ON THE WEAKLY NONLINEAR KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY OF TANGENTIAL DISCONTINUITIES IN MHD

Abstract

We derive a quadratically nonlinear equation that describes the motion of a tangential discontinuity in incompressible magnetohydrodynamics near the onset of a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We show that nonlinear effects enhance the instability and give a criterion for it to occur in terms of a longitudinal strain of the fluid motion along the discontinuity.