Magnetic Tearing of Plasma Discharges Due to Nonuniform Resistivity

Phys. Fluids 31, 2068 (1988)https://ireap.umd.edu/10.1063/1.8666581988Journal ArticlePlasma, Accelerator, and Nuclear Physics

The rearrangement of current in a plasma discharge in response to resistivity nonuniformities within a magnetic surface is studied. It is shown that macroscopic magnetic islands develop about those surfaces where the nonuniformity is aligned with the magnetic field. If the nonuniformity and the field are not aligned anywhere, there is no current rearrangement; instead, relatively large plasma flows are set up. Such resistivity inhomogeneities can obtain in solar coronal loops and, in some circumstances, in tokamak discharges.