Separation of magnetic field lines
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)
The field lines of magnetic fields that depend on three spatial coordinates are shown to have a fundamentally different behavior from those that depend on two coordinates. Unlike two-coordinate cases, a flux tube in a magnetic field that depends on all three spatial coordinates that has a circular cross section at one location along the tube characteristically has a highly distorted cross section at other locations. In an ideal evolution of a magnetic field, the current densities typically increase. Crudely stated, if the current densities increase by a factor {sigma}, the ratio of the long to the short distance across a cross section of a flux tube characteristically increases by e{sup 2{sigma}}, and the ratio of the longer distance to the initial radius increases as e{sup {sigma}}. Electron inertia prevents a plasma from isolating two magnetic field structures on a distance scale shorter than c/{omega}{sub pe}, which is about 10 cm in the solar corona, and reconnection must be triggered if {sigma} becomes sufficiently large. The radius of the sun, R{sub Circled-Dot-Operator }=7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10}cm is about e{sup 23} times larger, so when {sigma} Greater-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 23, two lines separated by c/{omega}{sub pe} at one location can be separated by the full scale of any magnetic structures in the corona at another. The conditions for achieving a large exponentiation, {sigma}, are derived, and the importance of exponentiation is discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22068901
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 19, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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