Neutrino transport and hydrodynamic stability of rotating proto-neutron stars

We consider stability of differentially rotating non-magnetic proto-neutron stars. When neutrino transport is efficient, the star can be subject to a diffusive instability that can occur even in the convectively stable region. The instability arises on the time-scale comparable to the time-scale of thermal diffusion. Hydrodynamic motions driven by the instability can lead to anisotropy in the neutrino flux since the instability is suppressed near the equator and rotation axis.Comment: 6 pages. Accepted for publication in A&

Observation of modulation instability in a nonlinear magnetoinductive waveguide

We report numerical and experimental investigations into modulation instability in a nonlinear magnetoinductive waveguide. By numerical simulation we find that modulation instability occurs in an electrical circuit model of a magnetoinductive waveguide with third-order nonlinearity. We fabricate the nonlinear magnetoinductive waveguide for microwaves using varactor-loaded split-ring resonators and observe the generation of modulation instability in the waveguide. The condition for generating modulation instability in the experiment roughly agrees with that in the numerical analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figure

The subcritical baroclinic instability in local accretion disc models

(abridged) Aims: We present new results exhibiting a subcritical baroclinic instability (SBI) in local shearing box models. We describe the 2D and 3D behaviour of this instability using numerical simulations and we present a simple analytical model describing the underlying physical process. Results: A subcritical baroclinic instability is observed in flows stable for the Solberg-Hoiland criterion using local simulations. This instability is found to be a nonlinear (or subcritical) instability, which cannot be described by ordinary linear approaches. It requires a radial entropy gradient weakly unstable for the Schwartzchild criterion and a strong thermal diffusivity (or equivalently a short cooling time). In compressible simulations, the instability produces density waves which transport angular momentum outward with typically alpha<3e-3, the exact value depending on the background temperature profile. Finally, the instability survives in 3D, vortex cores becoming turbulent due to parametric instabilities. Conclusions: The subcritical baroclinic instability is a robust phenomenon, which can be captured using local simulations. The instability survives in 3D thanks to a balance between the 2D SBI and 3D parametric instabilities. Finally, this instability can lead to a weak outward transport of angular momentum, due to the generation of density waves by the vortices.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures, Accepted in A&

Tangling clustering instability for small particles in temperature stratified turbulence

We study particle clustering in a temperature stratified turbulence with small finite correlation time. It is shown that the temperature stratified turbulence strongly increases the degree of compressibility of particle velocity field. This results in the strong decrease of the threshold for the excitation of the tangling clustering instability even for small particles. The tangling clustering instability in the temperature stratified turbulence is essentially different from the inertial clustering instability that occurs in non-stratified isotropic and homogeneous turbulence. While the inertial clustering instability is caused by the centrifugal effect of the turbulent eddies, the mechanism of the tangling clustering instability is related to the temperature fluctuations generated by the tangling of the mean temperature gradient by the velocity fluctuations. Temperature fluctuations produce pressure fluctuations and cause particle clustering in regions with increased pressure fluctuations. It is shown that the growth rate of the tangling clustering instability is much larger than that of the inertial clustering instability. It is found that depending on the parameters of the turbulence and the mean temperature gradient there is a preferential particle size at which the particle clustering due to the tangling clustering instability is more effective. The particle number density inside the cluster after the saturation of this instability can be in several orders of magnitude larger than the mean particle number density. It is also demonstrated that the evaporation of droplets drastically change the tangling clustering instability, e.g., it increases the instability threshold in the droplet radius. The tangling clustering instability is of a great importance, e.g., in atmospheric turbulence with temperature inversions.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, REVTEX4-1, revised versio