Related papers: Topological Constraints on Magnetic Relaxation
Predicting the final state of turbulent plasma relaxation is an important challenge, both in astrophysical plasmas such as the Sun's corona and in controlled thermonuclear fusion. Recent numerical simulations of plasma relaxation with…
Magnetic field relaxation is determined by both the field's geometry and its topology. For relaxation processes, however, it turns out that its topology is a much more stringent constraint. As quantifier for the topology we use magnetic…
Newly emerging magnetic flux can show a complicated linked or interwoven topology of the magnetic field. The complexity of this linkage or knottedness of magnetic flux is related to the free energy stored in the magnetic field. Magnetic…
Stability and reconnection of magnetic fields play a fundamental role in natural and man-made plasma. In these applications the field's topology determines the stability of the magnetic field. Here I will describe the importance of one…
A topological constraint on the dynamics of a magnetic field in a flux tube arises from the fixed point indices of its field line mapping. This can explain unexpected behaviour in recent resistive-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of magnetic…
We examine the dynamics of magnetic flux tubes containing non-trivial field line braiding (or linkage), using mathematical and computational modelling, in the context of testable predictions for the laboratory and their significance for…
Plasma relaxation in the presence of an initially braided magnetic field can lead to self-organization into relaxed states that retain non-trivial magnetic structure. These relaxed states may be in conflict with the linear force-free fields…
Context: Relaxation theory offers a straightforward method for estimating the energy that is released when a magnetic field becomes unstable, as a result of continual convective driving. Aims: We present new results obtained from nonlinear…
Twisted magnetic flux ropes are reservoirs of free magnetic energy. In a highly-conducting plasma such as the solar corona, energy release through multiple magnetic reconnections can be modelled as a helicity-conserving relaxation to a…
Based on global conservation principles, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) relaxation theory predicts the existence of several equilibria, such as the Taylor state or global dynamic alignment. These states are generally viewed as very long-time and…
In this paper a relaxation theory, proposed several years ago for plasmas where a single dominant mode is present, is revisited. The solutions of the related eigenvalue problem are numerically calculated and discussed. Although these…
Aims: Our aim is to investigate the resistive relaxation of a magnetic loop that contains braided magnetic flux but no net current or helicity. The loop is subject to line-tied boundary conditions. We investigate the dynamical processes…
Ideal MHD relaxation is the topology-conserving reconfiguration of a magnetic field into a lower energy state where the net force is zero. This is achieved by modeling the plasma as perfectly conducting viscous fluid. It is an important…
The relaxation of a helical magnetic field ${\bf B}({\bf x}, t)$ in a high-conductivity plasma contained in the annulus between two perfectly conducting coaxial cylinders is considered. The plasma is of low density and its pressure is…
We use direct numerical simulations to study the evolution, or relaxation, of magnetic configurations to an equilibrium state. We use the full single-fluid equations of motion for a magnetized, non-resistive, but viscous fluid; and a…
One proposed resolution to the long-standing problem of solar coronal heating involves the buildup of magnetic energy in the corona due to turbulent motions at the photosphere that braid the coronal field, and the subsequent release of this…
Low-altitude twisted magnetic fields may be relevant to atmospheric heating in the quiet Sun, but the exact role, topology, and formation of these twisted fields remains to be studied. We investigate the formation and evolution of a…
We study the relaxation of a topologically non-trivial vortex braid with zero net helicity in a barotropic fluid. The aim is to investigate the extent to which the topology of the vorticity field -- characterized by braided vorticity field…
The adiabatic limit of a recently proposed dynamical extension of Taylor relaxation, \emph{multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics} (MRxMHD) is summarized, with special attention to the appropriate definition of relative magnetic…
We demonstrate that conservation of global helicity plays only a minor role in determining the nature and consequences of magnetic reconnection in the solar atmosphere. First, we show that observations of the solar coronal magnetic field…