Flute instability in the plasma shell of the earth's magnetosphere

In the plasma shell of the earth's magnetosphere, the surfaces of constant pressure may not coincide with surfaces of constant specific volume. This circumstance forces a reexamination of the theory for the flute instability, in which the pressure has been assumed to remain constant on surfaces of constant specific volume. The MHD equations for flute waves in a curvilinear magnetic field are used to show that an instability of a new type, with a pressure which does not remain constant on surfaces of constant specific volume, can occur in the plasma shell of the magnetosphere. An expression is derived for the growth rate of this instability. Analysis of the equation also shows that perturbations with wavelengths shorter than the ion Larmor radius are stable by virtue of magnetodrift effects. The growth rates of the flute instabilities are calculated for both a dipole magnetic field and an arbitrary magnetic-field configuration. Growth rates calculated for typical values of the characteristics of the earth's plasma shell are reported