Nonlinear saturation of magnetic curvature driven Rayleigh Taylor instability in three dimensions

Abstract

We present three dimensional fluid simulation results on the temporal evolution and nonlinear saturation of the magnetic curvature driven Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability. The model set of coupled nonlinear equations evolve the scalar electric field potential $ϕ$, plasma density $n$ and the parallel component of the magnetic vector potential $ψ$. The simulations have been carried out in two limits, (i) a low resistivity case in which RT is the only linearly growing mode, and (ii) a high resistivity case where the drift wave is unstable and for which the magnetic curvature parameter is set to zero to ensure the absence of the RT growth. Our simulations show nonlinear stabilization in both these limits. The stabilization mechanism is similar to that observed in earlier two dimensional simulations, namely the generation of zonal shear flows which decorrelate the radially extended unstable modes. However the nature of the saturated nonlinear state in the 3d case differs from that of 2d in some important ways such as by having significant levels of power in short scales and by the presence of electromagnetic fluctuations. Though, in the linear regime the electromagnetic effects reduce the growth rates, in the nonlinear regime their presence hinders the process of stabilization by inhibiting the process of zonal flow formation. Thus the parameter regime for which nonlinear stabilization takes place is considerably reduced in three dimensions.