Hybrid Kelvin-Helmholtz/Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the plasma sheet A06207

Abstract

This paper is to generalize the previous linear analysis of the hybrid KelvinHelmholtz/Rayleigh-Taylor (KH/RT) instability in a system of the magnetosphereionosphere (M-I) coupling, which is valid in the long-wavelength limit of Lky < 2, where ky is the azimuthal wave number and L stands for the scale length of a latitudinal profile in azimuthal velocity or energy density. For the first time, the linear growth rate profile of a hybrid wave can be revealed in an essentially overall range of k y When the gradient of the energy density is directed inward (toward inner magnetic shells), the hybrid growth rate is positive (meaning growth) in a certain range of ky: 0 < Lky