The tearing mode instability in a partially ionized plasma

The authors discuss the resistive tearing mode instability, which is a mechanism that in some cases will render unstable a magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium of a plasma that is ideally stable. In the astrophysical context, the instability has been invoked in connection with the solar flare energy release mechanism and the problem of he disconnection of the protostar matter from the interstellar magnetic field during star formation. In the latter problem the tearing instability gives rise to a much smaller timescale for magnetic reconnection than does ordinary resistive diffusion