This study investigates the ideal two-fluid plasma Richtmyer-Meshkov instability under the influence of initially uniform magnetic fields. Two magnetic-field orientations are investigated, in the plane of the two-dimensional interface perturbations aligned with the mean interface location ($y$magnetic field) and out of plane ($z$ magnetic field). Results are presented for ion plasma skin depths ranging from 0.1 to 10 perturbation wavelengths and a magnetic interaction parameter of $\beta =0.1$. The simulation results are compared with the unmagnetized and hydrodynamic reference cases. Our analysis demonstrates that an initial magnetic field parallel to the interface suppresses the growth of initial primary and secondary interface instabilities, depending on the plasma length scale. We attribute the suppression of the instability to transport parallel with the interface, leading to high localized vorticity but reduced residual interface out-of-plane vorticity that drives perturbation growth. In contrast, the out-of-plane initial magnetic field prevents the Lorentz transfer of vorticity away from the interface, resulting in perturbation growth rates equivalent to the unmagnetized case but breaking the symmetry of the primary mode.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Compressible flows
• Flow instability
• Implosion symmetry
• Inertial confinement fusion
• Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
• Nonlinear phenomena in plasmas
• Plasma fusion
• Plasma instabilities
• Plasma waves
• Richtmyer-Meshkov instability