Stability criteria of Rayleigh-Taylor modes in magnetized plasmas

The Rayleigh - Taylor (RT) instability is investigated analytically in an inhomogeneous plasma in an external magnetic field. For the case of two distinct fluid layers separated by a sharp boundary and for a fluid of a continuously varying density, RT dispersion relations have been obtained and analyzed. Stability criteria of the excited modes are disscussed with respect to the mode propagation relative to the applied magnetic field. The magnetic field is found to act as a stabilizer up to a threshold value that can be determined from the dispersion relation.