Stretched three-dimensional plasma equilibria with field-aligned flow
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (US)
A three-dimensional equilibrium theory (J. Geophys. Res. {bold 92}, 11 101 (1987)) for stretched plasma configurations, such as the Earth's magnetotail, is extended to include the effects of field-aligned flow. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations for this case can be solved in a general way by reduction to a set of ordinary differential equations and an ordinary integral. The solutions represent lowest-order solutions of an asymptotic expansion of the MHD equations for small electric field and weak time dependence. Simplified equations are presented for two-dimensional equilibria and for incompressible flow. Possible magnetospheric applications include the configuration of the geotail near and beyond the termination of the closed field line region, the steady motion of a plasmoid (a plasma bubble severed from the Earth) through the distant geotail, and configurations at the magnetopause, the interface between the magnetosphere and the shocked solar wind plasma. For illustration, solutions for the steady motion of a two-dimensional plasmoid through the distant magnetotail are presented.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 6146159
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Fluids B; (USA), Vol. 3:2; ISSN 0899-8221
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
MAGNETOTAIL
EQUILIBRIUM
PLASMOIDS
EQUATIONS OF MOTION
ALIGNMENT
ASYMPTOTIC SOLUTIONS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW
INTEGRALS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MAGNETOPAUSE
PLASMA DRIFT
SERIES EXPANSION
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EQUATIONS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena