Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities with sheared magnetic fields
- Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC), University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom)
- Departament de Física, Universitat de les Illes Balears, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instabilities may play a relevant role in many astrophysical problems. In this work the effect of magnetic shear on the growth rate of the MRT instability is investigated. The eigenmodes of an interface and a slab model under the presence of gravity are analytically calculated assuming that the orientation of the magnetic field changes in the equilibrium, i.e., there is magnetic shear. We solve the linearized magnetohydrodynamic equations in the incompressible regime. We find that the growth rate is bounded under the presence of magnetic shear. We have derived simple analytical expressions for the maximum growth rate, corresponding to the most unstable mode of the system. These expressions provide the explicit dependence of the growth rate on the various equilibrium parameters. For small angles the growth time is linearly proportional to the shear angle, and in this regime the single interface problem and the slab problem tend to the same result. On the contrary, in the limit of large angles and for the interface problem the growth time is essentially independent of the shear angle. In this regime we have also been able to calculate an approximate expression for the growth time for the slab configuration. Magnetic shear can have a strong effect on the growth rates of the instability. As an application of the results found in this paper we have indirectly determined the shear angle in solar prominence threads using their lifetimes and the estimation of the Alfvén speed of the structure.
- OSTI ID:
- 22357097
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 785, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Effect of shear flow and magnetic field on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability
Effects of compressibility on the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability in Z-pinch implosions with sheared axial flows