Viscoresistive stabilization of the Z pinch

A two‐dimensional magnetohydrodynamic code that includes resistivity and viscosity has been used to study the growth of m=0 perturbations of a Z pinch in which the current increases with time. Stability for all wave numbers was found when the product SR was less than about 1000, where S is the Lundquist number and R is the Alfven–Reynolds number. Since SR depends only on the line density N, the stability criterion translates as N