Numerical Analysis of Drift-Dissipative Instability in the Region of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles for Different Geophysical Conditions

In this paper, we study the dependences of the linear growth rate of drift-dissipative instability in the equatorial region of the Earth’s ionosphere on helio-geomagnetic conditions, ionospheric parameters, and characteristics of equatorial plasma bubbles, on the fronts of which small-scale plasma irregularities can develop. In our works and in numerous studies by other authors, a high degree of correlation of the F-scattering phenomenon with the presence of plasma bubbles in the equatorial F-region of the ionosphere has been revealed. The classical explanation of F-scattering is associated with the emergence and development of small-scale irregularities at the fronts of equatorial plasma bubbles. The time period favorable for the generation and development of equatorial plasma bubbles has a duration of one to two hours. The study was carried out in a series of computational experiments, in which the calculations used our previously developed original two-dimensional mathematical and numerical model of the development of Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Numerical modeling was carried out for geophysical conditions favorable for the development of equatorial plasma bubbles in the equatorial F-region of the Earth’s ionosphere. This work is a continuation of our research. Unlike our previous works, this paper studies the features of the drift-dissipative instability growth rate depending on a wide range of conditions and parameters of the low-latitude ionosphere.