Abstract
We present a constructive numerical example of fast magnetic reconnection in a three dimensional periodic box. Reconnection is initiated by a strong, localized perturbation to the field lines. The solution is intrinsically three dimensional, and its gross properties do not depend on the details of the simulations. of the magnetic energy is released in an event which lasts about one Alfven time, but only after a delay during which the field lines evolve into a critical configuration. We present a physical picture of the process. The reconnection regions are dynamical and mutually interacting. In the comoving frame of these regions, reconnection occurs through an X-like point, analogous to Petschek reconnection. The dynamics appear to be driven by global flows, not local processes.
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