Instability interplay in a magnetized streaming plasma

The interplay between the Kelvin-Helmholtz, the Rayleigh-Taylor and the Magnetic Reconnection instabilities in a magnetized inhomogeneous plasma with a sheared velocity field is investigated within the framework of a two-dimensional, two fluid model. This magnetic configuration is of interest for the investigation of the mixing process between the solar wind plasma and the Earth's magnetospheric plasma at low latitudes at the magnetospheric flank. It is found that the combined role of the density inhomogeneity and of the in-plane magnetic field during the development of the Kelvin Helmholtz instability is multi faceted. It leads to small scale magnetic islands through the development of induced magnetic field line reconnection but at the same time the in-plane magnetic field preserves the global coherence of the vortex merging process (vortex pairing).