Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 December 2005
The nonlinear coupling between the Alfvén–Rao (AR) and dust–Alfvén (DA) modes in a uniform magnetized dusty plasma is considered. For this purpose, multi-fluid equations (composed of the continuity and momentum equations), the laws of Faraday and Ampère and the quasi-neutrality condition are adopted to derive a set of equations, which show how the fields of the modes are nonlinearly coupled. The equations are then used to investigate decay and modulational instabilities in magnetized dusty plasmas. Stationary nonlinear solutions of the coupled AR and DA equations are presented. The relevance of the investigation to nonlinear phenomena (instabilities and localized structures) in interstellar molecular clouds is also discussed.