DIAGNOSIS OF GENERAL MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

During the course of an investigation of solar coronal heating, we wer e motivated to consider magnetic reconnection of the atmospheric magne tic field as a possible resistive heating source in the topological-di ssipation model proposed by Parker (1972). It was apparent that a quan titative diagnostic was needed which could establish the existence of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection and provide quantitative infor mation on the extent of its dissipative effects. A new diagnostic of g eneral magnetic reconnection (GMR), as described by Schindler et al. ( 1988), is derived and applied to numerical simulations of the tearing mode and Alfven waves. MHD simulations of Parker's heating model are t hen described, and the existence of reconnection is shown through the use of the GMR diagnostic and other indicators of magnetic reconnectio n.