Resistive tearing mode in a weakly two-dimensional sheet pinch

The influence of a weak normal component of the magnetic field B/sub n/ on the resistive tearing mode in a sheet pinch is examined. The dispersion relation in the high conductivity limit is derived in closed analytical form and it is shown that the normal magnetic field exerts a stabilizing influence. For values of B/sub n/ scaling like eta2/sup //5, where eta is the resistivity, the results obtained relate to recent numerical calculations of Nishikawa and Sakai [Phys. Fluids 25, 1384 (1982)] for finite B/sub n/. In the very weak ordering with B/sub n/ scaling like eta4/sup //5, the previous analytical result of Janicke [Phys. Fluids 23, 1843 (1980)] is recovered