MAGNETIC BRAIDING AND QUASI-SEPARATRIX LAYERS
MAGNETIC BRAIDING AND QUASI-SEPARATRIX LAYERS
The squashing factor Q (Titov et al. 2002), a property of the magnetic field line mapping, has been suggested as an indicator for the formation of current sheets, and subsequently magnetic reconnection, in astrophysical plasmas. Here we test this hypothesis for a particular class of braided magnetic fields which serve …