TRANSITION TO TURBULENT ELECTRIC-CURRENT SHEET RECONNECTION

Electric current sheets develop in the solar corona when different flu x systems come into contact. At these sheets magnetic energy is transf ormed into heat and kinetic energy by means of reconnection. We have p reviously demonstrated how to accelerate neutral sheet energy conversi on by means of a transition to turbulent, reconnection via ideal, thre e-dimensional secondary instabilities, as conjectured by Montgomery. I n this paper we describe how our previous results are modified by the presence of a finite mean sheetwise magnetic field. We find a stabiliz ation from this field, due to a decrease in energy transfer from the b asic magnetic field to the three-dimensional perturbed fields. An incr ease in perturbed dissipative energy losses is also observed.