The stability of ferrofluid flow in a vertical layer subject to lateral heating and horizontal magnetic field

We use the Langevin law of magnetization to study the linear stability of a convective flow in a flat vertical layer of ferrofluid subject to a transverse temperature gradient and a uniform magnetic field. The stability of the flow against planar, spiral and three-dimensional perturbations is examined, and the stability boundaries and characteristics of critical disturbances are determined. The competition between the monotonic mode and two types of wave modes is analyzed taking into account the properties of the fluid (magnetic susceptibility and Prandtl number) and the magnetic field strength. The domain of parameters where the oscillatory thermomagnetic wave instability exists is found.