Role of natural length and time scales on shear driven two-dimensional electron magnetohydrodynamic instability

Abstract

The electron magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) model represents an incompressible electron fluid flow against a static neutralizing background ion species. In contrast to hydrodynamic fluid models the EMHD model contains intrinsic length (the electron skin depth) and time scale (the whistler period). The paper discusses the role of skin depth and the existence of whistler waves on a prominent fluid instability, namely, the velocity shear driven Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the context of two-dimensional EMHD. Numerical simulations are also carried out to understand the role played by the whistler waves in the nonlinear saturated regime of the instability. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.