Rayleigh Taylor instability in a dusty plasma

Abstract

A non-local theory is developed to study the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in an inhomogeneous dusty plasma in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Using the fluid equations and the dynamics of charged dust grains, an eigenmode equation is derived to study the stability of the mode. Typical space parameters in the vicinity of Saturn are used to investigate the stability of the mode. The growth rate of the Rayleigh–Taylor is found to be drastically higher in a dusty plasma than in a pure plasma. This might have a wider consequence in explaining the origin of low-frequency modes in various situations in the space atmosphere. The effects of the dust charge, and the dust density on the growth rate of the instability are also studied.