Plasma Physics Seminar ( Phys 769)

Dr. Yi-Min Huang, University of New Hampshire Effects of Line-Tying on the Resistive Tearing Instability The effects of line-tying on magnetohydrodynamic instabilities are an important issue for astrophysical plasmas, such as the solar corona or astrophysical jets. Recently, several laboratory experiments aimed at studying line-tying effects have been initiated. In this talk I will present the recent results about the effect of line-tying on the resistive tearing instability in the slab geometry. A strong guide field perpendicular to the conducting boundary is assumed, therefore the system is described by the reduced magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) equations. The linearized eigenvalue problem is solved numerically. I will discuss the numerical methods, the condition for the instability to kick in, as well as the scaling of the linear growthrate with respect to the resistivity and system length. Return to main page