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Magnetized Kelvin–Helmholtz instability: theory and simulations in the Earth’s magnetosphere context

Part of: Focus on Space Plasmas Fundamental Problems of Plasma Astrophysics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2017

Matteo Faganello  and
Francesco Califano
Matteo Faganello*
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, PIIM UMR 7345, Centre de Saint-Jérome Case 322, Avenue Escadrille Normandie Nièmen, 13397 Marseille, France
Francesco Califano
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
*
†Email address for correspondence: matteo.faganello@univ-amu.fr
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Abstract

The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, proposed a long time ago for its role in and impact on the transport properties at magnetospheric flanks, has been widely investigated in the Earth’s magnetosphere context. This review covers more than fifty years of theoretical and numerical efforts in investigating the evolution of Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices and how the rich nonlinear dynamics they drive allow solar wind plasma bubbles to enter into the magnetosphere. Special care is devoted to pointing out the main advantages and weak points of the different plasma models that can be adopted for describing the collisionless magnetospheric medium and in underlying the important role of the three-dimensional geometry of the system.

Keywords

plasma instabilitiesplasma nonlinear phenomenaspace plasma physics
Type
Review
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 83 , Issue 6 , December 2017 , 535830601
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2017 

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