Effect of the flow continuum on magnetohydrodynamic stability

The flow resonance is concealed when the linearized equation of motion in magnetohydrodynamics is written in terms of the Lagrangian displacement vector. Its contribution to the dispersion equation of a rotating cylindrical plasma column, surrounded by a thin resistive wall, is clarified by a simple model calculation, relevant for axisymmetric modes, in the Eulerian representation. Under certain assumptions the flow resonance is shown to damp the resistive wall mode, with the damping proportional to the square of the gradient of vorticity at the resonant surface. It is shown that a flow resonance can stabilize a slightly elliptical plasma, surrounded by a thin resistive wall, against axisymmetric modes. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.