Abstract
The linear stability of the tearing mode (TM) in a plasma column is investigated in the presence of viscosity and finite equilibrium current density gradients (i.e., asymmetries). It is shown that for low β, both effects are essential in order to properly describe the mode behaviour close to marginality. In particular, the theory introduces a critical threshold for the destabilization, such that the perturbation grows only if Δ′>Δ′cr. The value of Δ′cr depends on the equilibrium configuration and on the plasma parameters. Most importantly, Δ′cr can take negative values, thus allowing unstable tearing modes for Δ′ < 0 (even in the absence of bootstrap current).
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