A Rigid-Field Hydrodynamics approach to modelling the magnetospheres of massive stars

We introduce a new Rigid-Field Hydrodynamics approach to modelling the magnetospheres of massive stars in the limit of very strong magnetic fields. Treating the field lines as effectively rigid, we develop hydrodynamical equations describing the one-dimensional flow along each, subject to pressure, radiative, gravitational and centrifugal forces. We solve these equations numerically for a large ensemble of field lines to build up a three-dimensional time-dependent simulation of a model star with parameters similar to the archetypal Bp star σ Ori E. Since the flow along each field line can be solved independently of other field lines, the computational cost of this approach is a fraction of an equivalent magnetohydrodynamical treatment.
The simulations confirm many of the predictions of previous analytical and numerical studies. Collisions between wind streams from opposing magnetic hemispheres lead to strong shock heating. The post-shock plasma cools initially via X-ray emission, and eventually accumulates into a warped, rigidly rotating disc defined by the locus of minima of the effective (gravitational plus centrifugal) potential. However, a number of novel results also emerge. For field lines extending far from the star, the rapid area divergence enhances the radiative acceleration of the wind, resulting in high shock velocities (up to  ∼3000 km s⁻¹  ) and hard X-rays. Moreover, the release of centrifugal potential energy continues to heat the wind plasma after the shocks, up to temperatures around twice those achieved at the shocks themselves. Finally, in some circumstances the cool plasma in the accumulating disc can oscillate about its equilibrium position, possibly due to radiative cooling instabilities in the adjacent post-shock regions.     

Numerical predictions of water–air wave slam using incompressible–compressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics

The high-speed impact between a body and water is an important practical problem, whether due to wave impact on a structural deck or wall, or due to a moving body such as a ship or aircraft hitting water. The very high pressures exerted are difficult to predict and the role of air may be significant. In this paper, numerical simulations are undertaken to investigate the impact of a rigid horizontal plate onto a wave crest and, in the limit, onto a flat water surface. A two-phase incompressible–compressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for water and air, respectively, is applied where the water phase imposes kinematics on the air phase at the air–water interface and the air phase imposes pressures on the water at the interface. Results are compared with experimental measurements undertaken using a drop rig positioned over a wave flume so that a horizontal plate impacts the water surface in free flight. Numerical predictions of impact pressure are quite accurate; air is shown to have a significant cushioning effect for impact on to flat water and this reduces for waves as the ratio of wave height to wavelength increases.     

Models of high velocity impacts into dust-covered ice: Application to Martian northern lowlands

The detection of fresh impact craters with bright floors and ejecta (arising from fresh clean water ice) in the northern lowlands of Mars (Byrne et al., 2009b, Science 325, 1674), together with observations of polygonal structures and evidence from the Phoenix probe, suggests that there are substantial water ice deposits just below the surface over large areas. Specifically in cases of the larger craters observed, the impacts themselves may have raised the temperature and the pressure of the water ice deposits locally to values which allow phase changes. In this paper, we use smoothed particle hydrodynamics to model hyper-velocity impacts. We estimate peak shock pressures in a solid water ice target covered by a layer of loose material, modeled by pre-damaged dunite. In addition, we account for the possibility of a thin layer of sub-surface water ice by using a three-layer model where the ice is surrounded by dunite. We find that the peak shock pressures reached in the simulated events are high enough to produce several 100-1000 kg of liquid water depending upon the impact parameters and the exact shock pressure needed for the phase change. A difficulty remains however in determining whether liquid is generated or whether a type of fluidized ice is produced (or indeed some combination of the two). We also note that the process can become rather complex as the number of layers increases because of reflections of the shock at sub-surface boundaries—a process which should lead to increased fluidization.     

Dynamical friction for accelerated motion in a gaseous medium

Dynamical friction arises from the interaction of a perturber and the gravitational wake it excites in the ambient medium. This interaction is usually derived assuming that the perturber has a constant velocity. In realistic situations, motion is accelerated as for instance by dynamical friction itself. Here, we study the effect of acceleration on the dynamical friction force. We characterize the density enhancement associated with a constantly accelerating perturber with rectilinear motion in an infinite homogeneous gaseous medium and show that dynamical friction is not a local force and that its amplitude may depend on the perturber's initial velocity. The force on an accelerating perturber is maximal between Mach 1 and Mach 2, where it is smaller than the corresponding uniform motion friction. In the limit where the perturber's size is much smaller than the distance needed to change the Mach number by unity through acceleration, a subsonic perturber feels a force similar to uniform motion friction only if its past history does not include supersonic episodes. Once an accelerating perturber reaches large supersonic speeds, accelerated motion friction is marginally stronger than uniform motion friction. The force on a decelerating supersonic perturber is weaker than uniform motion friction as the velocity decreases to a few times the sound speed. Dynamical friction on a decelerating subsonic perturber with an initial Mach number larger than 2 is much larger than uniform motion friction and tends to a finite value as the velocity vanishes in contrast to uniform motion friction.     

Ion acceleration and Alfvén wave generation at the Earth’s bow shock

The processes of ion acceleration and Alfvén wave generation by accelerated particles at the Earth’s bow shock are studied within a quasi-linear approach. Steady-state ion and wave spectra are shown to be established in a time of 0.3–4 h, depending on the background level of Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind. The Alfvén waves produced by accelerated ions are confined within the frequency range 10^?2–1 Hz and their spectral peak with a wave amplitude βB ～ B comparable to the interplanetary magnetic field strength B corresponds to the frequency v = (2–3) × 10^?2 Hz. The high-frequency part of the wave spectrum (v > 0.2 Hz) undergoes damping by thermal ions. The calculated spectra of the accelerated ions and the Alfvén waves generated by them reproduce the main features observed in experiments.     

Hydrodynamic processes in young binaries as a source of cyclic variations in circumstellar extinction

Hydrodynamic models of a young binary accreting matter from the remnants of a protostellar cloud have been calculated by the SPH method. Periodic variations in column density in projection onto the primary component are shown to take place at low inclinations of the binary plane to the line of sight. These can result in periodic extinction variations accompanied by brightness variations in the primary. Generally, there can be three periodic components. The first component has a period equal to the orbital one and is attributable to the streams of matter penetrating into the inner regions of the binary. The second component has a period that is a factor of 5–8 longer than the orbital one and is related to the density waves generated in a circumbinary (CB) disk. Finally, the third, longest period is attributable to the precession of the inner CB disk regions. The relationship between the amplitudes of these cycles depends on the model parameters as well as on the inclination and orientation of the binary in space. We show that at a dust-togas ratio of 1: 100 and amass extinction coefficient of 250 cm² g^?1, the amplitude of the V-band brightness variations in the primary component can reach 1 ^m at a mass accretion rate onto the binary components of 10.8^?8 M _⊙ yr^?1 and a 10° inclination of the binary plane to the line of sight. We discuss possible applications of the model to young, pre-main-sequence stars.     

龙口湾水动力特征及其对人工岛群建设的响应

基于龙口湾及附近海域的水文实测资料,利用Mike21数学模型模拟了人工岛建设前后的潮流、波浪、纳潮量及水交换率等水动力特征,探讨了人工岛群建设对龙口湾水动力环境的影响。结果表明,人工岛建设显著改变了龙口湾潮流场特征及水体运动路径,湾内受到人工岛的阻挡,流速普遍减小,局部区域潮流运动形式由往复流变为旋转流,流向变化较大,余流形成多个涡旋;湾外由于堤头挑流作用导致局部区域流速增大且余流流速增大,潮流运动形式未发生明显改变。受人工岛的掩蔽作用,人工岛及附近区域的波浪有效波高普遍减小。龙口湾潮位出现北部最大潮差变小、南部最大潮差增大的格局,壅水作用导致人工岛内部水道潮差变化明显。人工岛建设直接占据了龙口湾海域面积,导致其纳潮量明显减小,水交换率呈现南部和北部增大、人工岛北侧以及内部水道减小的特征,人工岛造成的水动力环境的改变是影响水交换率变化的主要原因。人工岛群建设导致龙口湾内的潮流、波浪、纳潮量以及水交换等水动力特征减弱,是引起龙口湾水动力条件变化的根本因素。