Drift-Alfven vortices in dusty plasmas

A set of two-fluid equations that governs the nonlinear dynamics of drift-A lfven waves in a multicomponent dusty plasma is derived. It consists of the electron continuity equation, the electron parallel equation of motion, an d the divergence of the total plasma current density. In the linear limit, we obtain a dispersion relation that shows the coupling between drift-Alfve n and drift convective cells. On the other hand, the stationary solutions o f the nonlinear equations can be represented as dipolar vortices. The relev ance of our investigation to coherent nonlinear structures in space plasmas is pointed out.