DISSIPATIVE STRUCTURES IN THE F-REGION OF THE EQUATORIAL IONOSPHERE GENERATED BY RAYLEIGH TAYLOR INSTABILITY

The non-linear regime of electrostatic perturbations of the equatorial ionospheric F-region generated by Rayleigh-Taylor instability has been discussed, taking into account conductivity along magnetic field lines. A closed non-linear equation has been derived in the stationary limit for the polarization electric field potential. It coincides with the Karman equation of an ideal liquid. To solve the equation, the averaged variational Whitham method has been proposed. Some solutions localized along and across the geomagnetic field, B, as well as quasi-periodic solutions in the transverse direction, have been investigated. Non-linear longitudinal localization of perturbations has been shown to be due to electron-ion collisions.