Calculations in the theory of tearing instability

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that the tearing instability may play a significant role in magnetic turbulence. In this work, we review the theory of the magnetohydrodynamic tearing instability in the general case of an arbitrary tearing parameter, which is relevant for applications in turbulence. We discuss a detailed derivation of the results for the standard Harris profile and accompany it by the derivation of the results for a lesser known sine-shaped profile. We devote special attention to the exact solution of the inner equation, which is the central result in the theory of tearing instability. We also briefly discuss the influence of shear flows on tearing instability in magnetic structures. Our presentation is self-contained; we expect it to be accessible to researchers in plasma turbulence who are not experts in magnetic reconnection.

Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Astrophysics Conference (2018)

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• Kinetic-scale current sheets in near-Sun solar wind: properties, scale-dependent features and reconnection onset
• Role of reconnection in inertial kinetic-Alfven turbulence
• Nonlinear Reconnection in Magnetized Turbulence
• Spatial intermittency of particle distribution in relativistic plasma turbulence
• Particle acceleration and pitch-angle evolution in relativistic turbulence