English

Paradoxes of magnetorotational instability and their geometrical resolution

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2015-03-19 v2 Mathematical Physics math.MP Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

The magnetorotational instability (MRI) triggers turbulence and enables outward transport of angular momentum in hydrodynamically stable accretion discs. By using the WKB approximation and methods of singular function theory, we resolve two different paradoxes of MRI that appear in the limits of infinite and vanishing magnetic Prandtl number. For the latter case we derive a new strict limit of the critical Rossby number. This new limit of Roc=0.802{\rm Ro_c}=-0.802, which appears for a finite Lundquist number of Lu=0.618{\rm Lu}=0.618, extends the formerly known inductionless Liu limit of Roc=0.828{\rm Ro_c}=-0.828 valid at Lu=0{\rm Lu}=0.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1104.0677,
  title  = {Paradoxes of magnetorotational instability and their geometrical resolution},
  author = {Oleg N. Kirillov and Frank Stefani},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1104.0677},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

4 pages, 3 figures, refs added