GENERATION OF SPONTANEOUS MAGNETIC FIELDS IN STRONGLY INHOMOGENEOUS FULLY IONIZED PLASMA

This paper investigates the spontaneous generation of magnetic fields in a fully ionized plasma with collinear density and temperature gradients. It is shown that the magnetic field generation is caused by the development of thermomagnetic (TM) instability in a strongly inhomogeneous plasma. In the long-wavelength limit of TM perturbations, the inhomogeneous region is approximated by a sharp discontinuity in density and temperature. Analytical expressions for the growth rates of magnetic field and temperature perturbations are derived in this regime. The criteria for the onset of TM instability are obtained by taking into account both convective heat transfer and thermomagnetic effects, which determine the conditions for magnetic field generation.