruption

Magnetic reconnection, a change of magnetic field connectivity, is a fundamental physical process in which magnetic energy is released explosively, and it is responsible for various eruptive phenomena in the universe. However, this process is difficult to observe directly. Here, the magnetic topology associated with a solar reconnection event is studied in three dimensions using the combined perspectives of two spacecraft. The sequence of extreme ultraviolet images clearly shows that two groups of oppositely directed and non-coplanar magnetic loops gradually approach each other, forming a separator or quasi-separator and then reconnecting. The plasma near the reconnection site is subsequently heated from ∼1 to ≥5 MK. Shortly afterwards, warm flare loops (∼3 MK) appear underneath the hot plasma. Other observational signatures of reconnection, including plasma inflows and downflows, are unambiguously revealed and quantitatively measured. These observations provide direct evidence of magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional configuration and reveal its origin.

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental energy release process taking place in various astrophysical environments, but it is difficult to observe it directly. Here, the authors provide evidence of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection in a solar eruption using combined perspectives of two spacecraft.