Stability of an anisotropic plasma jet

Abstract

The stability of an anisotropic plasma jet has been investigated using equations of Chew, Goldberger & Low (1965) in both plane and cylindrical geometries. The main conclusions are as follows:(i) For waves of small wavelength, when λ (the ratio of plasma density to the density of surrounding non-conducting medium) is much greater than unity, the plasma jet is stable only if 1/6(1 + σ) <p∥/p⊥ < 1 + 2σ, where p∥ and p⊥ denote the components of pressure parallel and perpendicular to the direction of magnetic field in the steady state, and σ denotes the ratio of magnetic pressure to the perpendicular component of plasma pressure.(ii) When λ ≫ 1, the plasma jet is unstable if the parallel component of pressure exceeds the sum of the perpendicular component of pressure and twice the magnetic pressure of the plasma.(iii) For long waves, we find that there exists an infinite number of growing and decaying waves. Expressions for the growth rates have been obtained.

Effect of Hall current on the instability of an anisotropic plasma jet

“…The solutions for the non-conducting medium in the non-dimensional form are written (from Raghavachar 1971) Pi = C 3 exp{-/? e £}, ^* i -c 2 C 3 e x p { -^} , Re/?…”

“…The appropriate solutions for the small perturbations in the non-dimensional form in the outer medium are taken from Raghavachar (1971): and p e , a g , H e are respectively the density, the velocity of sound and the magnetic field; h e , v e , p el respectively denote the perturbations in the magnetic field, the velocity and the pressure in the outer non-conducting gas. B and C are arbitrary constants.…”

“…Laboratory experiments simulating solar wind phenomena have been performed (Bachynski & Osborne 1965;Patrick & Pugh 1965). Raghavachar (1971) studied the effect of anisotropy in pressure, with the help of the CGL equations. He considered the stability of a streaming plasma surrounded by non-conducting matter and immersed in a uniform magnetic field.…”