Related papers: Plasmoid instability in the semi-collisional regim…
The scaling of plasmoid instability maximum linear growth rate with respect to Lundquist number $S$ in a Sweet-Parker current sheet, $\gamma_{max}\sim S^{1/4}$, indicates that at high $S$, the current sheet will break apart before it…
The Sweet-Parker layer in a system that exceeds a critical value of the Lundquist number ($S$) is unstable to the plasmoid instability. In this paper, a numerical scaling study has been done with an island coalescing system driven by a low…
The plasmoid instability in visco-resistive current sheets is analyzed in both the linear and nonlinear regimes. The linear growth rate and the wavenumber are found to scale as $S^{1/4} {\left( {1 + {P_m}} \right)}^{-5/8}$ and $S^{3/8}…
Magnetohydrodynamic simulations have shown that a non-unique critical Lundquist number $S_c$ exists, hovering around $S_c \sim 10^4$, above which threshold Sweet-Parker type stationary reconnecting configurations become unstable to a fast…
A 2D linear theory of the instability of Sweet-Parker (SP) current sheets is developed in the framework of Reduced MHD. A local analysis is performed taking into account the dependence of a generic equilibrium profile on the outflow…
The plasmoid instability has revolutionized our understanding of magnetic reconnection in astrophysical environments. By preventing the formation of highly elongated reconnection layers, it is crucial in enabling the rapid energy conversion…
Our understanding of magnetic reconnection in resistive magnetohydrodynamics has gone through a fundamental change in recent years. The conventional wisdom is that magnetic reconnection mediated by resistivity is slow in laminar high…
Classical MHD reconnection theories, both the stationary Sweet-Parker model and the tearing instability, are known to provide rates which are too slow to explain the observations. However, a recent analysis has shown that there exists a…
Recently, secondary island formation due to the tearing instability of the Sweet-Parker current sheet was identified as a possible mechanism that can lead to fast reconnection (less sensitive dependence on Lundquist number $S$) both in…
We investigate the development of tearing-mode instability using the highest-resolution two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of reconnecting current sheets performed on a uniform grid, for Lundquist numbers of $10^3 \le S \le 5…
It has been established that the Sweet-Parker current layer in high Lundquist number reconnection is unstable to the super-Alfv\'enic plasmoid instability. Past two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations have demonstrated that the…
A detailed numerical study of magnetic reconnection in resistive MHD for very large, previously inaccessible, Lundquist numbers ($10^4\le S\le 10^8$) is reported. Large-aspect-ratio Sweet-Parker current sheets are shown to be unstable to…
We investigate, by means of two-dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations, the fast collisional magnetic reconnection regime that is supported by the formation of plasmoid chains when the Lundquist number…
A general theory of the onset and development of the plasmoid instability is formulated by means of a principle of least time. The scaling relations for the final aspect ratio, transition time to rapid onset, growth rate, and number of…
Magnetic reconnection mediated by the hyper-resistive plasmoid instability is studied with both linear analysis and nonlinear simulations. The linear growth rate is found to scale as $S_{H}^{1/6}$ with respect to the hyper-resistive…
We study the linear and nonlinear evolution of the tearing instability on thin current sheets by means of two-dimensional numerical simulations, within the framework of compressible, resistive magnetohydrodynamics. In particular we analyze…
Effects of non-uniform initial mass density and temperature on the plasmoid instability are studied via 2.5-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) simulations. Our results indicate that the development of the plasmoid instability is…
The recent observations of Singh et al. (2012) have shown multiple plasma ejections and the intermittent nature of magnetic reconnection in the solar chromosphere, highlighting the need for fast reconnection to occur in highly collisional…
We present 2D MHD numerical simulations of tearing-unstable current sheets coupled to a population of non-thermal test-particles, in order to address the problem of numerical convergence with respect to grid resolution, numerical method and…
Formation of an elongated Sweet-Parker current sheet and a transition to plasmoid instability has for the first time been predicted by simulations in a large-scale toroidal fusion plasma in the absence of any pre-existing instability.…