Current Sheet Formation in Weakly Ionized Plasmas

Using the two fluid model, the problem of two-dimensional steady-state magnetic reconnection in incompressible resistive weakly ionized plasmas is analysed. Under the strong-coupling condition such as in the Sun's photosphere, it allows us to express the current sheet analytically. In this case the current sheet scales as η^1/2. Then this model is used to understand magnetic flux cancellation which is observed in the Sun's magnetograms. To account for a canceling flux of 1 x 10¹⁸Max in a time interval of 77 min, the width of the current sheet is about ten kilometers.