Triggering physical plasmoids in forming current sheets: conditions and diagnostics

A recent study published on arXiv investigates the conditions necessary to trigger the plasmoid instability in dynamically forming current sheets within a resistive magnetohydrodynamic framework.

Using a pseudo-spectral code applied to the Orszag-Tang vortex at a Lundquist number of approximately $10^5$, researchers identified three simultaneous conditions required for triggering physical plasmoids.

These conditions include a perturbation applied near the time of maximum current density, an amplitude above a critical threshold of roughly $10^{-5}$, and specific spectral content within the perturbation.