Effect of a magnetic field and Coriolis forces on Rayleigh–Taylor's instability

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Abstract
We present variational principles which characterize the solution of the equilibrium of a plane horizontal layer of an incompressible, electrically conducting fluid of electrical conductivity σ e.m.u., of magnetic permeability K, having a variable density ρ(z) in the vertical z direction, which is also the direction of gravity having acceleration g, and of viscosity μ(z) and which is rotating at Ω radians per second about the vertical axis in the presence of a horizontal magnetic field for the two cases:(i) When the electrically conducting fluid is assumed to be nonrotating (Ω = 0), with the conductivity σ being finite and the horizontal magnetic field being uniform.(ii) When the electrically conducting fluid is assumed to be rotating (Ω ± 0), with the conductivity σ being infinite and the horizontal magnetic field being stratified.Based on the variational principles for these two cases, an approximate solution is obtained for the special case of a fluid of finite depth d stratified according to the law ρ0 = ρ1 exp βz (ρ1 and β are some constants), for which kinematic viscosity ν is assumed to be constant. Growth rate and total wave number of the disturbance are related by two cubic equations, and for simplified cases explicit solutions are obtained. The properties of hydromagnetic waves generated are discussed.

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