DISSIPATION AND RECONNECTION IN BOUNDARY-DRIVEN REDUCED MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS

We study the statistics of coherent current sheets, the population of X-type critical points, and reconnection rates in a coronal loop geometry, via numerical simulations of reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Current sheets and sites of reconnection (magnetic X-points) are identified in two-dimensional planes of the three-dimensional simulation domain. The geometry of the identified current sheets-including area, length, and width-and the magnetic dissipation occurring in the current sheets are statistically characterized. We also examine the role of magnetic reconnection, by computing the reconnection rates at the identified X-points and investigating their association with current sheets.