Coexistence of Plasmoid and Kelvin–Helmholtz Instabilities in Collisionless Plasma Turbulence published in Astrophysical Journal April 2022
ISC researchers Dario Borgogno e Daniela Grasso have recently published the following interesting work,
“Coexistence of Plasmoid and Kelvin–Helmholtz Instabilities in Collisionless Plasma Turbulence” in The Astrophysical Journal, 929, 62 (2022).
Abstract
The plasmoid formation in collisionless plasmas, where magnetic reconnection within turbulence may take place
driven by the electron inertia, is analyzed. We find a complex situation in which, due to the presence of strong
velocity shears, the typical plasmoid formation, observed to influence the energy cascade in the
magnetohydrodynamic context, has to coexist with the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. We find that the
current density layers may undergo the plasmoid or the KH instability depending on the local values of the
magnetic and velocity fields. The competition among these instabilities affects not only the evolution of the current
sheets, that may generate plasmoid chains or KH-driven vortices, but also the energy cascade, that is different for
the magnetic and kinetic spectra.
driven by the electron inertia, is analyzed. We find a complex situation in which, due to the presence of strong
velocity shears, the typical plasmoid formation, observed to influence the energy cascade in the
magnetohydrodynamic context, has to coexist with the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. We find that the
current density layers may undergo the plasmoid or the KH instability depending on the local values of the
magnetic and velocity fields. The competition among these instabilities affects not only the evolution of the current
sheets, that may generate plasmoid chains or KH-driven vortices, but also the energy cascade, that is different for
the magnetic and kinetic spectra.
New insights on the interaction between fluid and magnetic instabilities in space plasmas
