A NEW CLASS OF EXACT-SOLUTIONS FOR 3D-COMPRESSIBLE RECONNECTION PROBLEM

For the steady-state three-dimensional reconnection problem in a compr essible plasma, we have found a new class of exact solutions, which co nsist of ideal-MHD regions, MHD singularities (slow shocks and rotatio nal discontinuities), and a neutral line. This solution predicts the e xistence of plasma jetting parallel to the neutral line, in addition t o the usual plasma jetting in the direction perpendicular to the neutr al line. However, contrary to the suggestion by LAU and FINN (1990), a nd PRIEST and FORBES (1992) that three-dimensional reconnection region s should have velocity singularities, our solution has well-behaved ve locity fields without any singularity.