The interchange instability in high-latitude plasma blobs
- Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
The stability of high-latitude plasma density enhancements (blobs) is analyzed with regard to the interchange mode (driven by neutral wind or equilibrium transverse electric field acting on the density gradient at the walls of the blobs). The effects arising from the finite parallel length of the blobs along the magnetic field lines are included in the analysis. Plasma regions of differing collisionalities, to which the blobs extend in altitude, are considered. The authors find that the finite parallel blob size results in a modest reduction in the growth rates of the small ({approx lt}1 km) and intermediate (1-10 km) scale sizes but severely reduces the growth rates for the large scale sizes (> 10 km) for the observed parallel blob lengths ({approximately}300-600 km). Further, it is found that the instability growth rates show a moderate reduction at higher altitudes (where ion-inertial effects may be dominant over the ion-neutral collisional effects). Thus the E{times} B instability is considered a plausible candidate for the scintillation-causing irregularities (1-10 km) associated with the high-latitude blobs.
- OSTI ID:
- 5596444
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 92:A4; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Effect of finite blob size on the current convective instability in the auroral ionosphere. Memorandum report
A reduced-model (nSOLT) simulation of neutral recycling effects on plasma turbulence in the divertor region of MAST-U
Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
IONOSPHERE
PLASMA DENSITY
CONVECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
DRIFT INSTABILITY
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON DENSITY
INSTABILITY GROWTH RATES
LATITUDE EFFECT
PLASMA DRIFT
RADAR
SATELLITES
SCINTILLATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ENERGY TRANSFER
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
INSTABILITY
MASS TRANSFER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA MICROINSTABILITIES
RANGE FINDERS
VARIATIONS
661320* - Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena- (1992-)