skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Variational Integration for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and Formation of Current Singularities

Abstract

Coronal heating has been a long-standing conundrum in solar physics. Parker's conjecture that spontaneous current singularities lead to nanoflares that heat the corona has been controversial. In ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), can genuine current singularities emerge from a smooth 3D line-tied magnetic field? To numerically resolve this issue, the schemes employed must preserve magnetic topology exactly to avoid artificial reconnection in the presence of (nearly) singular current densities. Structure-preserving numerical methods are favorable for mitigating numerical dissipation, and variational integration is a powerful machinery for deriving them. However, successful applications of variational integration to ideal MHD have been scarce. In this thesis, we develop variational integrators for ideal MHD in Lagrangian labeling by discretizing Newcomb's Lagrangian on a moving mesh using discretized exterior calculus. With the built-in frozen-in equation, the schemes are free of artificial reconnection, hence optimal for studying current singularity formation. Using this method, we first study a fundamental prototype problem in 2D, the Hahm-Kulsrud-Taylor (HKT) problem. It considers the effect of boundary perturbations on a 2D plasma magnetized by a sheared field, and its linear solution is singular. We find that with increasing resolution, the nonlinear solution converges to one with a current singularity. The same signature ofmore » current singularity is also identified in other 2D cases with more complex magnetic topologies, such as the coalescence instability of magnetic islands. We then extend the HKT problem to 3D line-tied geometry, which models the solar corona by anchoring the field lines in the boundaries. The effect of such geometry is crucial in the controversy over Parker's conjecture. The linear solution, which is singular in 2D, is found to be smooth. However, with finite amplitude, it can become pathological above a critical system length. The nonlinear solution turns out smooth for short systems. Nonetheless, the scaling of peak current density vs. system length suggests that the nonlinear solution may become singular at a finite length. With the results in hand, we cannot confirm or rule out this possibility conclusively, since we cannot obtain solutions with system lengths near the extrapolated critical value.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
Contributing Org.:
Princeton University
OSTI Identifier:
1409065
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-09CH11466; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Thesis/Dissertation
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; magnetohydrodynamics; solar corona

Citation Formats

Zhou, Yao. Variational Integration for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and Formation of Current Singularities. United States: N. p., 2017. Web.
Zhou, Yao. Variational Integration for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and Formation of Current Singularities. United States.
Zhou, Yao. 2017. "Variational Integration for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and Formation of Current Singularities". United States.
@article{osti_1409065,
title = {Variational Integration for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics and Formation of Current Singularities},
author = {Zhou, Yao},
abstractNote = {Coronal heating has been a long-standing conundrum in solar physics. Parker's conjecture that spontaneous current singularities lead to nanoflares that heat the corona has been controversial. In ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), can genuine current singularities emerge from a smooth 3D line-tied magnetic field? To numerically resolve this issue, the schemes employed must preserve magnetic topology exactly to avoid artificial reconnection in the presence of (nearly) singular current densities. Structure-preserving numerical methods are favorable for mitigating numerical dissipation, and variational integration is a powerful machinery for deriving them. However, successful applications of variational integration to ideal MHD have been scarce. In this thesis, we develop variational integrators for ideal MHD in Lagrangian labeling by discretizing Newcomb's Lagrangian on a moving mesh using discretized exterior calculus. With the built-in frozen-in equation, the schemes are free of artificial reconnection, hence optimal for studying current singularity formation. Using this method, we first study a fundamental prototype problem in 2D, the Hahm-Kulsrud-Taylor (HKT) problem. It considers the effect of boundary perturbations on a 2D plasma magnetized by a sheared field, and its linear solution is singular. We find that with increasing resolution, the nonlinear solution converges to one with a current singularity. The same signature of current singularity is also identified in other 2D cases with more complex magnetic topologies, such as the coalescence instability of magnetic islands. We then extend the HKT problem to 3D line-tied geometry, which models the solar corona by anchoring the field lines in the boundaries. The effect of such geometry is crucial in the controversy over Parker's conjecture. The linear solution, which is singular in 2D, is found to be smooth. However, with finite amplitude, it can become pathological above a critical system length. The nonlinear solution turns out smooth for short systems. Nonetheless, the scaling of peak current density vs. system length suggests that the nonlinear solution may become singular at a finite length. With the results in hand, we cannot confirm or rule out this possibility conclusively, since we cannot obtain solutions with system lengths near the extrapolated critical value.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1409065}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Thesis/Dissertation:
Other availability
Please see Document Availability for additional information on obtaining the full-text document. Library patrons may search WorldCat to identify libraries that hold this thesis or dissertation.

Save / Share: