RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR-INSTABILITY OF A 2-FLUID LAYER UNDER A GENERAL ROTATION FIELD AND A HORIZONTAL MAGNETIC-FIELD

In this paper the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) of a two-fluid lay er system under the simultaneous action of a general rotation field an d a horizontal magnetic field is presented. An approximate and an exac t solution of the eigenvalue equation are calculated. These solutions are important not only to understand more deeply the physical problem but also to determine the correct numerical solutions. Numerical calcu lations are done for an unstable density stratification in the cases o f horizontal magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the horizont al component of the angular velocity. For an adverse density stratific ation, it is shown that in comparison to previous works, the horizonta l. magnetic field creates new angular areas (of the angle of propagati on of the perturbation) at which the perturbation is stable and propag ates as traveling waves. It is also shown that the vertical component of the angular velocity has a destabilizing effect because it works to eliminate the stable angular areas.