Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1975
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1975mnras.171..537w&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 171, June 1975, p. 537-549.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
18
Flow Stability, Magnetohydrodynamic Stability, Solar Wind, Transition Flow, Astronomical Models, Earth Magnetosphere, Perturbation Theory, Radial Flow
Scientific paper
Radial accretion towards a body, in the presence of a magnetic field, is considered. It is shown that if the flow is super-Alfvenic at infinity but sub-Alfvenic further in, a smooth transition at the Alfven surface would be unstable. The results are generalized to show that any ideal aligned-field flow where gas passes smoothly from a super-Alfvenic region into a sub-Alfvenic region will be unstable, without exception. Comparison is made with the related problem of transition from supersonic to subsonic flow. It is concluded that super-Alfvenic flow towards a body must become sub-Alfvenic via a shock, followed by turbulent flow. Super-Alfvenic accretion has thus some similarity to the solar wind's impinging on the earth's magnetosphere.
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