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Nonlinear MHD waves on an interface of finite thickness with compressibility and resonant damping

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

A. V. Khrabrov  and
B.U.Ö. Sonnerup
A. V. Khrabrov
Affiliation:
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-8000, U.S.A.
B.U.Ö. Sonnerup
Affiliation:
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-8000, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Weakly nonlinear surface waves rippling an MHD tangential discontinuity (TD) of finite thickness are studied. The waves are two-dimensional and evanescent in the direction normal to the inhomogeneous layer. A novel approach is utilized to treat weakly nonlinear evanescent wave fields in physical space. The evolution equation obtained, which governs the interface displacement as a function of time and position, extends previous results of Ruderman and Goossens, valid for propagation along a unidirectional magnetic field in a stationary incompressible plasma, to a TD of general field geometry in a compressible plasma in the presence of stable velocity shear. Certain conservation properties of the evolution equation are presented, including the Hamiltonian formulation. Exploratory numerical results are reported. The model is of potential use in the analysis of observed quasi-stationary perturbations at the earth's magnetopause.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , April 1996 , pp. 145 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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