Stability of tearing modes in presence of a velocity flow

Technical Report · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977

OSTI ID:6537537

Dobrowolny, M

Tearing modes, driven by plasma resistivity, collisional or collisionless, are one of the possible mechanisms leading to reconnection of initially antiparallel magnetic field lines. The theory of stability of a neutral sheet configuration with respect to tearing modes was developed including the presence of a plasma velocity flow and velocity gradients across the sheet. Consideration of the effects of a velocity flow are of noticeable importance, as the magnetic configurations which are encountered in space and where reconnection processes may occurare all accompanied by velocity flows. This is, for example, the case for the neutral sheet in the earth's magnetotail, the magnetopause boundary, and the boundaries between different sectors of the interplanetary magnetic field.

• Research Organization: SEE CODE- 1908825 Laboratorio di Ricerce e Technologia per lo Studio del Plasma nello Spazio, Frescati (Italy)
• OSTI ID: 6537537
• Report Number(s): N-78-14735; LPS-77-13
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107 -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
640203* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
GEOMAGNETIC FIELD
INSTABILITY
INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS
LAYERS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOPAUSE
MAGNETOTAIL
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA WAVES
SHEAR PROPERTIES