Why do different current sheets reconnect differently?

Abstract:

What variability can we expect for heating events from magnetic reconnection in the solar corona is an important research question. Complex flows in the photosphere entangle, twist, and compress the magnetic field in the chromosphere and corona, resulting in a complex forest of evolving current sheets. These sheets undergo tearing and magnetic reconnection, the details of which depend on the properties of the sheet, including its dimensions in all three directions, as well as the shear angle of the field. The associated energy release and heating can be very different for different sheets. We discuss the possibilities with emphasis on the role played by the interaction among the different tearing modes, parallel and oblique, that are present in the system.