IAFE   05512
INSTITUTO DE ASTRONOMIA Y FISICA DEL ESPACIO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Kelvin-Helmholtz versus Hall magneto-shear instability in astrophysical flows
Autor/es:
D.O. GÓMEZ; C. BEJARANO; P.D. MININNI
Revista:
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
Editorial:
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 89 p. 5310501 - 5310507
ISSN:
1539-3755
Resumen:
We study the stability of shear flows in a fully ionized plasma. Kelvin-Helmholtz is a well-known macroscopic and ideal shear-driven instability. In sufficiently low-density plasmas, also the microscopic Hall magnetoshear instability can take place. We performed three-dimensional simulations of the Hall-magnetohydrodynamic equations where these two instabilities are present, and carried out a comparative study. We find that when the shear flow is so intense that its vorticity surpasses the ion-cyclotron frequency of the plasma, the Hall magnetoshear instability is not only non-negligible, but it actually displays growth rates larger than those of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.