Drift–Alfven instabilities of a parallel shearing flow of the finite beta plasma with warm ions: The effect of the compressional magnetic field perturbations

Abstract

It was predicted [Mikhailenko et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 020701 (2016)] that drift–Alfven instabilities may be developed in parallel shear flows of finite beta (1≫β≫me/mi) plasmas with comparable ion and electron temperatures. In this paper, we examine the drift–Alfven instabilities of parallel shear flows with emphasis on the effect of compressional magnetic field perturbations, which is omitted usually in the theory of the drift–Alfven instabilities of steady plasmas where only transverse Alfven wave oscillations are generally accounted for. It was found that the compressional and transverse Alfven wave oscillations are coupled in plasma shear flows with warm ions. The compressional effect, however, introduces quantitative changes to the results and does not change the main qualitative results obtained for the drift–Alfven instabilities in parallel shear flows without accounting for this effect.