Obliquely propagating ion-acoustic double layers in magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma

Ion–acoustic double layers has been studied in magnetized electron-positron-ion plasma. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (m-KdV) is derived using reductive perturbation method. It is found that for the selected set of parameters, the system supports rarefactive (compressive) double layers depending upon the values of cold electron concentration (μ). It is also found that the magnetization affects only the width of the double layer. For a given set of parameter values, as we increases the magnetization, the width of the double layer increases and an increases in the obliqueness θ, where θ is the angle between wave vector and magnetic field, the width of the double layer also increases. The angle of obliqueness θ does not affects the amplitude of the double layer. It is also investigated that for the given set of parameter values, on increasing the positron concentration the amplitude of the rarefactive (compressive) double layer decreases (increases), and the width of the rarefactive (compressive) double layer increases (decreases). The effect of the temperature ratios of ions and positron on the amplitude and width of the double layers are discussed.     

Problems of matter-antimatter boundary layers

This paper outlines the problems of the quasi-steady matter-antimatter boundary layers discussed in Klein-Alfvén's cosmological theory, and a crude model of the corresponding ambiplasma balance is presented:

1. At interstellar particle densities, no well-defined boundary layer can exist in presence of neutral gas, nor can such a layer be sustained in an unmagnetized fully ionized ambiplasma.
2. Within the limits of applicability of the present model, sharply defined boundary layers are under certain conditions found to exist in a magnetized ambiplasma. Thus, at beta values less than unity, a steep pressure drop of the low-energy components of matter and antimatter can be balanced by a magnetic field and the electric currents in the ambiplasma.
3. The boundary layer thickness is of the order of 2x ₀?10/BT ₀ ^1/4 metres, whereB is the magnetic field strength in MKS units andT ₀ the characteristic temperature of the low-energy components in the layer.

     

Beta limitation of matter-antimatter boundary layers

A model has earlier been proposed for a boundary layer which separates a cloud of matter from one of antimatter in a magnetized ambiplasma. In this model steady pressure equilibrium ceases to exist when a certain beta limit is exceeded. The latter is defined as the ratio between the ambiplasma and magnetic field pressures which balance each other in the boundary layer. Thus, at an increasing density, the high-energy particles created by annihilation within the layer are pumped up to a pressure which cannot be balanced by a given magnetic field. The boundary layer then disrupts. The critical beta limit thus obtained falls within the observed parameter ranges of galaxies and other large cosmical objects. Provided that the considered matter-antimatter balance holds true, this limit is thus expected to impose certain existence conditions on matter-antimatter boundary layers. Such a limitation may apply to certain cosmical objects and cosmological models. The maximum time-scale for the corresponding disruption development has been estimated to be in a range from about 10^–4 to 10²s for boundary layers at ambiplasma particle densities in the range from 10⁴ to 10^–2 m^–3, respectively.     

Ion-acoustic double layers in magnetized positive-negative ion plasmas with nonthermal electrons

The nonlinear ion-acoustic double layers (IADLs) in a warm magnetoplasma with positive-negative ions and nonthermal electrons are investigated. For this purpose, the hydrodynamic equations for the positive-negative ions, nonthermal electron density distribution, and the Poisson equation are used to derive a modified Zakharov–Kuznetsov (MZK) equation, in the small amplitude regime. It is found that compressive and rarefactive IADLs strongly depend on the mass and density ratios of the negative-to-positive ions as well as the nonthermal electron parameter. Also, it is shown that there are one critical value for the density ratio of the negative-to-positive ions (ν), the ratio between unperturbed electron-to-positive ion density (μ), and the nonthermal electron parameter (β), which decide the existence of positive and negative IADLs. The present study is applied to examine the small amplitude nonlinear IADL excitations for the (H⁺, O₂^-)(\mathrm{H}^{+}, \mathrm{O}_{2}^{-}) and (H⁺,H⁻) plasmas, where they are found in the D- and F-regions of the Earth’s ionosphere. This investigation should be helpful in understanding the salient features of the nonlinear IADLs in either space or laboratory plasmas where two distinct groups of ions and non-Boltzmann distributed electrons are present.     

Diamagnetic boundary layers: A kinetic theory

We present a kinetic theory for boundary layers associated with MHD tangential discontinuities in a collisionless magnetized plasma such as those observed in the solar wind. The theory consists of finding self-consistent solutions of Vlasov's equation and Maxwell's equation for stationary, one-dimensional boundary layers separating two Maxwellian plasma states. Layers in which the current is carried by electrons are found to have a thickness of the order of a few electron gyroradii, but the drift speed of the current-carrying electrons is found to exceed the Alfvén speed, and accordingly such layers are not stable. Several types of layers, in which the current is carried by protons are discussed; in particular, we considered cases in which the magnetic field intensity and/or direction changed across the layer. In every case, the thickness was of the order of a few proton gyroradii and the field changed smoothly, although the characteristics depended somewhat on the boundary conditions. The drift speed was always less than the Alfvén speed, consistent with stability of such structures. Our results are consistent with the observations of boundary layers in the solar wind near 1 AU.     

Magnetic activity in accretion disc boundary layers

We use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study the structure of the boundary layer between an accretion disc and a non-rotating, unmagnetized star. Under the assumption that cooling is efficient, we obtain a narrow but highly variable transition region in which the radial velocity is only a small fraction of the sound speed. A large fraction of the energy dissipation occurs in high-density gas adjacent to the hydrostatic stellar envelope, and may therefore be reprocessed and largely hidden from view of the observer. As suggested by Pringle , the magnetic field energy in the boundary layer is strongly amplified by shear, and exceeds that in the disc by an order of magnitude. These fields may play a role in generating the magnetic activity, X-ray emission and outflows in disc systems where the accretion rate is high enough to overwhelm the stellar magnetosphere.     

Highly supersonic molecular flows in wind-clump boundary layers

The gradual acceleration, through viscous coupling to a wind, of molecular hydrogen in turbulent boundary layers around obstacle clumps is proposed to be responsible for the widths of the emission features with full widths at zero intensity of greater than 100 km s^–1.     

Matter-antimatter boundary layers with a magnetic neutral sheet

An earlier model of matter-antimatter boundary layers has been extended to include a sheet with a reversed magnetic field. The derived layer thickness is largely unaffected by a magnetic field-reversal, provided that the width of the corresponding magnetic neutral sheet becomes substantially smaller than the layer thickness. This condition is likely to be satisfied within parameter ranges of cosmical interest. The present model represents a crude first approach, and a more rigorous treatment of a quasi-neutral ambiplasma is desirable which also includes the problem of stability.     

Long-period magnetic pulsations generated in the magnetospheric boundary layers

Long-period hydromagnetic waves can be excited by the velocity shear instability in the magnetospheric boundary layers, where the penetrated bulk flow of the solar wind comprises a fairly strong velocity shear. Model spaces of the boundary layers are considered to estimate amplification rates on the HM waves in the low-latitude flank-side and in the dayside high-latitude and mantle-side boundary layers, where the ambient magnetic field is assumed to be perpendicular and parallel to the bulk flow of the solar wind, respectively. Wave characteristics of the HM waves are also investigated for the k-vector almost normal to the magnetopause.The localized HM waves in the Pc 3–4, Pc 4–5 and Pc 6 frequency ranges, of which group velocities are mostly parallel to the plane in the ambient magnetic field and the bulk flow directions, i.e., parallel to the magnetopause, are sufficiently amplified in the dayside low- and high-latitude, in the low-latitude flank-side, and in the mantle-side boundary layers, respectively. A left-handed toroidal (transverse) and a right-handed poloidal (compressional) mode of long-period $\text{(T ? 120}\text{s}\text{)Ω}{}_{\mathrm{A}}$-wave are generated in the dawn- and the duskflank boundary layers, respectively, where the k-vector of Alfvénic signals was assumed to be almost in the Archemedean spiral direction. The localized compressional HM waves in the Pc 3–4 range indicate both lefthanded and right-handed polarizations in the dayside boundary layer, which are functions of the k-vector of the waves and the sense of the velocity shear. The variance directions of perturbation fields of the HM waves in the magnetospheric boundary layers tend to be nearly parallel to the magnetopause. These localized HM waves can propagate into the high-latitude ionosphere. We conclude that the localized HM waves driven by the velocity shear instability in the magnetospheric boundary layers are the most probable source of the daytime Pc 3–5 magnetic pulsations in the outer magnetosphere.     

Accretion disk boundary layers: Their structure and stability

The importance of the boundary layer has been known for some time, (see Lynden-Bell and Pringle, 1974). Yet this region of the disc has never been studied in great depth. We present here some calculations which are undertaken in order to explore some of the complex processes which can go on in this region. It is shown how the structure of the boundary layer is affected by viscosity, how oscillations can occur in the outer disk and boundary layer regions. We also show how they disperse and dissipate.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

Interface modes and their instabilities in accretion disc boundary layers

We study global non-axisymmetric oscillation modes trapped near the inner boundary of an accretion disc. Observations indicate that some of the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in the luminosities of accreting compact objects (neutron stars, black holes and white dwarfs) are produced in the innermost regions of accretion discs or boundary layers. Two simple models are considered in this paper. The magnetosphere–disc model consists of a thin Keplerian disc in contact with a uniformly rotating magnetosphere with and low plasma density, while the star–disc model involves a Keplerian disc terminated at the stellar atmosphere with high density and small density scaleheight. We find that the interface modes at the magnetosphere–disc boundary are generally unstable due to Rayleigh–Taylor and/or Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. However, differential rotation of the disc tends to suppress Rayleigh–Taylor instability, and a sufficiently high disc sound speed (or temperature) is needed to overcome this suppression and to attain net mode growth. On the other hand, Kelvin–Helmholtz instability may be active at low disc sound speeds. We also find that the interface modes trapped at the boundary between a thin disc and an unmagnetized star do not suffer Rayleigh–Taylor or Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, but can become unstable due to wave leakage to large disc radii and, for sufficiently steep disc density distributions, due to wave absorption at the corotation resonance in the disc. The non-axisymmetric interface modes studied in this paper may be relevant to the high-frequency QPOs observed in some X-ray binaries and in cataclysmic variables.     

Arbitrary amplitude ion acoustic solitary waves and double layers in a magnetized auroral plasma with q-nonextensive electrons

Using the Sagdeev pseudo-potential technique, further investigation on the effect of nonextensive hot electrons on finite amplitude nonlinear low-frequency electrostatic waves in a magnetized two-component plasma have been reported in detail. The plasma model consists of cold ions fluid and nonextensively distributed electrons. The existence domain for the nonlinear structures have been established analytically and numerically. Apart from the compressive and rarefactive soliton solutions that have been reported earlier, the present investigation shows that double layer structures can be obtained for certain values of nonextensive electrons in the supersonic Mach number regime. The present results may provide an explanation for the observed nonlinear structures in the auroral region of the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Discovery of drifting high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in global simulations of magnetic boundary layers

We report on the numerical discovery of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) associated with accretion through a non-axisymmetric magnetic boundary layer in the unstable regime, when two ordered equatorial streams form and rotate synchronously at approximately the angular velocity of the inner disc. The streams hit the star's surface producing hotspots. Rotation of the spots leads to high-frequency QPOs. We performed a number of simulation runs for different magnetospheric sizes from small to tiny, and observed a definite correlation between the inner disc radius and the QPO frequency: the frequency is higher when the magnetosphere is smaller. In the stable regime, a small magnetosphere forms and accretion through the usual funnel streams is observed, and the frequency of the star is expected to dominate the light curve. We performed exploratory investigations of the case in which the magnetosphere becomes negligibly small and the disc interacts with the star through an equatorial belt. We also performed investigation of somewhat larger magnetospheres where one or two ordered tongues may dominate over other chaotic tongues. In application to millisecond pulsars, we obtain QPO frequencies in the range of 350–990 Hz for one spot. The frequency associated with rotation of one spot may dominate if spots are not identical or antipodal. If the spots are similar and antipodal, then the frequencies are twice as high. We show that variation of the accretion rate leads to drift of the QPO peak.     

Interpretation of magnetic field perturbations in the earth's magnetopause boundary layers

Studies of the boundary layers in the vicinity of the Earth's dayside magnetopause are important in determining the nature of the processes which couple the magnetosphere to the flowing solar wind, thereby driving magnetospheric convection. In this paper we examine theoretically the magnetic field and plasma properties expected in the boundary regions for various models involving either diffusion or reconnection at the boundary. For diffusion models the transport of magnetosheath momentum across the magnetopause will result in field shears on either side of the boundary, the field rotations being in opposite senses on either side relative to the undisturbed fields. The directions of these rotations depend upon location at the magnetopause relative to the momentum transfer region and to the noon meridian. In reconnection models the effect of the tension of the open boundary layer field lines must be taken into account in addition to the magnetosheath flow, but on the super-Alfvénic flanks of the magnetosphere the latter still dominates, so that qualitatively similar effects will occur in the two models. More detailed, quantitative or statistical studies are then required to distinguish the two models in this regime. In the sub-Alfvénic dayside region, however, open field tension effects will dominate in reconnection models such that boundary layer field and plasma properties will then be determined mainly by the magnetosheath magnetic field configuration. In particular the East-West flow in the magnetospheric boundary layer will be controlled largely by the East-West field in the magnetosheath, leading to flow reversals across the magnetopause in some quadrants of the magnetopause. This behaviour is directly related to the Svalgaard-Mansurov effect and is a signature unique to reconnection models. The boundary layer fields are also expected to tilt towards the field on the opposite side of the boundary in these models on the dayside. “Toward” tilting can also occur in this regime in diffusion models, but “away” tilting, a signature unique to dayside diffusion, should also occur equally frequently. Finally, we briefly discuss previously published high-resolution ISEE 1 and 2 data from the boundary regions in the light of our results. We find that “toward” tilting generally occurs in boundary region crossings previously identified as being reconnection-associated and we present some examples in which the above unique reconnection signature has been observed. During impulsive FTE-like events, however, the field may tilt in either direction, possibly as a result of field line twists, thus complicating our simple picture in this case. We also show that the “reverse draping” observations presented by Hones et al. (1982) approximately satisfy the open magnetopause stress balance conditions.     

The equilibrium magnetized disks

Analytical solutions are obtained for gravitational and magnetic fields at given distributions of area matter density and surface currents.Numerical solutions ae obtained for a magnetized non-rotating disk, the equilibrium of which is governed by the balance of magnetic and gravitational forces. The models are shown to be unsable against short-wave perturbations. Pressure can make a small contribution (of the order of a few percent) towards stabilizng the disk against short-wave perturbations. Such disks may appear in some galactic nuclei.     

Equilibria of self gravitating magnetized filaments

The equilibrium of self gravitating magnetized filaments has been examined for different equations of state. The magnetic field H has been chosen such that H² ∝ρ, the density of filaments. The density varies with radial distance asr^-1 to r^-2 approximately for the models of interest.     

Numerical simulations of relativistic magnetized jets

The propagation of light highly relativistic jets carrying a toroidal magnetic field is studied numerically. The results show that jets with high Poynting flux develop the conspicuous nose cones discovered earlier in simulations of classical magnetized jets. The size of the nose cone is significantly reduced in kinetic energy-dominated jets, which develop extensive cocoons. The magnetic field nevertheless plays a significant role in the jet–cocoon dynamics by allowing self-confined flows. The results are explained in terms of the properties of perpendicular magnetohydrodynamic shocks.