Temperature-gradient instability caused in plasma by conducting end surfaces
Berk H. L. , Ryutov D. D. , Tsidulko Yu. A.
In a plasma with open field lines and an electron-temperature gradient in the direction transverse with respect to the magnetic field, a rapid instability and an elevated transverse transport of plasma can occur if the plasma is bounded along the field lines by highly conducting material surfaces. This result may be of interest for open systems and also for such entities as the earth's magnetosphere (in which case the ionosphere would play the role of the underlying surface) and the solar atmosphere (in which case the photosphere would play this role).