Two-Dimensional Simulations

The dissipation mechanism at the magnetic X-point of the reconnection process in solar flares is studied. Although the Petschek model is a promising mechanism to explain the rapid energy release, the estimated size of the diffusion region in this model would be extremely small, i.e. less than centimeter if we adopt the Spitzer-type resistivity. Even the scale size in which various microscopic processes become efficient is still 10 meter or so, which is much less than the typical size of a flare. So there must be a meso-size scale where the MHD turbulence plays a roll. In order to study the effect of the MHD turbulence on the magnetic reconnection, we are performing a series of MHD simulations of magnetic reconnection with finite amplitude fluctuations. A temporal evolution of a simple current sheet with almost uniform resistivity is investigated after imposing a finite-amplitude fluctuations (The strength is approximately Alfven speed.) all over the computation domain. Multi-dimensional simulations showed no effective enhancement in the energy release rate. Case without fluctuations • 2D resistive MHD • plasma i.e