Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk

Details Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk

Oct 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001aps..dpprp1085j&link_type=abstract

American Physical Society, 43rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics October 29 - November 2, 2001 Long Beach, C

Physics

Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

Rapid angular momentum transport in accretion disks has been a longstanding astrophysical puzzle. The molecular viscosity of astrophysical gases and plasmas is completely inadequate to explain observationally inferred accretion rates. Recent theoretical work indicates that purely hydrodynamic instabilities are absent or ineffective, but that magnetorotational instabilities (MRI) are robust and support vigorous turbulence in electrically-conducting disks ranging from quasars and X-ray binaries to cataclysmic variables and perhaps even protoplanetary disks. Despite its popularity, however, MRI has never been demonstrated and studied in the laboratory. The possibility of studying MRI in a rotating liquid-metal disk (Couette flow) is explored by local(H. Ji, et al.), to appear in Mon. Not. Lett. Roy. Astron. Soc. (2001). and global(J. Goodman and H. Ji, submitted to J. Fluid Mech. (2001).) stability analysis and MHD simulations. Stability diagrams are drawn in dimensionless parameters, and also in terms of the angular velocities at the inner and outer cylinders. It is shown that MRI can be triggered in a moderately rapidly rotating table-top apparatus, using easy-to-handle metals such as gallium. Detailed analysis and apparatus designs as well as the results from prototype experiments using water to study Ekman circulation and nonlinear hydrodynamics instabilities are presented.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Study of Magnetorotational Instability in a Rotating Gallium Disk will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1103906