Abstract
It is shown that a cylindrical plasma column supporting a longitudinal fieldB z and an azimuthal fieldB ϕ has a fastest-growing mode in whichkR 0≈1 (k=wave number,R 0=radius of the column). If we assume that plasma is ejected from a galaxy to form a jet, filament or bridge of length ≃5 kpc,R 0≃0.5 kpc, density ≈10−24 gm cm−3 with a dragged-out field of strengthB z ≈10−5 Gauss (from a parent field ≈10−6 Gauss), such a column must eventually fragment by the action of a hydromagnetic instability, breaking up into a number ≈10 of regularly-spaced condensations. It is, therefore, predicted that features like the M87 jet should show incipient nucleation with 3–10 knots, and that periodically-spaced objects of the type noted by Arp may have resulted from the action of such an instability.
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Wesson, P.S., Lermann, A. Hydromagnetic break-up of bridges and jets into aligned objects. Astrophys Space Sci 46, 51–60 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00643753
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00643753