Large-amplitude hydromagnetic waves

Abstract

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.