The Three Dimensional Nature of Reconnection

Magnetic reconnection is a transport process that allows plasma from normally distinct regions to mix, allowing solar wind plasma to penetrate into the magnetosphere and releasing magnetic energy in substorms. Although much progress has been made recently in understanding the nature of collisionless magnetic reconnection in two dimensions, the fundamental nature of reconnection in an inherently 3D system is still not well understood. Specifically, in a large scale 3D system, does x-line formation at a particular point tend to propagate along the direction of current and thus form a quasi-2D reconnection process? Or, instead does the reconnection process remain inherently 3D? Using a two-fluid code with electron inertia and the Hall term included, we have simulated a current sheet with no initial x-line perturbations. The results of these simulations and the physical ramifications will be discussed.