Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Nov 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997phdt........12a&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PHD). UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE , Source DAI-B 58/05, p. 2467, Nov 1997, 225 pages.
Statistics
Computation
1
Heliosphere, Chromosphere, Bow Shock
Scientific paper
Magnetic field studies in astrophysics are usually carried out with the assumptions that (i) the plasma is fully ionized, and (ii) ideal MHD applies. These assumptions are justified in many astrophysical contexts. However, here, we focus on two environments composed of partially ionized gas, and where dissipation processes due to departures from complete ionization have significant effects. Using detailed numerical computations, we quantify these non-ideal MHD effects and compare them with astrophysical data. First we consider the structure of an MHD shock as it relates to the interaction between the heliosphere and the local interstellar medium (LISM). We ask: does the heliosphere generate a bow shock as it moves through the LISM? Since the LISM is only partially ionized, ion-atom interactions provide a dissipation mechanism which may smooth out an otherwise abrupt transition between the LISM and the heliospheric material. To investigate this possibility, we develop a two-fluid code that computes the structure of one-dimensional transverse MHD shock fronts. We find existence of extensive areas of permissible parameter space where ion-atom mediation is strong enough to smear out the bow shock over hundreds of AU. This is relevant to a recent interpretation of Hubble Space Telescope spectra suggesting that the heliospheric bow shock does not exist. Next, we study the two-dimensional behavior of partially ionized gas in magnetized regions of the solar atmosphere. The highly time-dependent nature of solar magnetic fields frequently produces interacting oppositely directed magnetic fields. Since in partially ionized gases the ions 'feel' the field more than the atoms, the gas which emerges from such interacting fields may have a different ion/atom ratio than the ambient medium. By extending the ZEUS-3D code to apply to a partially ionized gas, we have quantified this effect. Our simulations show that enhancements in ion/atom ratios may be as large as a factor of almost 12. These results may be relevant to understanding EUV data from SKYLAB which suggest that the abundances of elements with low First Ionization Potential (FIP) in the solar corona are systematically enhanced in certain magnetic structures.
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