Response to "Comment on 'Improved boundary layer analysis of forced magnetic reconnection due to a boundary perturbation' " [Phys. Plasmas 8, 374 (2001)]

We confirm that our analysis, based on the conventional linear boundary lay er theory, does not include the errors claimed by the Comment by Bhattachar jee, Fitzpatrick, and Wang (hereafter BFW) [Phys. Plasmas 8, 374 (2001)] an d demonstrates the new reconnection process described by two reconnected fl uxes forced to differ by the non-constant-psi matching. The difference betw een this conventional theory and BFW's ideal magnetohydrodynamic similarity solution related to the Sweet-Parker time scale is discussed. (C) 2001 Ame rican Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1324662].