Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

THE EFFECT OF A TWISTED MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE PERIOD RATIO P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} OF NONAXISYMMETRIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES

We consider nonaxisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes in a zero-beta cylindrical compressible thin magnetic flux tube modeled as a twisted core surrounded by a magnetically twisted annulus, with both embedded in a straight ambient external field. The dispersion relation is derived and solved analytically and numerically to obtain the frequencies of the nonaxisymmetric MHD waves. The main result is that the twisted magnetic annulus does affect the period ratio P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} of the kink modes. For the kink modes, the magnetic twist in the annulus region can achieve deviations from P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} = 2 of the same order of magnitude as in the observations. Furthermore, the effect of the internal twist on the fluting modes is investigated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

ON THE DISPERSION AND SCATTERING OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES BY LONGITUDINALLY STRATIFIED FLUX TUBES

We provide a fairly general analytic theory for the dispersion and scattering of magnetohydrodynamic waves by longitudinally stratified flux tubes. The theory provides a common framework for, and synthesis of, many previous studies of flux tube oscillations that were carried out under various simplifying assumptions. The present theory focuses on making only a minimal number of assumptions. As a result it thus provides an analytical treatment of several generalizations of existing tube oscillation models. The most important practical cases are inclusion of plasma pressure and possibly buoyancy effects in models of straight non-diverging tubes as applied in coronal seismology, and relaxation of the 'thin tube' approximation in oscillation models of diverging tubes as applied both in the context of p-mode scattering and coronal seismology. In particular, it illustrates the unifying theoretical framework underlying both the description of waves scattered by flux tubes and the dispersion of waves carried along flux tubes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

DETERMINATION OF TRANSVERSE DENSITY STRUCTURING FROM PROPAGATING MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES IN THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

We present a Bayesian seismology inversion technique for propagating magnetohydrodynamic transverse waves observed in coronal waveguides. The technique uses theoretical predictions for the spatial damping of propagating kink waves in transversely inhomogeneous coronal waveguides. It combines wave amplitude damping length scales along the waveguide with theoretical results for resonantly damped propagating kink waves to infer the plasma density variation across the oscillating structures. Provided that the spatial dependence of the velocity amplitude along the propagation direction is measured and the existence of two different damping regimes is identified, the technique would enable us to fully constrain the transverse density structuring, providing estimates for the density contrast and its transverse inhomogeneity length scale.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

ANALYTIC APPROXIMATE SEISMOLOGY OF PROPAGATING MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES IN THE SOLAR CORONA

Observations show that propagating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere. The technique of MHD seismology uses the wave observations combined with MHD wave theory to indirectly infer physical parameters of the solar atmospheric plasma and magnetic field. Here, we present an analytical seismological inversion scheme for propagating MHD waves. This scheme uses the observational information on wavelengths and damping lengths in a consistent manner, along with observed values of periods or phase velocities, and is based on approximate asymptotic expressions for the theoretical values of wavelengths and damping lengths. The applicability of the inversion scheme is discussed and an example is given.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Observational Signatures of Transverse Magnetohydrodynamic Waves and Associated Dynamic Instabilities in Coronal Flux Tubes

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves permeate the solar atmosphere and constitute potential coronal heating agents. Yet, the waves detected so far may be but a small subset of the true existing wave power. Detection is limited by instrumental constraints but also by wave processes that localize the wave power in undetectable spatial scales. In this study, we conduct 3D MHD simulations and forward modeling of standing transverse MHD waves in coronal loops with uniform and non-uniform temperature variation in the perpendicular cross-section. The observed signatures are largely dominated by the combination of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), resonant absorption, and phase mixing. In the presence of a cross-loop temperature gradient, we find that emission lines sensitive to the loop core catch different signatures compared to those that are more sensitive to the loop boundary and the surrounding corona, leading to an out-of-phase intensity and Doppler velocity modulation produced by KHI mixing. In all of the considered models, common signatures include an intensity and loop width modulation at half the kink period, a fine strand-like structure, a characteristic arrow-shaped structure in the Doppler maps, and overall line broadening in time but particularly at the loop edges. For our model, most of these features can be captured with a spatial resolution of 0.″33 and a spectral resolution of 25 km s{sup −1}, although we do obtain severe over-estimation of the line width. Resonant absorption leads to a significant decrease of the observed kinetic energy from Doppler motions over time, which is not recovered by a corresponding increase in the line width from phase mixing and KHI motions. We estimate this hidden wave energy to be a factor of 5–10 of the observed value.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

( Hinode Hinode) and IRIS observations of the magnetohydrodynamic waves propagating from the photosphere to the chromosphere in a sunspot

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves have been considered as energy sources for heating the solar chromosphere and the corona. Although MHD waves have been observed in the solar atmosphere, there are a lack of quantitative estimates on the energy transfer and dissipation in the atmosphere. We performed simultaneous Hinode and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph observations of a sunspot umbra to derive the upward energy fluxes at two different atmospheric layers (photosphere and lower transition region) and estimate the energy dissipation. The observations revealed some properties of the observed periodic oscillations in physical quantities, such as their phase relations, temporal behaviors, and power spectra, making a conclusion that standing slow-mode waves are dominant at the photosphere with their high-frequency leakage, which is observed as upward waves at the chromosphere and the lower transition region. Our estimates of upward energy fluxes are 2.0×10{sup 7} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} at the photospheric level and 8.3×10{sup 4} erg cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} at the lower transition region level. The difference between the energy fluxes is larger than the energy required to maintain the chromosphere in the sunspot umbrae, suggesting that the observed waves can make a crucial contribution to the heating of the chromosphere in the sunspot umbrae. In contrast, the upward energy flux derived at the lower transition region level is smaller than the energy flux required for heating the corona, implying that we may need another heating mechanism. We should, however, note a possibility that the energy dissipated at the chromosphere might be overestimated because of the opacity effect.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

THREE-DIMENSIONAL SIMULATIONS OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES IN MAGNETIZED SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

We present results of three-dimensional numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave propagation in a solar magnetic flux tube. Our study aims at understanding the properties of a range of MHD wave modes generated by different photospheric motions. We consider two scenarios observed in the lower solar photosphere, namely, granular buffeting and vortex-like motion, among the simplest mechanism for the generation of waves within a strong, localized magnetic flux concentration. We show that granular buffeting is likely to generate stronger slow and fast magnetoacoustic waves as compared to swirly motions. Correspondingly, the energy flux transported differs as a result of the driving motions. We also demonstrate that the waves generated by granular buffeting are likely to manifest in stronger emission in the chromospheric network. We argue that different mechanisms of wave generation are active during the evolution of a magnetic element in the intergranular lane, resulting in temporally varying emission at chromospheric heights.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Linear and Nonlinear Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability and Magnetohydrodynamic Wave Emission in Sheared Astrophysical Plasma Flows

The evolution of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave emission is investigated at shear-flow boundaries of magnetized plasmas. While MHD wave emission has been suggested to be only possible during the nonlinear stages, we find that there is also significant wave emission during the KHI's linear stages. These emitted MHD waves may have stronger impacts than KHI surface waves since they can act to transport energy away from the local region of the shear flow. The removal of energy from the shear-flow region, instead of just the local redistribution considered in previous studies, and its propagation away from the interface could have major implications for the evolution of astrophysical objects characterized by fast plasma flow shears.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nonlinear generation of kinetic-scale waves by magnetohydrodynamic Alfvén waves and nonlocal spectral transport in the solar wind

We study the nonlocal nonlinear coupling and generation of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) and kinetic slow waves (KSWs) by magnetohydrodynamic Alfvén waves (MHD AWs) in conditions typical for the solar wind in the inner heliosphere. This cross-scale process provides an alternative to the turbulent energy cascade passing through many intermediate scales. The nonlinearities we study are proportional to the scalar products of wave vectors and hence are called 'scalar' ones. Despite the strong Landau damping of kinetic waves, we found fast growing KAWs and KSWs at perpendicular wavelengths close to the ion gyroradius. Using the parametric decay formalism, we investigate two independent decay channels for the pump AW: forward decay (involving co-propagating product waves) and backward decay (involving counter-propagating product waves). The growth rate of the forward decay is typically 0.05 but can exceed 0.1 of the pump wave frequency. The resulting spectral transport is nonlocal and anisotropic, sharply increasing perpendicular wavenumbers but not parallel ones. AWs and KAWs propagating against the pump AW grow with about the same rate and contribute to the sunward wave flux in the solar wind. Our results suggest that the nonlocal decay of MHD AWs into KAWs and KSWs is a robust mechanism for the cross-scale spectral transport of the wave energy from MHD to dissipative kinetic scales in the solar wind and similar media.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

GENERATION OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES IN LOW SOLAR ATMOSPHERIC FLUX TUBES BY PHOTOSPHERIC MOTIONS

Recent ground- and space-based observations reveal the presence of small-scale motions between convection cells in the solar photosphere. In these regions, small-scale magnetic flux tubes are generated via the interaction of granulation motion and the background magnetic field. This paper studies the effects of these motions on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave excitation from broadband photospheric drivers. Numerical experiments of linear MHD wave propagation in a magnetic flux tube embedded in a realistic gravitationally stratified solar atmosphere between the photosphere and the low choromosphere (above β = 1) are performed. Horizontal and vertical velocity field drivers mimic granular buffeting and solar global oscillations. A uniform torsional driver as well as Archimedean and logarithmic spiral drivers mimic observed torsional motions in the solar photosphere. The results are analyzed using a novel method for extracting the parallel, perpendicular, and azimuthal components of the perturbations, which caters to both the linear and non-linear cases. Employing this method yields the identification of the wave modes excited in the numerical simulations and enables a comparison of excited modes via velocity perturbations and wave energy flux. The wave energy flux distribution is calculated to enable the quantification of the relative strengths of excited modes. The torsional drivers primarily excite Alfvén modes (≈60% of the total flux) with small contributions from the slow kink mode, and, for the logarithmic spiral driver, small amounts of slow sausage mode. The horizontal and vertical drivers primarily excite slow kink or fast sausage modes, respectively, with small variations dependent upon flux surface radius.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Magnetohydrodynamic waves in two-dimensional prominences embedded in coronal arcades

Solar prominence models used so far in the analysis of MHD waves in two-dimensional structures are quite elementary. In this work, we calculate numerically magnetohydrostatic models in two-dimensional configurations under the presence of gravity. Our interest is in models that connect the magnetic field to the photosphere and include an overlying arcade. The method used here is based on a relaxation process and requires solving the time-dependent nonlinear ideal MHD equations. Once a prominence model is obtained, we investigate the properties of MHD waves superimposed on the structure. We concentrate on motions purely two-dimensional, neglecting propagation in the ignorable direction. We demonstrate how, by using different numerical tools, we can determine the period of oscillation of stable waves. We find that vertical oscillations, linked to fast MHD waves, are always stable and have periods in the 4-10 minute range. Longitudinal oscillations, related to slow magnetoacoustic-gravity waves, have longer periods in the range of 28-40 minutes. These longitudinal oscillations are strongly influenced by the gravity force and become unstable for short magnetic arcades.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

General formulation for magnetohydrodynamic wave propagation, fire-hose, and mirror instabilities in Harris-type current sheets

Harris-type current sheets with the magnetic field model of B-vector=B{sub x}(z)x-caret+B{sub y}(z)y-caret have many important applications to space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas for which the temperature or pressure usually exhibits the gyrotropic form of p{r_reversible}=p{sub Parallel-To }b-caretb-caret+p{sub Up-Tack }(I{r_reversible}-b-caretb-caret). Here, p{sub Parallel-To} and p{sub Up-Tack} are, respectively, to be the pressure component along and perpendicular to the local magnetic field, b-caret=B-vector/B. This study presents the general formulation for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave propagation, fire-hose, and mirror instabilities in general Harris-type current sheets. The wave equations are expressed in terms of the four MHD characteristic speeds of fast, intermediate, slow, and cusp waves, and in the local (k{sub Parallel-To },k{sub Up-Tack },z) coordinates. Here, k{sub Parallel-To} and k{sub Up-Tack} are, respectively, to be the wave vector along and perpendicular to the local magnetic field. The parameter regimes for the existence of discrete and resonant modes are identified, which may become unstable at the local fire-hose and mirror instability thresholds. Numerical solutions for discrete eigenmodes are shown for stable and unstable cases. The results have important implications for the anomalous heating and stability of thin current sheets.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Effect of a Twisted Magnetic Field on the Phase Mixing of the Kink Magnetohydrodynamic Waves in Coronal Loops

There is observational evidence for the existence of a twisted magnetic field in the solar corona. This inspires us to investigate the effect of a twisted magnetic field on the evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) kink waves in coronal loops. With this aim, we solve the incompressible linearized MHD equations in a magnetically twisted nonuniform coronal flux tube in the limit of long wavelengths. Our results show that a twisted magnetic field can enhance or diminish the rate of phase mixing of the Alfvén continuum modes and the decay rate of the global kink oscillation depending on the twist model and the sign of the longitudinal ( k{sub z} ) and azimuthal ( m ) wavenumbers. Also, our results confirm that in the presence of a twisted magnetic field, when the sign of one of the two wavenumbers m and k {sub z} is changed, the symmetry with respect to the propagation direction is broken. Even a small amount of twist can have an important impact on the process of energy cascading to small scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES AND CORONAL HEATING: UNIFYING EMPIRICAL AND MHD TURBULENCE MODELS

We present a new global model of the solar corona, including the low corona, the transition region, and the top of the chromosphere. The realistic three-dimensional magnetic field is simulated using the data from the photospheric magnetic field measurements. The distinctive feature of the new model is incorporating MHD Alfven wave turbulence. We assume this turbulence and its nonlinear dissipation to be the only momentum and energy source for heating the coronal plasma and driving the solar wind. The difference between the turbulence dissipation efficiency in coronal holes and that in closed field regions is because the nonlinear cascade rate degrades in strongly anisotropic (imbalanced) turbulence in coronal holes (no inward propagating wave), thus resulting in colder coronal holes, from which the fast solar wind originates. The detailed presentation of the theoretical model is illustrated with the synthetic images for multi-wavelength EUV emission compared with the observations from SDO AIA and STEREO EUVI instruments for the Carrington rotation 2107.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

CALCULATING ROTATING HYDRODYNAMIC AND MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES TO UNDERSTAND MAGNETIC EFFECTS ON DYNAMICAL TIDES

To understand magnetic effects on dynamical tides, we study the rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow driven by harmonic forcing. The linear responses are analytically derived in a periodic box under the local WKB approximation. Both the kinetic and Ohmic dissipations at the resonant frequencies are calculated, and the various parameters are investigated. Although magnetic pressure may be negligible compared to thermal pressure, the magnetic field can be important for the first-order perturbation, e.g., dynamical tides. It is found that the magnetic field splits the resonant frequency, namely the rotating hydrodynamic flow has only one resonant frequency, but the rotating MHD flow has two, one positive and the other negative. In the weak field regime the dissipations are asymmetric around the two resonant frequencies and this asymmetry is more striking with a weaker magnetic field. It is also found that both the kinetic and Ohmic dissipations at the resonant frequencies are inversely proportional to the Ekman number and the square of the wavenumber. The dissipation at the resonant frequency on small scales is almost equal to the dissipation at the non-resonant frequencies, namely the resonance takes its effect on the dissipation at intermediate length scales. Moreover, the waves with phase propagation that is perpendicular to the magnetic field are much more damped. It is also interesting to find that the frequency-averaged dissipation is constant. This result suggests that in compact objects, magnetic effects on tidal dissipation should be considered.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A primitive kinetic-fluid model for quasi-parallel propagating magnetohydrodynamic waves

The extension and limitation of the existing one-dimensional kinetic-fluid model (Vlasov-MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) model), which has been used to analyze parametric instabilities of parallel propagating Alfvén waves, are discussed. The inconsistency among the given velocity distribution functions in the past studies is resolved through the systematic derivation of the multi-dimensional Vlasov-MHD model. The linear dispersion analysis of the present model indicates that the collisionless damping of the slow modes is adequately evaluated in low beta plasmas, although the deviation between the present model and the full-Vlasov theory increases with increasing plasma beta and increasing propagation angle. This is because the transit-time damping is not correctly evaluated in the present model. It is also shown that the ponderomotive density fluctuations associated with the envelope-modulated quasi-parallel propagating Alfvén waves derived from the present model is not consistent with those derived from the other models such as the Landau-fluid model, except for low beta plasmas. The result indicates the present model would be useful to understand the linear and nonlinear development of the Alfvénic turbulence in the inner heliosphere, whose condition is relatively low beta, while the existing model and the present model are insufficient to discuss the parametric instabilities of Alfvén waves in high beta plasmas and the obliquely propagating waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evolution of magnetohydrodynamic waves in low layers of a coronal hole

Although a coronal hole is permeated by a magnetic field with a dominant polarity, magnetograms reveal a more complex magnetic structure in the lowest layers, where several regions of opposite polarity of typical size of the order of 10{sup 4} km are present. This can give rise to magnetic separatrices and neutral lines. MHD fluctuations generated at the base of the coronal hole by motions of the inner layer of the solar atmosphere may interact with such inhomogeneities, leading to the formation of small scales. This phenomenon is studied on a 2D model of a magnetic structure with an X-point, using 2D MHD numerical simulations. This model implements a method of characteristics for boundary conditions in the direction outer-pointing to Sun surface to simulate both wave injection and exit without reflection. Both Alfvénic and magnetosonic perturbations are considered, and they show very different phenomenology. In the former case, an anisotropic power-law spectrum forms with a dominance of perpendicular wavevectors at altitudes ∼10{sup 4} km. Density fluctuations are generated near the X-point by Alfvén wave magnetic pressure and propagate along open fieldlines at a speed comparable to the local Alfvén velocity. An analysis of energy dissipation and heating caused by the formation of small scales for the Alfvénic case is presented. In the magnetosonic case, small scales form only around the X-point, where a phenomenon of oscillating magnetic reconnection is observed to be induced by the periodic deformation of the magnetic structure due to incoming waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗