The effects of line-tying on resistive tearing instability in slab geometry
is studied within the framework of reduced magnetohydrodynamics
(RMHD).\citep{KadomtsevP1974,Strauss1976} It is found that line-tying has a
stabilizing effect. The tearing mode is stabilized when the system length L
is shorter than a critical length Lc, which is independent of the
resistivity η. When L is not too much longer than Lc, the
growthrate γ is proportional to η . When L is sufficiently long,
the tearing mode scaling γ∼η3/5 is recovered. The transition
from γ∼η to γ∼η3/5 occurs at a transition length
Lt∼η−2/5.Comment: Correct a typ