SIMPLE-MODELS OF TIME-DEPENDENT RECONNECTION IN A COLLISION-FREE PLASMA WITH AN APPLICATION TO SUBSTORMS IN THE GEOMAGNETIC TAIL

Previous work has shown how simple equilibrium models of steady state reconnection can be set up using the local one dimensional stress balance condition for the current layer. In this paper we show that these models can readily be generalized to include time dependence, both in terms of time-dependent reconnection rates and motions of the neutral line. We illustrate the results by showing how the structure of the plasma sheet in the geomagnetic tail is expected to behave during a substorm, using reconnection rates and neutral line motions deduced from observations. © 1987.