Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-28-2012

Publication Title

Annales Geophysicae

Department

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

The thermal fluctuation level of the Weibel in- stability is recalculated. It is shown that the divergence of the fluctuations at long wavelengths, i.e. the Weibel infrared catastrophe, never occurs. At large wavelengths the thermal fluctuation level is terminated by the presence of even the smallest available stable thermal anisotropy. Weibel fields penetrate only one skin depth into the plasma. When excited inside, they cause layers of antiparallel fields of skin depth width and vortices which may be subject to reconnection.

DOI

10.5194/angeo-30-427-2012

Share

COinS