Electrostatic drift shocks and drift wave instability in inhomogeneous rotating electron-positron-ion plasmas

The electrostatic drift wave shocks are studied in inhomogeneous rotating e-p-i plasma of the pulsar atmosphere. In this regard, the dissipation due to ion-neutral collisions is considered, which facilitate the formation of shock structures. It is noticed that these structures can move with the velocity of the drift wave which is not possible without considering the rotational effects. Several limiting cases are also discussed. In addition, the drift wave instability is obtained when electrons and positrons could not cancel out the space charge effects along the magnetic field lines in the presence of electron-ion and positron-ion collisions. Further, it is found that this instability is sensitive to rotational frequency of the object. The importance of the results with relevance to astrophysical plasmas is also pointed out. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4750057]