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Magnetohydrodynamics
Conservativeformof MHD equations
Covectionand diffusion
Frozen-infieldlines
Magnetohydrostaticequilibrium
Magneticfield-alignedcurrents
Alfvnwaves
Quasi-neutral hybrid approach
Basic MHD
(or energy equation)
(isotropic pressure)
( )
Relevant Maxwells
equations; displacement
current neglected
Note that in collisionless plasmas and may need to be
introduced to the ideal MHDs Ohms law before
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Some hydrodynamics
Conservation of mass density:
Navier-Stokes equation(s):
Energy equation:
we can write these in the conservation form In case
is the momentum density
is a tensor with components
thermal energy density
kinetic energy density
primitive variables
conserved variables
viscosity, if
these are called
Euler equation(s)
polytropic index
MHD: add Ampres force

Now the energy density contains also the magnetic energy density

In MHD we neglect the displacement current, thus


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Ideal MHD:
Faradays law reduces to
or using conserved variables:
Thus we have found 8 equations in the conservation form
for 8 conserved variables
Convection (actually advection)
and diffusion
Take curl of the MHD Ohms law and apply Faradays law

If the resistivity is finite, the magnetic field diffuses into the plasma to remove
local magnetic inhomogeneities, e.g., curves in the field, etc.
Let L
B
the characteristic scale of magnetic inhomogeneities. The solution is
where the characteristic diffusion timeis
Thereafter use Ampres law and the divergence of B
to get the induction equationfor the magnetic field
(Note that o has been
assumed constant)
Assume that plasma does not move
diffusion equation: diffusion coefficient:
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In case of the diffusion becomes very slow
and the evolution of B is completely determined
by the plasma flow (field is frozen-into the plasma)
convection equation
The measure of the relative strengths of convection
and diffusion is the magnetic Reynolds number R
m
Let the characteristic spatial and temporal scales be
& and the diffusion time
In fully ionized plasmas R
m
is often very large. E.g. in the solar wind
at 1 AU it is 10
16
10
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. This means that during the 150 million km
travel from the Sun the field diffuses about 1 km! Very ideal MHD:
The order of magnitude estimates for the terms of the induction equation are
and the magnetic Reynolds number is given by
This is analogous to the Reynolds number in hydrodynamics
viscosity
Example: Diffusion of 1-dimensional current sheet
in the frame co-moving with the plasma (V =0)
Initially:
has the solution
Total magnetic flux remains constant =0,
but the magnetic energy density
decreases with time
Now
Ohmic heating, or J oule heating
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Photosphere
partiallyionized, collisionswithneutrals causeresisitivity:
o ~
Photospheric granules

Observations of the evolution of magnetic structures


suggest a factor of 200larger diffusivity, i.e., smaller R
m
Explanation: Turbulence contributes to the diffusivity:
Example: Conductivity and diffusivity in the Sun
This is an empirical estimate,
nobody knows howto calculate it!
Corona
above 2000 kmthe atmosphere becomes fully ionized
Spitzers formula for the effective electron collision time
numerical estimate for the conductivity
Estimating the diffusivity becomes
For coronal temperature
Home exercise: Estimate R
m
in the solar wind close to the Earth
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Frozen-in field lines
A concept introduced by Hannes Alfvn but later
denounced by himself, because in the Maxwellian
sense the field lines do not have physical identity.
It is a very useful tool, when applied carefully.
Assume ideal MHD and consider two plasma elements
joined at time t by a magnetic field line and separated by
In time dt the elements move distances udt and
In Introductionto plasma physics it was shownthat the plasma elements
are on a common fieldlinealsoat timet + dt
In ideal MHD two plasma elements that are on a common field line remain on
a common field line. In this sense it is safe to consider moving field lines.
Another way to express the freezing is to show
that the magnetic flux through a closed loop
defined by plasma elements is constant
B
C
S
S
C
dl
dl x VDt
Closed contour C defined by plasma elements at time t
The same (perhaps deformed) contour C at time t + At
Arc element dl moves in time At the distance VAt and
sweeps out an area dl x VAt
Consider a closed volume defined by surfaces S, S and
the surface swept by dl x VAt when dl is integrated
along the closed contour C.
As VB =0, the magnetic flux through the closed surface
must vanish at time t + At , i.e,
Calculate du/dt when the contour C moves with the fluid:
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The integrand vanishes, if
Thus in ideal MHD the flux through a closed contour defined by
plasma elements is constant, i.e., plasma and the field move together
The critical assumption was the ideal MHD Ohms law. This requires that the
ExB drift is faster than magnetic drifts (i.e., large scale convection dominates).
As the magnetic drifts lead to the separation of electron and ion motions (J),
the first correction to Ohms law in collisionless plasma is the Hall term
so-called Hall MHD
It is a straightforward exercise to show that in Hall MHD the magnetic field
is frozen-in to the electron motion and
When two ideal MHD plasmas with different magnetic field orientations flow
against each other, magnetic reconnectioncan take place. Magnetic
reconnection can break the frozen-in condition in an explosive way and
lead to rapid particle acceleration
Example of reconnection:
a solar flare
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Magnetohydrostatic equilibrium
Assume scalar pressure and

i.e., B and J are vector fields on
constant pressure surfaces
Write the magnetic force as:
magnetic
pressure
magnetic
stress and torsion
Magnetohydrostatic equilibrium
after elimination of the current
Assumescalar pressure and
negligible V (BB)
Plasma beta:
Diamagneticcurrent: this is the wayhowB reacts on the presence
of plasma in order to reach magnetohydrostaticequilibrium.
This macroscopic current is a sum of drift currents and of the magnetization
current due to inhomogeneous distribution of elementary magnetic moments
(particles on Larmor motion)
dense
plasma
total
current
tenuous
plasma
The current perpendicular to B:
In magnetized plasmas pressure and temperature can be anisotropic
Define parallel and perpendicular pressures as and
Using these we can derive the
macroscopic currents from
the single particle drift motions
where
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The magnetization is

Summing up J
G
, J
C
and J
M
we get the total current
Magnetohydrostatic equilibrium in anisotropic plasma is described by
In time dependent problems the polarization current must be added
In case of the pressure gradient
is negligible and the equilibrium is
Now o is constant along B
If o is constant in all directions, the equation
becomes linear, the Helmholtz equation
Force-free fields a.k.a.
magnetic field-aligned currents
i.e., no Ampres force
The field and the current
in the same direction
Flux-rope:
is a non-linear equation
If and are two solutions, does not need to be another solution
Note that potential fields are trivially force-free
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Force-free fields as flux-ropes in space
Loops in the
Solar corona
Coronal Mass Ejection
(CME)
InterplanetaryCoronal Mass Ejection
(ICME)
Example: Linear force-free model of a coronal arcade
Construct a model that
looks like an arc in the xz-plane
extends uniformly in the y-direction

The form of the Helmholtz equation


suggests a trial of the form:
with the condition
sinusoidal in
x-direction
vanishes
at large z
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Projection of field lines in the
xy-plane are straigth lines
parallel to each other
The solution
looks like:
Arcs in the xz-plane
Case of so weak current that we can neglect it (o =0):
Potential field (no distortion due to the current)
Solve the two-dimensional Laplace equation
Look for a separable solution
This is fulfilled by
Magnetic field lines are now arcs
without the shear in the y-direction
Grad Shafranovequation
Oftena 3D structureis
essentially2D
(at least locally)
or an ICME
e.g. the linear force-freearcadeabove
Consider translational symmetry
B uniformin z direction

Assumebalancebtw. magnetic
and pressure forces
The z componentreduces to
,,

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,,
Nowalso

Thesearevalidif

Total pressure
the Grad-Shafranovequation
Whilenon-linear, it is a scalar eq.
The GS equationis not force-free.
For a force-freeconfigurationwe
canset P =0
Examples of usingthe Grad-Shafranovmethodin studies of the
structureof ICMEs, see, Isavninet al., Solar Phys., 273, 205-219, 2011
DOI: 10.1007/s11207-011-9845-z
Black arrows: Magnetic field measured by a spacecraft during the passage of an ICME
Contours: Reconstruction of the ICME assuming that GS equation is valid
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Some general properties of force-free fields
Proof: As B vanishes faster than r
2
at large r, we can write
that is zero for force-free fields
Proof: Exercise
Thus if there is FAC in a finite volume, it must be anchored to perpendicular
currents at the boundary of the volume (e.g. magnetosphere-ionosphere
coupling through FACs)
Magnetospheric and ionospheric currents are coupled through field-aligned
currents (FAC)
Solar energy
Magnetosphere
(transports and stores energy)
Ionosphere
(dissipate energy)
FAC
The ionosphere and magnetosphere are coupled in so many different
ways that nearly every magnetospheric process bears on the ionosphere
in some way and every ionospheric process on the magnetosphere
Wolf, 1974
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J E no energy dissipation!
q = = F v E v J E
EM energy is dissipated via currents J in a medium.
The rate of work is defined
Recall: Poyntings theorem
EJ >0: magnetic energy converted into kinetic energy (e.g. reconnection)
JE <0: kinetic energy converted into magnetic energy (dynamo)
work performed
by the EM field
energy flux through
the surface of V
change of
energy in V
Poynting vector
(W/m
2
) giving the
flux of EM energy
How are magnetospheric currents produced?
Dayside reconnection
is a load ( J E >0 ) and
does not create current
Here ( J E <0 ), i.e., the magnetopause
opened by reconnection acts as a generator
(Poynting flux into the magnetosphere)
Solar wind pressure
maintains J
CF
and the magnetopause
current
E
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Currents in the magnetosphere
Thus, if we know B everywhere, we can calculate the currents
(in MHD J is a secondary quantity!).
However, it is not possible to determine B everywhere,
as variable plasma currents produce variable B
In large scale (MHD) magnetospheric currents are source-free
and obey Ampres law
Recall the electric current in (anisotropic) magnetohydrostatic equilbirum:
In addition, a time-dependent electric field drives polarization current:
These are the main macroscopic currents ( B) in the magnetosphere
A simple MHD generator
Now Ampres force J x B decelerates
the plasma flow, i.e., the energy to the
newly created J (and thus B) in the
circuit is taken from the kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy EM energy: Dynamo!
Plasma flows across the magnetic field
F =q (u x B) e

down, i
+
up
The setting can be reversed by driving a current
through the plasma: J x B accelerates the plasma
plasma motor
Let the electrodes be coupled through
a load current loop, where the current
J through the plasma points upward
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Boundary layer generator
One scenario how an MHD generator
may drive field-aligned current from
the LLBL:
Plasma penetrates to the LLBL through
the dayside magnetopause (e.g. by
reconnection.
The charge separation (electrodes
of the previous example) is consistent
with E = V x B .
The FAC ion the inside part closes via
ionospheric currents (the so-called
Region 1 current system)
Note: This part of the figure
(dayside magnetopause)
is out of the plane
FAC from the magnetosphere
We start from the (MHD) current continuity equation
where
Sources of FACs:
pressure gradients &
time-dependent O
The divergence of the static total perpendicular current is
[ Note: V (V M) =0 ]
In the isotropic case this reduces to
The polarization
current can have
also a divergence
O =b (V V)
is the vorticity
Integrating the continuity equation along a field line we get:
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FAC from the ionosphere
Write the ionospheric () current as a sum of
Pedersen and Hall currents and integrate the
continuity equation along a field line:
The sources and sinks of FACs in the ionosphere
are divergences of the Pedersen current and
gradients of the Hall conductivity
R1
R2
R2
R1
R1: Region 1, poleward FAC
R2: Region 2, equatorward FAC
Approximate the RHS integral as
where E
P
=ho
P
and E
H
=ho
H
are
height-integrated Pedersen and Hall
conducitivities and h the thickness of
the conductive ionosphere (~the E-layer)
Recall:
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Current closure
The closure of the current systems is a non-trivial problem.
Lets make a simple exercise based on continuity equation
Let the system be isotropic. The magnetospheric current is
(the last term contains inertial currents)

we neglect this
Integrate this along a field line from one ionospheric end to the other
Assuming the magnetic field north-south symmetric, this reduces to
This must be the same as the FAC from the ionosphere and we get an
equation for ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling
One more viewon M-I coupling
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Magnetic helicity
A is the vector potential
Gauge transformation:
Helicity is gauge-independent only
if the field extends over all space
and vanishes sufficiently rapidly
For finite magnetic field configurations
helicity is well defined if and only if
on the boundary
Helicity is a conserved quantity if
the field is confined within a closed surface S on which
the field is in a perfectly conducting medium for which on S
To prove this, note that from
we get to within a gauge transformation
Calculate a little
and both B and V are ^n onS
thus on S
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Example: Helicity of two flux tubes linked together
Calculate
For thin flux tubes
is approximately normal to the cross section S
(note: here S is not the boundary of V !)
Helicity of tube 1:
Thus
Similarly
If the tubes are wound
N times around each other
Complex flux-tubes on the Sun
Helicity is a measure of structural complexity of the magnetic field
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Woltjers theorem
For a perfectly conducting plasma in a closed volume V
0
the integal
is invariant and the minimum energy state is a linear force-free field
Proof: Invariance was already shown.
To find the minimum energy state consider
Small perturbations:
on S and
added
transform to surface integral
that vanishes because
Thus if and only if
Magnetohydrodynamic waves
Dispersion equationfor MHD waves
Alfvnwave modes
MHD is a fluidtheoryand there are similarwave modes as in ordinaryfluid
theory(hydrodynamics). In hydrodynamics the restoringforces for perturbations
are the pressuregradient and gravity. Also in MHD the pressureforceleads to
acousticfluctuations, whereas Ampres force(JxB) leads to an entirelynew
class of wave modes, calledAlfvn(or MHD) waves.
As the displacement current is neglected in MHD, there are no
electromagnetic waves of classical electrodynamics. Of course EM waves can
propagate through MHD plasma (e.g. light, radio waves, etc.) and even
interact with the plasma particles, but that is beyond the MHD approximation.
V1
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Nature, vol 150, 405-406 (1942)
Dispersion equation for ideal MHD waves
eliminate J
eliminate VP
eliminate E
Consider small
perturbations
and linearize

We are left with 7 scalar equations for 7 unknowns (


m0
, V, B)
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Find an equation for V


1
. Start by taking the time derivative of (--)
(-)
(--)
(---)
Insert (-) and (---) and introduce the Alfvn velocityas a vector

Look for plane wave solutions

Using a few times we have


the dispersion equation for the waves in ideal MHD
Alfvn wave modes
Propagation perpendi cul ar to the magneti c fi el d:
Now and the dispersion equation reduces to
clearly
And we have found the magnetosonic wave
This mode has many names in the literature:
- Compressional Alfvn wave
- Fast Alfvn wave
- Fast MHD wave
Making a plane wave assumption also for B
1
(very reasonable, why?)
(i.e., B
1
|| B
0
)
The wave electric field follows from the frozen-in condition
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Propagation paral lel to the magneti c fi el d:
Now the dispersion equation reduces to
Two different solutions (modes)
1) V
1
|| B
0
|| k
the sound wave
2) V
1
B
0
|| k

V
1
This mode is called
- Alfvn wave or
- shear Alfvn wave
Propagation at an arbi trary angle
e
x
e
z
e
y
B
0
k
u
Dispersion
equation
Coeff. of V
1y
shear Alfvn wave
From the determinant of the remaining equations:
Fast(+) and slow() Alfvn/MHD waves
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fast
fast
sound wave
sound wave magnetosoni c
magnetosoni c
fast
fast
slow
sl ow
Wave normal surfaces:
phase velocity as
function of u
v
A
>v
s
v
A
<v
s
BeyondMHD:
Quasi-neutral hybrid approach
MHD is not an appropriatedescriptionif the physical scalesizes of the
phenonomenonto be studiedbecomecomparableto the gyroradii
of the particles we are interestedin, e.g.
details of shocks (at the endof the course)
relativelysmall or nonmagneticobjects in the solar wind(Mercury, Venus, Mars)
Whatoptions do we have?
Vlasovtheory
Quasi-neutral hybridapproach
In QN approach electrons are still considered as a fluid (small gyroradii) but
ions are described as (macro) particles
Quasi-neutrality requires that we are still in the plasma domain
(larger scales than
De
)
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As electrons and ions are separated, Ohms law is important.
Recall the generalized Ohms law
0
(similar to Hall MHD)

Inclusion of pressure term


requires assumptions of
adiabatic/isothermal behavior
of electron fluid & T
e
Note: The QN equations cannot
be casted to conservation form
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Quasi-neutral hybridsimulationsof Titans interactionwiththe magnetosphere
of Saturnduringa flybyof the Cassini spacecraft 26 December 2005
FromIlkka Sillanps PhDthesis, 2008.
Escapeof O+and H+fromthe atmosphereof Venus.
Usingthe quasi-neutral hybridsimulation
FromRiku J rvinens PhDthesis, 2010.
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BeyondMHD: Kinetic Alfvnwaves
At short wavelengths kinetic effects start to modifythe Alfvnwaves.
Easier thanto immediatelygo to Vlasovtheory, is to look for kinetic
corrections to the MHD dispersion equation
For relativelylarge beta
e.g., in the solar wind, at magnetosphericboundaries, magnetotail plasma sheet
the modeis calledobliquekineticAlfvnwave and it has the phase velocity
For smallerbeta ( ),
e.g., above the auroral regionand in the outer magnetosphere, the electron
thermal speed is smaller thanthe Alfvnspeed
electroninertial becomes important
inertial (kinetic) Alfvnwave or
shear kineticAlfvnwave
KineticAlfvnwaves
carryfield-alignedcurrents (importantin M-I coupling)
are affectedbyLandaudamping(althoughsmall as long as | is small),
recall the Vlasovtheoryresult
Full Vlasovtreatmentleads to the dispersion equation
modifiedBessel function
of the first kind
For details, see Lysakand Lotko, J . Geophys. Res., 101, 5085-5094, 1996

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