On the two-fluid modification of the resistive tearing instability

Bian, N.H. and Vekstein, G. (2007) On the two-fluid modification of the resistive tearing instability. Physics of Plasmas, 14(7), 072107. (doi: 10.1063/1.2759893)

Abstract

We consider the two-fluid resistive tearing mode for an inviscid highly conducting (a large Lundquist number S) plasma in a sheared force-free magnetic field. It is shown that under the “constant-ψ” approximation there are four possible instability regimes, each of which corresponds to the specific domain in the parameter space (β,di). Here, β is a standard plasma thermal pressure parameter, while di≡c/(ωpil) is the normalized ion inertial skin depth, with l being the shear length of the magnetic field. A qualitative analysis emphasizing when and why the transitions from one regime to another occur is also provided.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bian, Dr Nicolas Horace
• Authors: Bian, N.H., and Vekstein, G.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• ISSN: 1070-664X
• ISSN (Online): 1089-7674