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Hollweg, J. V.

Publications and source records attributed to Hollweg, J. V..

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Collisional damping of surface waves in the solar corona

The damping of surface waves by viscosity and heat conduction is evaluated. For the solar corona, it is found that surface waves dissipate efficiently only if their periods are shorter than a few tens of seconds and only if the background magnetic field is less than about 10 Gauss. Heating of quiet coronal regions is possible if the coronal waves have short periods, but they cannot heat regions of strong magnetic field, such as coronal active region loops.

Gordon, B. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

On the origin of solar spicules

The nonlinear evolution of vertical motions on intense solar magnetic flux tubes is considered. It is shown that a quasi-impulsive source in the photosphere can excite a train of upward-propagating rebound shocks in the chromosphere. The rebound shock train is the nonlinear development of oscillations of the atmosphere at its natural frequency. The rebound shocks impinge on the transition region and thrust the underlying chromosphere upward. It is found that the rebound shock train leads naturally to structures which can be identified with the solar spicules.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Heating of the corona and solar wind by switch-on shocks

The possibility is examined that the corona is heated by a train of weak switch-on shocks which are formed in the chromosphere from a train of Alfven waves, and which subsequently enter the corona from below. New results for the shock train propagation and dissipation and the resultant coronal heating are derived. It is shown that most of the energy in the shock train can be dissipated within one or two solar radii above the coronal base. A train of switch-on shocks therefore represents a viable coronal heating mechanism. The results are generalized to switch-on shocks in the solar wind. It is shown that such shocks can dissipate rapidly, but it is concluded that they are not the dominant factor governing the evolution of the solar wind turbulence.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Possible evidence for coronal Alfven waves

A statistical ray analysis is used to analyze observed electron content and Faraday rotation fluctuations in the 2.29 GHz S band carrier signals of the two Helios spacecraft probing the magnetic and density structures of the solar corona inside 0.05 AU. It is found that (1) the observed Faraday rotation fluctuations cannot be due only to electron density fluctuations in the corona, unless the coronal magnetic field is about five times stronger than suggested by current estimates; and (2) the observed Faraday rotation fluctuations are consistent with the hypothesis that the sun radiates Alfven waves whose energies are great enough to heat and accelerate high-speed solar wind streams.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere. III - Nonlinear waves on open flux tubes

Consideration is given the nonlinear propagation of Alfven waves on solar magnetic flux tubes, where the tubes are taken to be vertical, axisymmetric and initially untwisted and the Alfven waves are time-dependent axisymmetric twists. The propagation of the waves into the chromosphere and corona is investigated through the numerical solution of a set of nonlinear, time-dependent equations coupling the Alfven waves into motions that are parallel to the initial magnetic field. It is concluded that Alfven waves can steepen into fast shocks in the chromosphere, pass through the transition region to produce high-velocity pulses, and then enter the corona, which they heat. The transition region pulses have amplitudes of about 60 km/sec, and durations of a few tens of seconds. In addition, the Alfven waves exhibit a tendency to drive upward flows, with many of the properties of spicules.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1981

On rotational forces in the solar wind

Solar rotational forces affecting the flow of minor ions in the solar wind are considered as corotating with the sun. Cold, noninteracting charged particles in the magnetic and gravitational fields of the sun rotate with the angular velocity of the sun, and calculations of lowest bulk order velocities show that differences in particle velocities decrease with increasing distance from the sun. A centrifugal potential in the corotating frame implies that ion motion is independent of protons, with velocities determined by the potential, which monotonically decreases without limit. The potential dominates the initial kinetic energy of the particles, and the equality of velocities within the potential is not due to interactions between particles as claimed by Mackenzie et al. (1979).

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Bound oscillations on thin magnetic flux tubes - Convective instability and umbral oscillations

The possibility that 'tube waves' can be trapped on slender solar magnetic flux tubes is investigated. For rigid isothermal flux tubes, it is found that the flux tube geometry can by itself lead to waves which are trapped on the part of the tube that expands with height. Some geometries lead to trapped modes with eigenperiods near 180 s, if parameters appropriate to sunspot umbrae are chosen. It is possible that the umbral oscillations are a manifestation of such trapped waves, if sunspot umbrae consist of an assembly of slender flux tubes, as in the spaghetti model of Parker (1979). For flux tubes which have a constant ratio of Alfven speed to sound speed, it is found that it is primarily the variation of temperature with height which determines whether trapped waves can exist. Certain temperature profiles lead to disturbances for which omega squared is less than zero, corresponding to convective instability or Rayleigh-Taylor instability.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Minor ions in the low corona

The ability of Coulomb friction to drag minor ions out of the subsonic region of the low corona is studied analytically. New analytical expressions are obtained for the minimum proton flux that is required to drag minor ions out of the corona and for the velocity, relative to the protons, at which the minor ions are dragged out. These new results are used to suggest that the positive n(alpha)/n(p) versus v(p) correlation and the negative n(alpha)/n(p) versus n(p)v(p) correlation observed for solar wind helium at 1 AU are due to variations in the temperature of the low corona.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The energy balance of the solar wind

The effects of modifying some of the 'classical' assumptions underlying many of the solar wind models constructed over the past 20 years are examined in an effort to obtain both a better fit with the observations and a deeper understanding of the relevant physical processes.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Large-amplitude hydromagnetic waves

Several aspects of the theory of large-amplitude hydromagnetic waves and their behavior in the interplanetary medium are examined. The characteristic modes of the full (i.e., nonlinearized) MHD equations and their modification by collisionless and finite-frequency effects are considered. Special attention is paid to the transverse Alfven mode, which is undamped and characterized by strictly constant pressure, density, and B; this seems to be the predominant propagating fluctuation at 1 AU. It is shown that its propagation in the small-wavelength (WKB) approximation is essentially identical to that of the small-amplitude Alfven wave of linearized theory. It is also suggested that its presence at 1 AU may provide a natural explanation of the observed power anisotropy of the fluctuations. A second-order analysis is used to study fluctuations that are not characteristic modes. It is found that for a small range of propagation directions, and subject to third-order effects, a finite-amplitude wave can exist that is linearly polarized with delta B perpendicular to both B sub zero and k; such a wave can damp nonlinearly.

Barnes, A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Alfven waves in a two-fluid model of the solar wind.

A two-fluid model for the solar wind is presented that includes the presence of Alfven waves which originate at the sun. The effective pressure of these Alfven waves is considered, as well as a model representation for proton heating through nonlinear Alfven wave damping. The effects of rotation in the solar equatorial plane are allowed for. The implications of the computational results obtained are discussed.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Alfvenic motions in the solar atmosphere.

Discussion of the amplitude of bulk velocities associated with upward-propagating Alfven waves in the lower solar atmosphere. It is shown that, for a given wave energy flux, the bulk velocities can be appreciably lower in cases when the wavelength is much larger than the scale height, than in situations where the wavelength is smaller than the scale height.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Heat conduction in a turbulent magnetic field, with application to solar-wind electrons.

Consideration of random, long-wavelength fluctuations in a turbulent magnetic field, showing that they can appreciably decrease the heat conductivity of a plasma along the magnetic field. In simple cases of interest, the reduction along the average field is approximately by the factor (cos delta theta) squared, where delta theta is the angle of the local magnetic field relative to the average field. Application to solar-wind electrons indicates that this reduction in heat conductivity due to observed fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field may be of the order of a factor of 2. This may help to explain recent measurements which indicate a rather low electron heat flux in the solar wind.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Supergranulation-driven Alfven waves in the solar chromosphere and related phenomena.

It has recently been recognized that Alfven waves frequently dominate the microstructure of the solar wind at the orbit of the earth. We seek a solar source for these waves, and consider here their excitation by the supergranular motions. The wave equation is solved in a horizontally stratified, bi-exponential solar atmosphere. The interaction of Alfven wave motions associated with adjacent supergranules is discussed qualitatively. The Alfven wave effectively conveys the supergranular motions to great heights in the chromosphere. These motions are oppositely directed above intersupergranule boundaries, and compress the magnetic field there. A naive calculation of the compression, based on balancing dynamic and magnetic pressures, leads to adequate agreement with observations of the chromospheric network. We find that the magnetic field is appreciably compressed only below about 1500 km, and on this basis we reject theories of spicule formation which require large vertical magnetic fields at the heights reached by spicules. We advance a theory for spicule formation, in which spicules form as a result of matter being squeezed upward, out of the compression region between adjacent supergranules.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Wavelength dependence of the interplanetary scintillation index

Published observations of the interplanetary scintillation index m sub z are shown to vary with wavelength in a manner consistent with a smooth, power law spectrum of plasma fluctuations. This is in contrast to recent work arguing that the data require a spectrum with two separate regimes. It is concluded that published observations of m sub z are consistent with either type of density spectrum.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Nonlinear Landau damping of Alfven waves.

Demonstration that large-amplitude linearly or elliptically polarized Alfven waves propagating parallel to the average magnetic field can be dissipated by nonlinear Landau damping. The damping is due to the longitudinal electric field associated with the ion sound wave which is driven (in second order) by the Alfven wave. The damping rate can be large even in a cold plasma (beta much less than 1, but not zero), and the mechanism proposed may be the dominant one in many plasmas of astrophysical interest.

Hollweg, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Collisionless solar wind. II - Variable electron temperature.

Examination of a two-component ?model' for the solar wind, in which the protons become collisionless beyond a distance from the solar center equal to or greater than 10 solar radii, where they are already highly supersonic. The proton temperatures are found from the double adiabatic equation of state. The electrons are highly subsonic, and their temperature profile is prescribed ad hoc. The momentum equations for the electrons and protons are solved subject to the conditions of quasi-neutrality and zero charge efflux from the sun. Some of the principal results are: (1) the proton thermal anisotropy is substantially reduced when solar rotation is considered; (2) solar rotation leads to significantly lower mean proton temperatures; and (3) the electron temperature profile in the supersonic region is the primary parameter determining flow acceleration there.

Hollweg, J. V.↗