Magnetothermal instabilities in coronal arcades

The normal mode spectrum for the linearized MHD equations is investigated for a plasma in a cylindrical equilibrium. The equations describing these normal modes are solved numerically using a finite element code. The ballooning equations that describe localized modes are manipulated and a dispersion relation derived. It is shown that as the axial wave numberk is increased, the fundamental thermal and Alfvén modes can coalesce to form overstable magnetothermal modes. The ratio between the magnetic and thermal terms is varied and the existence of the magnetothermal modes examined. The corresponding growth rates are predicted by a WKB solution to the ballooning equations. The existence of these magnetothermal modes may be significant in the eruption of prominences into solar flares.     

A statistical theory for the decay process of weak homogeneous convective turbulence

In this paper we have derived kinetic equations for the decay of kinetic and thermal energy of a weak homogenous turbulent flow in which the fluctuating temperature field is superimposed on the eddy velocity field. Random fluctuations of velocity and temperature in a one-dimensional model have been considered on the basis of wavenumbers in Fourier space together with linearized mode approximations. Energy decay equations have been obtained in closed form, using quasi-normal approximations and the Bogoliubov expansion method. The paper also discusses the cases off=v andf=0.     

Effects of Hall current and rotation

Effects of Hall current and rotation on the flow of electrically conducting rarefied gas due to combined buoyant effects of thermal and mass diffusion, past an infinite porous plate in the presence of transverse magnetic have been investigated. The equations governing the flow problem have been solved and the profiles are shown on graphs. Effects ofm (Hall parameter) andE (Ekman number) on velocity are discussed.     

Dynamical problems of thermoelastic solids

The dynamical problem for thermal stresses in an infinite isotropic elastic cylinder of radius a with its axis along the z-axis, subject to fixed boundary conditions is studied. The Fourier heat conduction equation has been solved applying the Fourier transform and the theory of complex variable. The thermoelastic equation of motion has been separated into two wave equations which can be solved separately. The temperature, the displacement and the stress components have been obtained in analytical form as series involving Bessel function of first kind and of order zero.     

Thermal equilibria of isobaric coronal magnetic arcades

A coronal magnetic arcade can be thought of as consisting of an assembly of coronal loops. By solving equations of isobaric thermal equilibrium along each loop and assuming a base temperature of 2 × 10⁴ K, the thermal structure of the arcade can be found. The possible thermal equilibria can be shown to depend on two parameters L ^* p ^* and h ^*/p ^* representing the ratios of cooling (radiation) to condu and heating to cooling, respectively. Arcades can contain four types of loops: hot loops with summits hotter than 400000 K; cool loops at temperatures less than 80000 K along their lengths; hot-cool loops with cool summits and cool footpoints but hotter intermediate portions; and warm loops, cooler than 80000 K along most of their lengths but with summits as hot as 400000 K. Two possibilities for coronal heating are considered, namely a heating that is independent of magnetic field and a heating that is proportional to the square of the local magnetic field. When the arcade is sheared the thermal structure of the arcade may change, leading in some cases to non-equilibrium or in other cases to the formation of a cool core.     

The uniform,regular differential equations of the KS transformed perturbed two-body problem

The Newtonian differential equations of motion for the two-body problem can be transformed into four, linear, harmonic oscillator equations by simultaneously applying the regularizing time transformation dt/ds=r and the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (KS) coordinate transformation. The time transformation changes the independent variable from time to a new variables, and the KS transformation transforms the position and velocity vectors from Cartesian space into a four-dimensional space. This paper presents the derivation of uniform, regular equations for the perturbed twobody problem in the four-dimensional space. The variation of parameters technique is used to develop expressions for the derivatives of ten elements (which are constants in the unperturbed motion) for the general case that includes both perturbations which can arise from a potential and perturbations which cannot be derived from a potential. These element differential equations are slightly modified by introducing two additional elements for the time to further improve long term stability of numerical integration.Originally presented at the AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Vail, Colorado, July 1973     

Exact MHD solutions for rotating,magnetic stars

Simple exact solutions of the magnetohydrodynamic equations are found for rotating, magnetic stars. The velocity and magnetic field are axisymmetric and purely toroidal, and the magnetic energy density equals the kinetic energy density. For constant mass density, the solution reduces to that of Chandrasekhar (1956), which is stable even against non-axisymmetric perturbations. For an ideal gas equation of state, the condition for radiative thermal equilibrium is solved to lowest order in the non-spherical perturbation. The velocity, magnetic field and non-spherical pressure and temperature perturbations all vanish within cones centered around the rotation axis, |cos |>x _i a zero of a Legendre polynomial. Low-order, long-period stellar oscillations may be excited by MHD instabilities near the equatorial region which become damped near the axis.     

The structure of the turbulent shock wave propagating in the solar atmosphere across the magnetic field

A consistent account of plasma turbulence in magnetohydrodynamics equations describing transport processes across the magnetic field is presented. The structure of the perpendicular shock wave generated in the solar atmosphere, as a result of either local disturbance of the magnetic field or dense plasma cloud motion with a frozen-in magnetic field, has been investigated. The region of parameters in the solar atmosphere at which the electron-ion relative drift velocity u exceeds the electron thermal velocity V _eand generation of radio emission becomes possible, has been determined. The plasma turbulence inside the front has been shown, under conditions of solar corona, not to cause the oscillation structure of shock front to break down. Under chromospheric conditions, the shock profile is aperiodical. Then, the condition u > V_ecan be satisfied and shock waves having an Alfvén Mach number M which exceeds the critical value M _c 3.3 for aperiodical shock waves can exist (Eselevich et al., 1971a). Arguments are given in favour of the fact that perpendicular shock waves are generated in the Sun's atmosphere when dense plasma clouds, with a frozen-in magnetic field, are expanded.     

On a class of variational equations transformable to the Gauss hypergeometric equation

A new class of linear ordinary differential equations with periodic coefficients is found which can be transformed to the Gauss hypergeometric equation, and therefore the monodromy matrices are computable explicitly. These equations appear as the variational equations around a straight-line solution in Hamiltonian systems of the form H = T(p) + V(q), where T(p) and V(q) are homogeneous functions of p and q, respectively.     

Validity of the isobaric assumption to the solar corona

Many coronal heating mechanisms have been suggested to balance the losses from this tenuous medium by radiation, conduction, and plasma mass flows. A previous paper (Walsh, Bell, and Hood, 1995) considered a time-dependent heating supply where the plasma evolved isobarically along the loop length. The validity of this assumption is investigated by including the inertial terms in the fluid equations making it necessary to track the sound waves propagating in a coronal loop structure due to changes in the heating rate with time. It is found that the temperature changes along the loop are mainly governed by the variations in the heating so that the thermal evolution can be approximated to a high degree by the simple isobaric case. A typical isobaric evolution of the plasma properties is reproduced when the acoustic time scale is short enough. However, the cooling of a hot temperature equilibrium to a cool one creates supersonic flows which are not allowed for in this model.     

Multicomponent theory of buoyancy instabilities in magnetized plasmas: the case of magnetic field parallel to gravity

We investigate electromagnetic buoyancy instabilities of the electron-ion plasma with the heat flux based on not the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, but using the multicomponent plasma approach when the momentum equations are solved for each species. We consider a geometry in which the background magnetic field, gravity, and stratification are directed along one axis. The nonzero background electron thermal flux is taken into account. Collisions between electrons and ions are included in the momentum equations. No simplifications usual for the one-fluid MHD-approach in studying these instabilities are used. We derive a simple dispersion relation, which shows that the thermal flux perturbation generally stabilizes an instability for the geometry under consideration. This result contradicts to conclusion obtained in the MHD-approach. We show that the reason of this contradiction is the simplified assumptions used in the MHD analysis of buoyancy instabilities and the role of the longitudinal electric field perturbation which is not captured by the ideal MHD equations. Our dispersion relation also shows that the medium with the electron thermal flux can be unstable, if the temperature gradients of ions and electrons have the opposite signs. The results obtained can be applied to the weakly collisional magnetized plasma objects in laboratory and astrophysics.     

Solution of Riemann–Hilbert problems for determination of new decoupled expressions of Chandrasekhar’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>- and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Y</Emphasis>-functions for slab geometry in radiative transfer

In radiative transfer, the intensities of radiation from the bounding faces of a scattering atmosphere of finite optical thickness can be expressed in terms of Chandrasekhar’s X- and Y-functions. The nonlinear nonhomogeneous coupled integral equations which the X- and Y-functions satisfy in the real plane are meromorphically extended to the complex plane to frame linear nonhomogeneous coupled singular integral equations. These singular integral equations are then transformed into nonhomogeneous Riemann–Hilbert problems using Plemelj’s formulae. Solutions of those Riemann–Hilbert problems are obtained using the theory of linear singular integral equations. New forms of linear nonhomogeneous decoupled expressions are derived for X- and Y-functions in the complex plane and real plane. Solutions of these two expressions are obtained in terms of one known N-function and two new unknown functions N ₁- and N ₂- in the complex plane for both nonconservative and conservative cases. The N ₁- and N ₂-functions are expressed in terms of the known N-function using the theory of contour integration. The unknown constants are derived from the solutions of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind uniquely using the new linear decoupled constraints. The expressions for the H-function for a semi-infinite atmosphere are obtained as a limiting case.     

The dependence of convection in planetary mantles upon the magnitude of the Rayleigh number

The conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum when applied to the problem of convection produced by isothermal compression as well as by thermal expansion in a self-gravitating sphere of uniform density, consisting of a core extending to a fraction of the radius of the sphere and with a viscous mantle overlying the core, lead to a relationship between two characteristic numbers. In the present paper these characteristic numbers are evaluated, for the case when both boundaries of the mantle are free, for spherical harmonic disturbances of orders 1 6. It is found that the ease with which different patterns of convection can be excited changes as the characteristic numbers are varied.     

Poisson equations of rotational motion for a rigid triaxial body with application to a tumbling artificial satellite

Differential equations are derived for studying the effects of either conservative or nonconservative torques on the attitude motion of a tumbling triaxial rigid satellite. These equations, which are analogous to the Lagrange planetary equations for osculating elements, are then used to study the attitude motions of a rapidly spinning, triaxial, rigid satellite about its center of mass, which, in turn, is constrained to move in an elliptic orbit about an attracting point mass. The only torques considered are the gravity-gradient torques associated with an inverse-square field. The effects of oblateness of the central body on the orbit are included, in that, the apsidal line of the orbit is permitted to rotate at a constant rate while the orbital plane is permitted to precess (either posigrade or retrograde) at a constant rate with constant inclination.A method of averaging is used to obtain an intermediate set of averaged differential equations for the nonresonant, secular behavior of the osculating elements which describe the complete rotational motions of the body about its center of mass. The averaged differential equations are then integrated to obtain long-term secular solutions for the osculating elements. These solutions may be used to predict both the orientation of the body with respect to a nonrotating coordinate system and the motion of the rotational angular momentum about the center of mass. The complete development is valid to first order in (n/w ₀)², wheren is the satellite's orbital mean motion andw ₀ its initial rotational angular speed.     

Exact solution of a basic equation in finite atmosphere by the method of Laplace transform and linear singular operators

A finite atmosphere having distribution of intensity at both surfaces with definite form of scattering function and source function is considered here. The basic integro-differential equation for the intensity distribution at any optical depth is subjected to the finite Laplace transform to have linear integral equations for the surface quantities under interest. These linear integral equations are transformed into linear singular integral equations by use of the Plemelj's formulae. The solution of these linear singular integral equations are obtained in terms of theX-Y equations of Chandrasekhar by use of the theory of linear singular operators which is applied in Das (1978a).     

Magnetic and boundary effects on thermal instabilities in solar magnetic fields: Localized modes in a slab geometry

The coupling of thermal and ideal MHD effects in a sheared magnetic field is investigated. A slab geometry is considered so that the Alfvén mode can be decoupled from the system. With the total perturbed pressure approximately zero, the fast mode is eliminated and a system of linearized equations describing magnetic effects on the slow mode and thermal mode is derived. These modes evolve independently on individual fieldlines. One of the main features of this approach is that the influence of the dense photosphere can be included. A variety of different conditions that simulate the photospheric boundary are presented and the different results are discussed. A choice of field geometry and boundary conditions is made which removes mode rational surfaces so that there are no regions in which parallel thermal conduction can be neglected. This provides a stabilizing mechanism for the thermal mode. Growth rates are reduced by 30–40% and there is complete stabilization for sufficiently short fieldlines. The influence of dynamic and thermal boundary conditions on the formation of prominences is discussed.     

Solutions to bi-Maxwellian transport equations for SAR-arc conditions

We have compared solutions obtained from the bi-Maxwellian based 16-moment transport equations with those obtained from the Maxwellian based 13-moment transport equations for conditions leading to the steady state, subsonic flow of a fully-ionized electron-proton plasma along geomagnetic field lines in the vicinity of the plasmapause. The bi-Maxwellian based equations can account for large temperature anisotropies and the flow of both parallel and perpendicular thermal energy, while the Maxwellian based equations account for small temperature anisotropies and only the total heat flow. Our comparison indicates that for Stable Auroral Red arc (SAR-arc) conditions leading to strong field-aligned heat flows (temperatures of 8000 K and temperature gradients of4K. km⁻¹ at 1500 km), the bi-Maxwellian based equations predict a different thermal structure in the topside ionosphere than the less rigorous Maxwellian based equations. In particular, the bi-Maxwellian based equations predict proton and electron temperature anisotropies with T > T, while the Maxwellian based equations predict the opposite behavior for the same boundary conditions. This difference is related to the way in which the temperature anisotropies and heat flows are treated in the two formulations. For the bi-Maxwellian based equations, the inclusion of separate heat flows for parallel and perpendicular thermal energy allows for the development of a pronounced tail in both the electron and proton distribution functions, which leads to temperature anisotropies with T > T. For the Maxwellian based equations, on the other hand, the tail development is restricted because only the total heat flow is considered. Consequently, as the heat flows down, the presence of an increasing magnetic field acts to produce an anisotropy with T > T, and this process dominates tail formation for the Maxwellian based equations.     

The comoving-frame equation of radiative transfer in relativistic flows

The comoving-frame equations of radiative transfer and moment equations to accurate terms of all orders inv/c are derived in the modified Lagrangian form. The equations exactly describe the interaction of radiation with matter in a relativistically moving medium in flat or curved spacetime. Two specialized sets of equations are presented: (1) the equation of radiative transfer and moment equations accurate to terms of second order (v ²/c ²), and (2) the transfer equation and moment equations for a radial flow in curved spacetime with the Schwarzschild-type metric.