Finite-frequency surface waves on current sheets

Abstract

The dispersion relation for low-frequency surface waves at a current sheet between two magnetized plasmas is derived using the cold-plasma dielectric tensor with finite ion-cyclotron frequency. The magnetic field direction is allowed to change discontinuously across the sheet, but the plasma density remains constant. The cyclotron frequency causes a splitting of the dispersion relation into a number of mode branches with frequencies both less than and greater than the ion-cyclotron frequency. The existence of these modes depends in particular upon the degree of magnetic field discontinuity and the direction of wave propagation in the sheet relative to the magnetic field directions. Sometimes two modes can exist for the same direction of propagation. The existence of modes undamped by Alfvén resonance absorption is predicted. Analytical solutions are obtained in the low-frequency and magnetic-field-reversal limits. The solutions are obtained numerically in the general case.