Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T14:05:02.449Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Parametric drive of vortex and magnetostatic modes in a strongly non-isothermal plasma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

H. U. Rahman
Affiliation:
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 4630 Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany
P. K. Shukla
Affiliation:
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 4630 Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany
G. Murtaza
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Summary

In this paper, we have discussed the possibility of excitation of zero-frequency modes by a finite-amplitude electron-sound wave in a highly non-isothermal (TiTe) magnetoplasma. According to our investigation, the modulational instabilities of the electron-acoustic waves may produce enhanced twodimensional vortices (convection cells) and magnetic field fluctuation. Both of them can, in turn, modify transport properties of a hot magnetoplasma.

Our results could be applicable to plasmas in the earth's magnetotail (Frank, Ackerson & Lepping 1976) or thetapinches, both of which have TiTe. However, for thetapinch application, one should actually modify our results to include plasma non-uniformities. In such a situation, instead of electron-acoustic waves, one encounters ion drift waves (e.g. Shukla, Yu & Varma 1981) whose modulational instabilities can readily be studied following the procedure discussed here.

Owing to the lack of experimental data, we cannot at present verify predictions of our theory for plasmas either in space or in a laboratory. However, a typical example shows that the growth rates of both the convection cells and the magnetostatic modes are quite substantial. Hence, the phenomena discussed here may indeed appear in nature.

We are grateful to Ming Yu for many useful discussions. The work of one of us(P. K. S.) was performed under the auspices of the Sonderforschungsbereich Plasmaphysik Bochum/J ülich. One of us (H.U.R.) thanks the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst for the award of a fellowship.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arefev, V. I. 1970 Soviet Phys. Tech. Phys. 14, 1487.Google Scholar
Chu, C., Chu, M. S. & Ohkawa, T. 1978 Phys. Rev. Lett. 41, 653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, L. A., Ackerson, K. L. & Lepping, R. P. 1976 J. Geophys. Res. 81, 5859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goedbloed, J. P., Pyatak, A. I. & Sizonenko, V. L. 1970 Soviet Phys. JETP, 37, 1051.Google Scholar
Hassam, A. B. & Kulsrud, R. M. 1979 Phys. Fluids, 22, 2097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitsenko, A. B., Panchenko, V. I. & Stepanov, K. N. 1974 Plasma Phys. 16, 1109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lashmore-Davies, C. N. & Martin, T. J. 1973 Nucl. Fusion, 13, 1573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, A. T., Dawson, J. M. & Okuda, H. 1978 Phys. Rev. Lett. 41, 753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okuda, H., Lee, W. & Lin, A. T. 1979 Phys. Fluids, 22, 1899.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okuda, H. & Dawson, J. M. 1973 Phys. Fluids, 16, 408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sizonenko, V. L. & Stepanov, K. N. 1967 Nucl. Fusion, 7, 131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shukla, P. K., Yu, M. Y. & Varma, R. K. 1981 Phys. Lett. A, 84, 325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar