A family of two-dimensional nonlinear solutions for magnetic field annihilation

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91JA02008· OSTI ID:5556308

Jardine, M ^[1]; Allen, H R; Grundy, R E; Priest, E R ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Sussex, Brighton (United Kingdom)
2. Dept. of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Fife (United Kingdom)

The authors present a family of nonlinear solutions for magnetic field annihilation in two dimensions. These solutions include fully the effects of viscosity and resistivity and are a generalization of the Sonnerup and Priest model, where an irrotational stagnation point flow carries straight field lines toward a long, thin current sheet. Here, they allow for the vorticity in the inflow. When this is low, there is a unique solution for the flow and magnetic field. The current sheet adjusts its dimensions to accommodate different inflows. It is widest for a negative imposed vorticity and increases in width as the resistivity of viscosity is increased. When the imposed vorticity is large and negative, however, the solutions become nonunique, the flow pattern becomes cellular, and current sheets develop at the cell boundaries. These results, then, show that it is possible to have many more different types of inflow matched to full solutions for the current sheet than have been considered hitherto.

• OSTI ID: 5556308
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 97:A4; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
STAGNATION
VISCOSITY
VORTICES
CURRENTS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
661320* - Auroral
Ionospheric
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