Fermi acceleration can take place at ultra-relativistic shock waves if the upstream or downstream magnetic field has been remodeled so that most of the magnetic power lies on short spatial scales. The relevant conditions under which Fermi acceleration become efficient in the presence of both a coherent and a short scale turbulent magnetic field are addressed. Within the MHD approximation, this paper then studies the amplification of a pre-existing magnetic field through the streaming of cosmic rays upstream of a relativistic shock wave. The magnetic field is assumed to be perpendicular in the shock front frame, as generally expected in the limit of large shock Lorentz factor. In the MHD regime, compressive instabilities seeded by the net cosmic-ray charge in the shock precursor (as seen in the shock front frame) develop on the shortest spatial scales but saturate at a moderate level deltaB/B ~ 1, which is not sufficient for Fermi acceleration. As we argue, it is possible that other instabilities outside the MHD range provide enough amplification to allow successful Fermi acceleration.
We have performed numerical simulations of weakly and strongly magnetized relativistic jets embedded in a weakly and strongly magnetized stationary or mildly relativistic (0.5c) sheath using the RAISHIN code. In the numerical simulations a jet with Lorentz factor γ=2.5 is precessed to break the initial equilibrium configuration. Results of the numerical simulations are compared to theoretical predictions from a normal mode analysis of the linearized RMHD equations describing a uniform axially magnetized cylindrical relativistic jet embedded in a uniform axially magnetized moving sheath. The pr…
In broad astrophysical contexts of large-scale gravitational collapses and outflows and as a basis for various further astrophysical applications, we formulate and investigate a theoretical problem of self-similar MHD for a non-rotating polytropic gas of quasi-spherical symmetry permeated by a completely random magnetic field. We derive two coupled nonlinear MHD ordinary differential equations (ODEs), examine properties of the magnetosonic critical curve, obtain various asymptotic and global semi-complete similarity MHD solutions, and qualify the applicability of our results. Unique to a magne…
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations have been used to study disk accretion to a rotating magnetized star with an aligned dipole moment. Quiescent initial conditions were developed in order to avoid the fast initial evolution seen in earlier studies. A set of simulations was performed for different stellar magnetic moments and rotation rates. Simulations have shown that the disk structure is significantly changed insidea radius r_{br} where magnetic braking is significant. In this region the disk is strongly inhomogeneous. Radial accretion of matter slows as it approaches the area of strong m…
A complete analytical and numerical treatment of all magnetohydrodynamic waves and instabilities for radially stratified, magnetized accretion disks is presented. The instabilities are a possible source of anomalous transport. While recovering results on known hydrodynamicand both weak- and strong-field magnetohydrodynamic perturbations, the full magnetohydrodynamic spectra for a realistic accretion disk model demonstrates a much richer variety of instabilities accessible to the plasma than previously realized. We show that both weakly and strongly magnetized accretion disks are prone to stron…
Using numerical methods, we systematically study in the framework of ideal MHD the effect of magnetic fields on heat transfer within a turbulent gas. We measure the rates of passive scalar diffusion within magnetized fluids and make the comparisons a) between MHD and hydro simulations, b) between different MHD runs with different values of the external magnetic field (up to the energy equipartition value), c) between thermal conductivities parallel and perpendicular to magnetic field. We do not find apparent suppression of diffusion rates by the presence of magnetic fields, which implies that …
We analyze 3D numerical simulations of driven incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in a periodic box threaded by a moderately strong external magnetic field. We sum over nonlinear interactions within Fourier wavebands and find that the time scale for the energy cascade is consistent with the Goldreich-Sridhar model of strong MHD turbulence. Using higher order longitudinal structure functions we show that the turbulent motions in the plane perpendicular to the local mean magnetic field are similar to ordinary hydrodynamic turbulence while motions parallel to the field are consist…
I review recent work that goes beyond our model for the Low-Frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillation of microquasars, based on the Accretion-Ejection Instability. I show that similar instabilities, which can be viewed as strongly unstable versions of the diskoseismologic modes, provide explanations for both the High-Frequency QPO and for the quasi-periodicity observed durng the flares of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center.
We present three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of superbubbles, to study the importance of MHD effects in the interpretation of images from recent surveys of the Galactic plane. These simulations focus mainly on atmospheres defined by an exponential density distribution and the Dickey & Lockman (1990) density distribution. In each case, the magnetic field is parallel to the Galactic plane and we investigate cases with either infinite scale height (constant magnetic field) or a constant ratio of gas pressure to magnetic pressure. The three-dimensional structure of superbubbl…
We analyse the stability of a magnetized medium consisting of a neutral fluid and a fluid of charged particles, coupled to each other through a drag force and exposed to differential body forces (for example, as the result of radiation forces on one phase). We consider a uniform equilibrium and simple model input physics, but do not arbitrarily restrict the relative orientations of the magnetic field, slip velocity and wave vector of the disturbance. We find several instabilities and classify these in terms of wave resonances. We briefly apply our results to the structure of SiO maser regions …
Context: The context of this paper is buoyant toroidal magnetic flux ropes, which is a part of flux tube dynamo theory and the framework of solar-like magnetic activity. Aims: The aim is to investigate how twisted magnetic flux ropes interact with a simple magnetized stellar model envelope--a magnetic "convection zone"--especially to examine how the twisted magnetic field component of a flux rope interacts with a poloidal magnetic field in the convection zone. Method: Both the flux ropes and the atmosphere are modelled as idealized 2.5-dimensional concepts using high resolution numerical magne…
Using relativistic, steady, axisymmetric, ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) we analyze the super-Alfvenic regime of a pulsar wind by means of solving the momentum equation along the flow as well as in the transfield direction. Employing a self-similar model, we demonstrate that ideal MHD can account for the full acceleration from high (>>1) to low (<<1) values of $σ$, the Poynting-to-matter energy flux ratio. The solutions also show a transition from a current-carrying to a return-current regime, partly satisfying the current-closure condition. We discuss the kind of the boundary conditions nea…
We construct analytically stationary global configurations for both aligned and logarithmic spiral coplanar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) perturbations in an axisymmetric background MHD disc with a power-law surface mass density $Σ_0\propto r^{-α}$, a coplanar azimuthal magnetic field $B_0\propto r^{-γ}$, a consistent self-gravity and a power-law rotation curve $v_0\propto r^{-β}$ where $v_0$ is the linear azimuthal gas rotation speed. The barotropic equation of state $Π\proptoΣ^{n}$ is adopted for both MHD background equilibrium and coplanar MHD perturbations where $Π$ is the vertically integrate…
We present 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations of the evolution of self--gravitating and weakly magnetized disks with an adiabatic equation of state. Such disks are subject to the development of both the magnetorotational and gravitational instabilities, which transport angular momentum outward. As in previous studies, our hydrodynamical simulations show the growth of strong m=2 spiral structure. This spiral disturbance drives matter toward the central object and disappears when the Toomre parameter Q has increased well above unity. When a weak magnetic field is present as well,…
We report on the first global three-dimensional (3D) MHD simulations of disk accretion onto a rotating magnetized star through the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The star has a dipole field misaligned relative to the rotation axis by a small angle Theta. Simulations show that, depending on the accretion rate, a star may be in the stable or unstable regime of accretion. In the unstable regime, matter penetrates deep into the magnetosphere through several elongated "tongues" which deposit matter at random places on the surface of the star, leading to stochastic light-curves. In the stable regime, …
We present numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of a magnetized accretion disk launching trans-Alfvenic jets. These simulations, performed in a 2.5 dimensional time-dependent polytropic resistive MHD framework, model a resistive accretion disk threaded by an initial vertical magnetic field. The resistivity is only important inside the disk, and is prescribed as eta = alpha_m V_AH exp(-2Z^2/H^2), where V_A stands for Alfven speed, H is the disk scale height and the coefficient alpha_m is smaller than unity. By performing the simulations over several tens of dynamical disk timescales,…
We present two-dimensional, cylindrically symmetric simulations of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wide-angle winds interacting with a collapsing environment. These simulations have direct relevance to young stellar objects (YSOs). The results may also be of use in the study of collimated outflows from proto-planetary and planetary nebulae. We study a range of wind configurations consistent with asymptotic MHD wind collimation. The degree of collimation is parameterized by the ratio of the wind density at the pole to that of the equator. We find that a toroidal magnetic field can ha…
We study the self-similar collapse of an isothermal magnetized rotating cloud in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) regime. In the limit of small distance from the accreting protostar we find an analytic solution that corresponds to free-fall onto a central mass point. The density distribution is not spherically symmetric but depends on the mass loading of magnetic field lines, which can be obtained by matching our inner solution to an outer collapse solution previously computed by Allen, Shu & Li. The concentration of magnetic field trapped by the central mass point under field-freezing, ind…
We solve the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations governing axisymmetric flows around neutron stars and black holes and found all possible solution topologies for adiabatic accretion. We divide the parameter space spanned by the conserved energy and angular momentum of the flow in terms of the flow topologies. We also study the possibility of the formation of the MHD shock waves.
This is the first paper about the fragmentation and mass outflow in the molecular cloud by using three-dimensional MHD nested-grid simulations. The binary star formation process is studied paying particular attention to the fragmentation of a rotating magnetized molecular cloud. We assume an isothermal rotating and magnetized cylindrical cloud in hydrostatic balance. Non-axisymmetric as well as axisymmetric perturbations are added to the initial state and the subsequent evolutions are studied. The evolution is characterized by three parameters: the amplitude of the non-axisymmetric perturbatio…
We performed 2D and full 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of disk accretion to a rotating star with an aligned or misaligned dipole magnetic field. We investigated the rotational equilibrium state and derived from simulations the ratio between two main frequencies: the spin frequency of the star and the orbital frequency at the inner radius of the disk. In 3D simulations we observed different features related to the non-axisymmetry of the magnetospheric flow. These features may be responsible for high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). Variability at much lower frequencies may be …
We study wave instability in an collisionless, rarefied hot plasma (e.g. solar wind or corona). We consider the anisotropy produced by the magnetic field, when the thermal gas pressures across and along the field become unequal. We apply the 16-moment transport equations (obtained from the Boltzmann-Vlasov kinetic equation) including the anisotropic thermal fluxes. The general dispersion relation for the incompressible wave modes is derived. It is shown that a new, more complex wave spectrum with stable and unstable behavior is possible, in contrast to the classic fire-hose modes obtained in t…
An analysis of MHD wave propagating in a gravitating and rotating medium permeated by non-uniform magnetic field has been done. It has been found that the Gradient of Magnetic Field when coupled with Rotation becomes capable to generate few instabilities (Temporal or Spatial) leading to the damping or amplification of MHD waves. The Jean's criterion is not sufficient for stability always. Rather, the waves will suffer instability unless their wave length (frequency) is less (greater) than certain critical values. Otherwise, those will smoothly propagate outward. Out of different scenarioes dep…
We present results of three-dimensional (3D) simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a stratified shear layer. The magnetic field is taken to be uniform and parallel to the shear flow. We describe the evolution of the fluid flow and the magnetic field for a range of initial conditions. In particular, we investigate how the mixing rate of the fluid depends on the Richardson number and the magnetic field strength. It was found that the magnetic field can enhance as well as suppress mixing. Moreover, we have performed two-dimensional (2D) simulations and discuss som…
We present a self-similar, steady-state model describing both a magnetized accretion disc and a magnetohydrodynamic jet. We focus on the role of a hot corona in such a structure. This corona enables the disc to launch various types of jets. By considering the energy conservation, we also present a diagnostic of the luminosity of the magnetized disc, which could explain some observational signatures of galactic objects.
We explore MHD solutions for envelope expansions with core collapse (EECC) with isothermal MHD shocks in a quasi-spherical symmetry and outline potential astrophysical applications of such magnetized shock flows. MHD shock solutions are classified into three classes according to the downstream characteristics near the core. Class I solutions are those characterized by free-fall collapses towards the core downstream of an MHD shock, while Class II solutions are those characterized by Larson-Penston (LP) type near the core downstream of an MHD shock. Class III solutions are novel, sharing both f…
Magnetohydrodynamical simulations are presented of a magnetized pulsar wind interacting directly with the interstellar medium, or, in the case of a surrounding supernova remnant, with the associated freely expanding ejecta of the progenitor star. In both cases the simulations show that the pulsar wind nebula will be elongated due to the dynamical influence of the toroidal magnetic fields, which confirm predictions from a semi-analytical model presented by Begelman & Li. The simulations follow the expansion of the pulsar wind nebula when the latter is bounded by a strong shock and show that the…
Interstellar medium is turbulent and this induces relative motions of dust grains. We calculate relative velocities of charged grains in a partially ionized magnetized gas. We account for anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, grain coupling with magnetic field, and the turbulence cutoff arising from the ambipolar drag. We obtain grain velocities for turbulence with parameters consistent with those in HI and dark clouds. Those velocities are smaller than those in earlier papers, where MHD effects were disregarded. Finally, we compare grain velocities arising from photoelectric emi…
I calculate the linear stability of a stratified low collisionality plasma in the presence of a weak magnetic field. Heat is assumed to flow only along magnetic field lines. In the absence of a heat flux in the background plasma, Balbus (2000) demonstrated that plasmas in which the temperature increases in the direction of gravity are buoyantly unstable to convective-like motions (the ``magnetothermal instability''). I show that in the presence of a background heat flux, an analogous instability is present when the temperature decreases in the direction of gravity. The instability is driven by…
We obtain the general forms of the axisymmetric stability criteria in a magnetized compressible Couette flow using an energy variational principle, the so--called interchange or Chandrasekhar's method, which we applied successfully in the incompressible case. This formulation accounts for the simultaneous presence of gravity, rotation, a toroidal magnetic field, a weak axial magnetic field, entropy gradients, and density gradients in the initial equilibrium state. The power of the method lies in its simplicity which allows us to derive extremely compact and physically clear expressions for the…
We use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations to study the formation of a corona above an initially weakly magnetized, isothermal accretion disk. We also describe a modification to time-explicit numerical algorithms for MHD which enables us to evolve highly stratified disks for many orbital times. We find that MHD turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) produces strong amplification of weak fields within two scale heights of the disk midplane in a few orbital times. About 25 % of the magnetic energy generated by the MRI within two scale heights escapes d…
The set of equations for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in a shear flow is consecutively derived. The proposed scenario involves the presence of a self-sustained turbulence and magnetic field. In the framework of Langevin--Burgers approach the influence of the turbulence is described by an additional external random force in the MHD system. Kinetic equation for the spectral density of the slow magnetosonic (Alfvenic) mode is derived in the short wavelength (WKB) approximation. The results show a pressing need for conduction of numerical Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with a random driver to tak…
We demonstrate a close analogy between a viscoelastic medium and an electrically conducting fluid containing a magnetic field. Specifically, the dynamics of the Oldroyd-B fluid in the limit of large Deborah number corresponds to that of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid in the limit of large magnetic Reynolds number. As a definite example of this analogy, we compare the stability properties of differentially rotating viscoelastic and MHD flows. We show that there is an instability of the Oldroyd-B fluid that is physically distinct from both the inertial and elastic instabilities described prev…
We present global 2D and 3D simulations of self-gravitating magnetized tori. We used the 2D calculations to demonstrate that the properties of the MRI are not affected by the presence of self-gravity: MHD turbulence and enhanced angular momentum transport follow the linear growth of the instability. In 3D, we have studied the interaction between an $m=2$ gravitational instability and MHD turbulence. We found its strength to be significantly decreased by the presence of the latter, showing that both instabilities strongly interact in their non-linear phases. We discuss the consequences of these…
We study the stability of compressible cylindrical differentially rotating flow in the presence of the magnetic field, and show that compressibility alters qualitatively the stability properties of flows. Apart from the well-known magnetorotational instability that can occur even in incompressible flow, there exist a new instability caused by compressibility. The necessary condition of the newly found instability can easily be satisfied in various flows in laboratory and astrophysical conditions and reads $B_{s} B_ϕ Ω' \neq 0$ where $B_{s}$ and $B_ϕ$ are the radial and azimuthal magnetic field…
Gravitational waves (GWs) propagating through a uniformly magnetized plasma interact directly with the magnetic field and excite magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves with both electromagnetic and matter components. We study this process for arbitrary geometry in the MHD approximation and find that all three fundamental MHD modes -- slow and fast magnetosonic, and Alfven -- are excited depending on both the polarization of the GW and the orientation of the ambient magnetic field. The latter two modes can interact coherently with the GW resulting in damping of the GW and linear growth of the plasma w…
We present a general linear dispersion relation which describes the coupled behavior of magnetorotational, photon bubble, and convective instabilities in weakly magnetized, differentially rotating accretion disks. We presume the accretion disks to be geometrically thin and supported vertically by radiation pressure. We fully incorporate the effects of a nonzero radiative diffusion length on the linear modes. In an equilibrium with purely vertical magnetic field, the vertical magnetorotational modes are completely unaffected by compressibility, stratification, and radiative diffusion. However, …
We study the stability/establishment of dipolar magnetostatic equilibrium configurations in new--born neutron stars (NSs) in dependence on the rotational velocity $Ω$ and on the initial angle $α$ between rotation and magnetic axis. The NS is modeled as a sphere of a highly magnetized ($B \sim 10^{15}$G) incompressible fluid of uniform density which rotates rigidly. For the initial dipolar background magnetic field, which defines the magnetic axis, two different configurations are assumed. We solve the 3D non--linear MHD equations by use of a spectral code. The problem in dimensionless form is …
We present a detailed study of localised magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) instabilities occuring in two--dimensional magnetized accretion disks. We model axisymmetric MHD disk tori, and solve the equations governing a two--dimensional magnetized accretion disk equilibrium and linear wave modes about this equilibrium. We show the existence of novel MHD instabilities in these two--dimensional equilibria which do not occur in an accretion disk in the cylindrical limit. The disk equilibria are numerically computed by the FINESSE code. The stability of accretion disks is investigated analytically as wel…
In an X-ray binary system, the companion star feeds the compact neutron star with plasma materials via accretions. The spinning neutron star is likely covered with a thin "magnetized ocean" and may support {\it magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) tidal waves}. While modulating the thermal properties of the ocean, MHD tidal waves periodically shake the base of the stellar magnetosphere that traps energetic particles, including radiating relativistic electrons. For a radio pulsar, MHD tidal waves in the stellar surface layer may modulate radio emission processes and leave indelible signatures on timescale…
Cool weakly ionized gaseous rotating disk form the basis for many models in astrophysics objects. Instabilities against perturbations in such disks play an important role in the theory of the formation of stars and planets. Traditionally, axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and recently Hall-MHD instabilities have been thoroughly studied as providers of an efficient mechanism for radial transfer of angular momentum, and of density radial stratification. In the current work, the Hall instability against axisymmetric perturbations in incompressible rotating fluid in external poloidal and toro…
A linear stability analysis has been performed onto a self-gravitating magnetized gas disk bounded by external pressure. The resulting dispersion relation is fully explained by three kinds of instability: a Parker-type instability driven by self-gravity, usual Jeans gravitational instability and convection. In the direction parallel to the magnetic fields, the magnetic tension completely suppresses the convection. If the adiabatic index $γ$ is less than a certain critical value, the perturbations trigger the Parker as well as the Jeans instability in the disk. Consequently, the growth rate cur…
We derive new stability criteria for purely MHD instabilities in rotating jets, in the framework of the ballooning ordering expansion. Quite unexpectedly, they involve a term which is linear in the magnetic shear. This implies that cylindrical configurations can be destabilized by a negative magnetic shear as well as by a favorable equilibrium pressure gradient, in distinction with the predictions of Suydam's stability criterion, which suggests on the contrary that the shear is always stabilizing. We have used these criteria to establish sufficient conditions for instability. In particular, th…
Beam instabilities in the strongly magnetized electron-positron plasma of pulsar magnetospheres are considered. We analyze the resonance conditions and estimate the growth rates of the Cherenkov and cyclotron instabilities of the ordinary (O), extraordinary (X) and Alfvén modes in two limiting regimes: kinetic and hydrodynamic. As a preliminary step, we reconsider wave dispersion and polarization properties in a one dimensional pair plasma taking into account relativistic thermal effects. We then find the location of the Cherenkov and cyclotron resonance of the X, O and Alfvén waves with the p…
A new class of analytical 2-D solutions of the full set of the steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, describing an axisymmetric helicoidal magnetized outflow originating from a rotating central object, is presented. The solutions are systematically obtained via a nonlinear separation of the variables in the momentum equation. The analysis yields three parameters which measure the anisotropy in the latitudinal distribution of various flow quantities. Topologically, the wind speed is controlled by an X-type critical point that acts to filter out a single wind-type branch and the Alfven sin…
We study the global bending modes of a thin annular disc subject to both an internally generated magnetic field and a magnetic field due to a dipole embedded in the central star with axis aligned with the disc rotation axis. When there is a significant inner region of the disc corotating with the star, we find spectra of unstable bending modes. These may lead to elevation of the disc above the original symmetry plane facilitating accretion along the magnetospheric field lines. The resulting non-axisymmetric disc configuration may result in the creation of hot spots on the stellar surface and t…
Many problems at the forefront of theoretical astrophysics require the treatment of magnetized fluids in dynamical, strongly curved spacetimes. Such problems include the origin of gamma-ray bursts, magnetic braking of differential rotation in nascent neutron stars arising from stellar core collapse or binary neutron star merger, the formation of jets and magnetized disks around newborn black holes, etc. To model these phenomena, all of which involve both general relativity (GR) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), we have developed a GRMHD code capable of evolving MHD fluids in dynamical spacetimes…
In various astrophysical contexts, we analyze self-similar behaviours of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) evolution of a quasi-spherical polytropic magnetized gas under self-gravity with the specific entropy conserved along streamlines. In particular, this MHD model analysis frees the scaling parameter $n$ in the conventional polytropic self-similar transformation from the constraint of $n+γ=2$ with $γ$ being the polytropic index and therefore substantially generalizes earlier analysis results on polytropic gas dynamics that has a constant specific entropy everywhere in space at all time. On the basi…
Using the fluid-magnetofluid formalism, we obtain axisymmetric stability criteria for a composite disc system consisting of stellar and gaseous magnetized singular isothermal discs (MSIDs). Lou & Zou recently constructed exact global stationary configurations for both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric coplanar MHD perturbations in such a composite MSID system and proposed the MHD $D_s-$criteria for axisymmetric stability by the hydrodynamic analogy. In a different perspective, we derive and analyze here the time-dependent WKBJ dispersion relation in the low-frequency and tight-winding regime to…
The dynamical effects of magnetic fields in models of radiative, Herbig-Haro (HH) jets have been studied in a number of papers. For example, magnetized, radiative jets from variable sources have been studied with axisymmetric and 3D numerical simulations. In this paper, we present an analytic model describing the effect of a toroidal magnetic field on the internal working surfaces that result from a variability in the ejection velocity. We find that for parameters appropriate for HH jets the forces associated with the magnetic field dominate over the gas pressure force within the working surfa…
We describe the effects of both magnetic buoyancy and differential rotation on a disc of isothermal gas embedded in a purely azimuthal magnetic field, in order to study the evolution and interplay of Parker and shearing instabilities. Both instabilities occur on the slow MHD branch of the dispersion relation, and can affect the same waves. We put a stress on the natural polarization properties of the slow MHD waves to get a better understanding of the physics involved. The mechanism of the shearing instability is described in details. Waves with a vertical wavelength shorter than the scale hei…
This paper presents an application of the recent relativistic HLLC approximate Riemann solver by Mignone & Bodo to magnetized flows with vanishing normal component of the magnetic field. The numerical scheme is validated in two dimensions by investigating the propagation of axisymmetric jets with toroidal magnetic fields. The selected jet models show that the HLLC solver yields sharper resolution of contact and shear waves and better convergence properties over the traditional HLL approach.
We describe the results of a sequence of simulations of gravitational collapse in a turbulent magnetized region. The parameters are chosen to be representative of molecular cloud material. We find that several protostellar cores and filamentary structures of higher than average density form. The filaments inter-connect the high density cores. Furthermore, the magnetic field strengths are found to correlate positively with the density, in agreement with recent observations. We make synthetic channel maps of the simulations and show that material accreting onto the cores is channelled along the …
We investigate field-line separation in strong MHD turbulence analytically and with direct numerical simulations. We find that in the static-magnetic-field approximation the thermal conductivity in galaxy clusters is reduced by a factor of about 5-10 relative to the Spitzer thermal conductivity of a non-magnetized plasma. We also estimate how the thermal conductivity would be affected by efficient turbulent resistivity.
Astrophysical jets are widely believed to be self-collimated by the hoop-stress due to the azimuthal component of their magnetic field. However this implies that the magnetic field is largely dominated by its azimuthal component in the outer jet region. In the fusion context, it is well-known that such configurations are highly unstable in static columns, leading to plasma disruption. It has long been pointed out that a similar outcome may follow for MHD jets, and the reasons preventing disruption are still not elucidated, although some progress has been accomplished in the recent years. In th…
We present results from axisymmetric, time-dependent hydrodynamical (HD) and magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of a gaseous envelope collapsing onto a black hole (BH). We consider gas with so small angular momentum that after an initial transient, the flow in the HD case, accretes directly onto a BH without forming a rotationally support torus. However, in the MHD case even with a very weak initial magnetic field, the flow settles into a configuration with four components: (i) an equatorial inflow, (ii) a bipolar outflow, (iii) polar funnel outflow, and (iv) polar funnel inflow. We focus…
We study the resonant absorption of MHD waves in magnetized flux tubes with a radial density inhomogeneity. Within the approximation that resistive and viscous processes are operative in thin layers surrounding the singularities of the MHD equations, we give the full spectrum of the eigenfrequencies and damping rates of the MHD quasi modes of the tube. Both surface and body modes are analyzed. \keywords{Sun -- corona: magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) -- Sun: magnetic fields -- Sun: oscillations
A new implementation for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations in full general relativity (involving dynamical spacetimes) is presented. In our implementation, Einstein's evolution equations are evolved by a BSSN formalism, MHD equations by a high-resolution central scheme, and induction equation by a constraint transport method. We perform numerical simulations for standard test problems in relativistic MHD, including special relativistic magnetized shocks, general relativistic magnetized Bondi flow in stationary spacetime, and a longterm evolution for self-gravitating system composed of a n…
