Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
We discuss the non-linear evolution of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in Herbig-Haro jets performing numerical simulations by means of a PPM hydro-code modified as to include non-equilibrium, optically thin, radiation losses and heating. In this paper we discuss in particular the effects of different functional dependences of heating on density. The results obtained show a weak dependency of the instability evolution on the different forms of the heating function, that is largely unknown, therefore the simple assumption of constant heating, adopted in previous papers on this matter, does not lead to severe limitations on the general applicability of the results to the astrophysical jets and, in particular, to the origin of the emission knots.