Behavior of hydromagnetic surface waves

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/163911· OSTI ID:5797810

Lee, M A; Roberts, B

The behavior of velocity, magnetic field, and pressure perturbations about a continuously varying interface in pressure equilibrium is investigated in detail within ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. A specific initial value problem is solved in quadrature for a thin interface and compared with the solution for a discontinuous interface. The unattenuated surface wave about a discontinuous interface is replaced at a thin interface by a collective surface disturbance which decays, with the associated energy density flowing into local oscillations within the interface. At long times the envelope of the local oscillations is concentrated within a small fraction of the thin interface (gradients within the envelope increase linearly with time, eventually resulting in a breakdown of the linearized ideal theory). Thus, the derived decay rate of the surface disturbance gives a mode-conversion rate rather than a heating rate. In applications to the propagation and dissipation of surface waves in the solar corona, this rate cannot in general be interpreted as a coronal heating rate.

• Research Organization: Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire
• OSTI ID: 5797810
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 301:1; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640104* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Solar Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERES
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISTURBANCES
EQUATIONS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW
INTEGRAL TRANSFORMATIONS
LAPLACE TRANSFORMATION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICS
OSCILLATION MODES
OSCILLATIONS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
SOLAR CORONA
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
STELLAR CORONAE
TRANSFORMATIONS
WAVE PROPAGATION