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Rayleigh‐Taylor instability of a heavy fluid supported by a lighter one, in the presence of a homogeneous horizontal magnetic field pervading both the fluids is investigated. These fluids are considered to be incompressible, viscous, and infinitely conducting. In the lower region, z<0, the density is constant as well as in the upper region, z>0. The dispersion relation that defines the growth rate σ is derived as a function of the physical parameters of the system under the condition ky/kx=π and numerically analyzed. It is shown that the horizontal magnetic field helps to stabilize the instability. The growth rate depends on the relation between wave number components, where the instability increases with increasing π and thereby the role of horizontal magnetic field gradually declines.

Study of the effect of viscosity and homogeneous horizontal magnetic field on Rayleigh-Taylor instabilityEffect of the viscosity on Rayleigh-Taylor instability for two contiguous semi-infinite fluids, in presence of a homogeneous horizontal magnetic field permeating both fluids is investigated. These fluids are incompressible, are arranged in horizontal strata and infinitely conducting. Only the linear terms in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations are considered. The gravitational acceleration was constant. The dispersion relation that defines the growth rate σ for the system has been defined as a function of the physical parameters of the system and was solved numerically.