On the shear instability of fluid interfaces

Abstract

We examine the linear stability of fluid interfaces subjected to a shear flow. Our main object is to generalize previous work to arbitrary Atwood number, and to allow for surface tension and weak compressibility. The motivation derives from instances in astrophysical systems where mixing across material interfaces driven by shear flows may significantly affect the dynamical evolution of these systems.

45 pages (preprint format), 13 pages, 1 table accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. E