Magnetic reconnection in a magnetohydrodynamic plasma

Magnetic reconnection is important because of its connection with the topology of held lines. In general, a change in topology means a change of equilibrium, and a release of energy, such as occurs in solar flares. In the context of the solar flare two models for magnetic reconnection, the Sweet-Parker and the Petschek mechanism are presented. The pros and cons of these two models are presented. The role of anomalous resistivity in the Sweet-Parker model is discussed. The bearing of a laboratory experiment and a boundary layer analysis of the problem are described. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.