title: Plasmoid formation in current sheet with finite normal magnetic component.
abstract: Current sheet configurations in natural and laboratory plasmas are often accompanied by a finite normal magnetic component that is known to stabilize the two-dimensional resistive tearing instability in the high Lundquist number regime. Recent magnetohydrodynamic simulations indicate that the nonlinear development of ballooning instability is able to induce the formation of X lines and plasmoids in a generalized Harris sheet with a finite normal magnetic component in the high Lundquist number regime where the linear two-dimensional resistive tearing mode is stable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raeder