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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Traveling waves in a magnetized Taylor-Couette flow
Wei Liu1, Jeremy Goodman, Hantao Ji
1Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA. wliu@pppl.gov
Abstract:
We investigate numerically a traveling wave pattern observed in experimental magnetized Taylor-Couette flow at low magnetic Reynolds number. By accurately modeling viscous and magnetic boundaries in all directions, we reproduce the experimentally measured wave patterns and their amplitudes. Contrary to previous claims, the waves are shown to be transiently amplified disturbances launched by viscous boundary layers, rather than globally unstable magnetorotational modes.
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