Richtmyer-Meshkov Type Instability of a Current Sheet in a Relativistically Magnetized Plasma

Abstract: Linear stability of a current sheet that is subject to an impulsive acceleration due to a shock passage is studied with the effect of guide magnetic field. We find that the current sheet embedded in relativistically magnetized plasma always shows a Richtmyer-Meshkov type instability, while it depends on the density structure in the Newtonian limit. The growth of the instability is expected to generate turbulence around the current sheet that can induce so-called turbulent reconnection whose rate is essentially free from plasma resistivity. Thus, the instability can be applied as a triggering mechanism of rapid magnetic energy release in variety of high-energy astrophysical phenomena such as pulsar wind nebulae, gamma-ray bursts, and active galactic nuclei, where the shock wave is supposed to play a crucial role.