Thermal instability in ionized plasma

TL;DR

This paper investigates how non-ideal magnetic diffusion effects like Ohmic, ambipolar, and Hall diffusion influence thermal instability in ionized plasmas, showing they accelerate structure formation by diminishing magnetic stabilization.

Contribution

It demonstrates that non-ideal diffusion effects significantly enhance thermal condensation growth rates, altering the understanding of plasma stability.

Findings

Non-ideal effects reduce magnetic stabilization in thermal instability.

Diffusion mechanisms increase the growth rate of thermal condensations.

Magnetic field effects are less stabilizing in non-ideal plasmas.

Abstract

We study magnetothermal instability in the ionized plasmas including the effects of Ohmic, ambipolar and Hall diffusion. Magnetic field in the single fluid approximation does not allow transverse thermal condensations, however, non-ideal effects highly diminish the stabilizing role of the magnetic field in thermally unstable plasmas. Therefore, enhanced growth rate of thermal condensation modes in the presence of the diffusion mechanisms speed up the rate of structure formation.