A non-local magneto-curvature instability in differentially rotating plasmas

We have recently uncovered a new non-local mode, a magneto-curvature instability (Ebrahimi&Pharr ApJ 2022 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac892d). This instability is triggered due to Alfven-continuum unstable modes in the presence of non-local effects of the global spatial curvature. We find that only global models with spatially varying fields (both magnetic and rotational) can offer the richest mode spectrum, mainly as the result of resonances in the system. Linear analysis, as well as the nonlinear results will be presented. In particular, it will be shown that as the field strength is increased a transition from MRI-driven turbulence to a state dominated by global nonaxisymmetric modes is obtained. The implication of this instability for accretion flows as well as laboratory plasmas will be discussed. Work supported by NSF.