Zonal winds and dipolar vortices in a rotating dusty magnetoplasma

Abstract

It is shown that the Rossby and dust-Alfvén waves in a rotating dusty magnetoplasma are coupled due to the spatial nonuniformity of the angular rotation velocity of the dust fluid. The nonlinear wave interaction is governed by a pair of equations comprising the evolution of the dust fluid vorticity and the dust-Alfvén wave magnetic field. These nonlinear equations are then used to investigate the generation of zonal winds and the formation of a dipolar vortex. The results are relevant for understanding the origin of the strong turbulence and large scale structures, which are often observed in the planetary magnetospheres.