Coupling of shear flow and pressure gradient instabilities

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Tikhonchuk, V. T.
  • Voronkov, I.
  • Frycz, P.
  • Samson, J. C.
  • Rankin, Robert

• The nonlinear dynamics of a shear flow and its subsequent evolution in the equatorial plane of the inner plasma sheet is studied. A linear analysis of the ideal MHD equations reveals a hybrid vortex instability which appears because of the coupling of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. The hybrid vortex mode grows faster than a KH mode, extracts ambient potential energy, and leads to vortex cells that have a larger spatial extent than a simple KH vortex. In the nonlinear stage, vortices become surge-like and may destroy the shear flow region. The relevance of this model to vortex generation and auroral are intensifications at the inner edge of the plasma sheet is discussed.

• Date created

  1997

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Generations
  • Field Line Resonances
  • Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability
  • Magnetotail
  • Dynamics
  • Ballooning Instability
  • Simulations
  • Earths Magnetosphere
  • Substorm Onset
  • Auroral Arc

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3BZ61P65

• License

  © 1997 American Geophysical Union. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.