scholarly journals Efficient acceleration of cylindrical jets: effects of radiative cooling and tangled magnetic field

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (1) ◽  
pp. 338-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuta J Tanaka ◽  
Kenji Toma

ABSTRACT Diverging supersonic flows are accelerating, as in the case of a de Laval nozzle, and the same concept has been applied for acceleration of magnetohydrodynamic flows in the universe. Here, we study the dynamics of ‘non-diverging’ cylindrical supersonic flows and show that they can be accelerated by effects of radiative cooling and the tangled magnetic field. In addition to radiative cooling of the jet materials (cooling effect), conversion of the ordered magnetic field into the turbulent one (conversion effect) and dissipation of the turbulent magnetic field (dissipation effect) are formulated according to our study on pulsar wind nebulae. Although each of the cooling and conversion effects is an ineffective acceleration process, the terminal velocity of magnetized cylindrical jets attains about half of the maximum possible value when the cooling, conversion, and dissipation effects work simultaneously. The radiation efficiency is also about half of the total luminosity of the jet in the case of maximal acceleration. The concept for flow acceleration by the non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects may be useful for studying relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei, in which the region near the jet axis is expected to be cylindrical and kink unstable.

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
LARS G. WESTERBERG ◽  
HANS O. ÅKERSTEDT

Abstract.A compressible model of the magnetosheath plasma flow is considered. Magnetic reconnection is assumed to occur in a region stretching from the sub-Solar point to the north. Two locations of the reconnection site are treated: two and four Earth radii from the sub-Solar point, respectively. By treating the transition layer as very thin, we solve the governing equations approximately using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The behavior of the magnetic field and the plasma velocity close to a reconnection site during the transition from the magnetosheath to the magnetosphere is investigated. We also obtain the development of the transition layer thickness north and south of the reconnection point. The magnetopause transition layer is represented by a large-amplitude Alfvén wave implying that the density is approximately the same across the magnetopause boundary. In order to match the solutions we consider a compressible ideal magnetohydrodynamic model describing density, velocity and magnetic field variations along the outer magnetopause boundary. We also compare the analytical results with solutions from a numerical simulation. The compressible effects on the structure of the magnetic field and the total velocity evolution are visible but not dramatic. It is shown that the transition layer north of the reconnection point is thinner than to the south. The effect is stronger for reconnection at higher latitudes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Siddhartha Gupta ◽  
Damiano Caprioli ◽  
Colby C. Haggerty

Abstract A strong super-Alfvénic drift of energetic particles (or cosmic rays) in a magnetized plasma can amplify the magnetic field significantly through nonresonant streaming instability (NRSI). While the traditional analysis is done for an ion current, here we use kinetic particle-in-cell simulations to study how the NRSI behaves when it is driven by electrons or by a mixture of electrons and positrons. In particular, we characterize the growth rate, spectrum, and helicity of the unstable modes, as well the level of the magnetic field at saturation. Our results are potentially relevant for several space/astrophysical environments (e.g., electron strahl in the solar wind, at oblique nonrelativistic shocks, around pulsar wind nebulae), and also in laboratory experiments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lemoine

Successful phenomenological models of pulsar wind nebulae assume efficient dissipation of the Poynting flux of the magnetized electron–positron wind as well as efficient acceleration of the pairs in the vicinity of the termination shock, but how this is realized is not yet well understood. This paper suggests that the corrugation of the termination shock, at the onset of nonlinearity, may lead towards the desired phenomenology. Nonlinear corrugation of the termination shock would convert a fraction of order unity of the incoming ordered magnetic field into downstream turbulence, slowing down the flow to sub-relativistic velocities. The dissipation of turbulence would further preheat the pair population on short length scales, close to equipartition with the magnetic field, thereby reducing the initial high magnetization to values of order unity. Furthermore, it is speculated that the turbulence generated by the corrugation pattern may sustain a relativistic Fermi process, accelerating particles close to the radiation reaction limit, as observed in the Crab nebula. The required corrugation could be induced by the fast magnetosonic modes of downstream nebular turbulence; but it could also be produced by upstream turbulence, either carried by the wind or seeded in the precursor by the accelerated particles themselves.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Weichman ◽  
J. J. Santos ◽  
S. Fujioka ◽  
T. Toncian ◽  
A. V. Arefiev

Abstract We present the first 3D fully kinetic simulations of laser driven sheath-based ion acceleration with a kilotesla-level applied magnetic field. The application of a strong magnetic field significantly and beneficially alters sheath based ion acceleration and creates two distinct stages in the acceleration process associated with the time-evolving magnetization of the hot electron sheath. The first stage delivers dramatically enhanced acceleration, and the second reverses the typical outward-directed topology of the sheath electric field into a focusing configuration. The net result is a focusing, magnetic field-directed ion source of multiple species with strongly enhanced energy and number. The predicted improvements in ion source characteristics are desirable for applications and suggest a route to experimentally confirm magnetization-related effects in the high energy density regime. We additionally perform a comparison between 2D and 3D simulation geometry, on which basis we predict the feasibility of observing magnetic field effects under experimentally relevant conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A36 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Martínez-Gómez ◽  
R. Oliver ◽  
E. Khomenko ◽  
M. Collados

Context. Coronal rain often comes about as the final product of evaporation and condensation cycles that occur in active regions. Observations show that the condensed plasma falls with an acceleration that is less than that of free fall. Aims. We aim to improve the understanding of the physical mechanisms behind the slower than free-fall motion and the two-stage evolution (an initial phase of acceleration followed by an almost constant velocity phase) detected in coronal rain events. Methods. Using the MANCHA3D code, we solve the 2D ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations. We represent the solar corona as an isothermal vertically stratified atmosphere with a uniform vertical magnetic field. We represent the plasma condensation as a density enhancement described by a 2D Gaussian profile. We analyse the temporal evolution of the descending plasma and study its dependence on such parameters as density and magnetic field strength. Results. We confirm previous findings that indicate that the pressure gradient is the main force that opposes the action of gravity and slows down the blob descent, and that larger densities require larger pressure gradients to reach the constant speed phase. We find that the shape of a condensation with a horizontal variation of density is distorted during its fall because the denser parts of the blob fall faster than the lighter ones. This is explained by the fact that the duration of the initial acceleration phase and, therefore, the maximum falling speed attained by the plasma, increases with the ratio of blob to coronal density. We also find that the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in the evolution of the descending condensations. A strong enough magnetic field (greater than 10 G in our simulations) forces each plasma element to follow the path given by a particular field line, which allows for the description of the evolution of each vertical slice of the blob in terms of 1D dynamics, without the influence of the adjacent slices. In addition, under the typical conditions of the coronal rain events, the magnetic field prevents the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.


1993 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1131-1150
Author(s):  
D. Lortz ◽  
W. Haimerl

Abstract Starting from the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, we consider the following axisymmetric configuration: a current-carrying plasma torus in a homogeneous magnetic field that is aligned parallel to the torus axis. At a certain field strength this configuration is in equilibrium without need of external current singularities such as wires or walls.The magnetic flux function is expanded in small inverse aspect ratio. The geometry of this configuration is completely determined to second order as a function of the profile parameters.


1981 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 373-391
Author(s):  
Gerhard Haerendel

Two processes are discussed which violate the frozen-in condition in a highly conducting plasma, reconnection and the auroral acceleration process. The first applies to situations in which . It plays an important role in the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field and controls energy input into as well as energetic particle release from the magnetosphere. Detailed in situ studies of the process on the dayside magnetopause reveal its transient and small-scale nature. The auroral acceleration process occurs in the low magnetosphere (β « 1) and accompanies sudden releases of magnetic shear stresses which exist in large-scale magnetospheric-ionospheric current circuits. The process is interpreted as a kind of breaking. The movements of the magnetospheric plasma which lead to a relief of the magnetic tensions occur in thin sheets and are decoupled along the magnetic field lines by parallel electric potential drops. It is this voltage that accelerates the primary auroral particles. The visible arcs are then traces of the magnetic breaking process at several 1000 km altitude.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1697-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
KOSTAS KLEIDIS ◽  
APOSTOLOS KUIROUKIDIS ◽  
DEMETRIOS PAPADOPOULOS ◽  
LOUKAS VLAHOS

The excitation of cosmological perturbations in an anisotropic cosmological model and in the presence of a homogeneous magnetic field has been studied, using the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. In this case, the system of partial differential equations which governs the evolution of the magnetized cosmological perturbations can be solved analytically. Our results verify that fast-magnetosonic modes propagating normal to the magnetic field, are excited. But, what is most important, is that, at late times, the magnetic-induction contrast(δB/B) grows, resulting in the enhancement of the ambient magnetic field. This process can be particularly favored by condensations, formed within the plasma fluid due to gravitational instabilities.


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