Mottez, F. Instabilities and formation of coherent structures. (English) Zbl 1043.76507 Astrophys. Space Sci. 277, No. 1-2, 59-70 (2001). Summary: This tutorial paper is devoted to theoretical aspects of the coherent electrostatic structures that have been encountered in various space plasmas. These structures, called solitary waves, electrostatic shocks or double layers have been observed in the solar wind, the Earth bow shock, the auroral zones and the magnetotail. Most of these structures can be interpreted in terms of electron or ion phase space holes. Their 1D structure, their emergence from plasma instabilities, their mutual interactions, their bidimensional stability, and their ability to create large scale electric fields are discussed in this paper. MSC: 76E20 Stability and instability of geophysical and astrophysical flows 76X05 Ionized gas flow in electromagnetic fields; plasmic flow 85A30 Hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic problems in astronomy and astrophysics 76-01 Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to fluid mechanics PDFBibTeX XMLCite \textit{F. Mottez}, Astrophys. Space Sci. 277, No. 1--2, 59--70 (2001; Zbl 1043.76507) Full Text: DOI