MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause

Details MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aipc..858...51d&link_type=abstract

PHYSICS OF THE INNER HELIOSHEATH: Voyager Observations, Theory, and Future Prospects; 5th Annual IGPP International Astrophysics

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

2

Heliosphere/Interstellar Medium Interactions, Heliopause And Solar Wind Termination, Magnetohydrodynamics, Macroinstabilities, Discontinuities

Scientific paper

The heliopause (HP) is the outer edge of the heliosphere which separates the tenuous and hot heliosheath plasma on one side and the relatively dense and cool magnetized interstellar plasma on the other side. As a surface of tangential discontinuity, the HP is subjected to both Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. The coupling between plasma ions and neutral atoms through the process of charge exchange provides an ``effective gravity'' at the HP, while a shear flow exists across it. We derive analytically the linearized dispersion relation for waves propagating along the surface of this discontinuity, which represents a combined RT/KH analysis. We investigate both the purely hydrodynamic, as well as magnetohydrodynamic, cases, and find that interstellar and heliospheric magnetic fields can help stabilize the HP for RT and KH-type instabilities.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and MHD Instabilities at the Heliopause will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-994178