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N. E. Molevich

Publications and source records attributed to N. E. Molevich.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

On collective nature of nonlinear torsional Alfvén waves

Torsional Alfvén waves in coronal plasma loops are usually considered to be non-collective, i.e. consist of cylindrical surfaces evolving independently, which significantly complicates their detection in observations. This non-collective nature, however, can get modified in the nonlinear regime. To address this question, the propagation of nonlinear torsional Alfvén waves in straight magnetic flux tubes has been investigated numerically using the astrophysical MHD code Athena++ and analytically, to support numerical results, using the perturbation theory up to the second order. Numerical results have revealed that there is radially uniform induced density perturbation whose uniformity does not depend on the radial structure of the mother Alfvén wave. Our analysis showed that the ponderomotive force leads to the induction of the radial and axial velocity perturbations, while the mechanism for the density perturbation is provided by a non-equal elasticity of a magnetic flux tube in the radial and axial directions. The latter can be qualitatively understood by the interplay between the Alfvén wave perturbations, external medium, and the flux tube boundary conditions. The amplitude of these nonlinearly induced density perturbations is found to be determined by the amplitude of the Alfvén driver squared and the plasma parameter $β$. The existence of the collective and radially uniform density perturbation accompanying nonlinear torsional Alfvén waves could be considered as an additional observational signature of Alfvén waves in the upper layers of the solar atmosphere.

astro-ph.SR

Impact of thermal misbalance on acoustic-gravity waves in the solar atmosphere

The joint effect of gravity and thermal misbalance on the dynamics of acoustic-gravity waves (AGW) in the solar atmosphere is considered. It is shown that the heating and cooling taken in the form of power functions lead to the linear dependence of stationary temperature profile. Estimates of the ratio of the characteristic length associated with thermal processes to the gravitational height show a predominant influence of thermal processes in the temperature range up to 2 MK and a comparable influence on the dynamics of AGW in the range from 2 to 10 MK. A study of the dispersion properties of AGW in an isothermal atmosphere showed that in regimes with an overwhelming influence of thermal processes, the acoustic cut-off frequency decreases up to $\sqrtγ$ times. At the same time, the maximum frequency of the gravitational mode (analog of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency in the medium without non-adiabatic heating and cooling) decreases with increasing power of thermal processes, and then the gravitational mode can become purely oscillatory.

astro-ph.SR

Propagating torsional Alfvén waves in thermally active solar plasma

The aim of the present study is to shed light on the effects connected with thermal misbalance due to non-equal cooling and heating rates induced by density and temperature perturbations in solar active regions hosting either propagating torsional or shear Alfvén waves. A description for the nonlinear forces connected with Alfvén waves in non-ideal conditions is provided based on the second order thin flux tube approximation. This provides insight on the effects of Alfvén-induced motions on the boundary of thin magnetic structures in thermally active plasmas. The equations describing the process of generating longitudinal velocity perturbations together with density perturbations by nonlinear torsional Alfvén waves are obtained and solved analytically. It is shown that the phase shift (compared to the ideal case) and the amplitude of the induced longitudinal plasma motions against the period of mother Alfvén wave are greater for shear Alfvén waves compared to torsional Alfvén waves although following the same pattern. The difference in the influence of thermal misbalance on the induced velocity perturbations is governed by the plasma-beta although its effect is stronger for shear waves. It is deduced that for a harmonic Alfvén driver the induced density perturbations are left uninfluenced by the thermal misbalance.

astro-ph.SR

Dynamics of fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves in plasma slabs with thermal misbalance

Non-uniformity of the solar atmosphere along with the presence of non-adiabatic processes such as radiation cooling and unspecified heating can significantly affect the dynamics and properties of magnetoacoustic (MA) waves. To address the co-influence of these factors on the dispersion properties of MA waves, we considered a single magnetic slab composed of the thermally active plasma. Using the perturbation theory, we obtained a differential equation that determines the dynamics of the two-dimensional perturbations. Applying the assumption of strong magnetic structuring, we derived the dispersion relations for the sausage and kink MA modes. The numerical solution of the dispersion relations for the coronal conditions was performed to investigate the interplay between the non-uniformity and the thermal misbalance. For the heating scenario considered, it was obtained that the phase speed of both the sausage and kink slow MA waves is highly affected by the thermal misbalance in the long wavelength limit. The obtained characteristic timescales of the slow waves dissipation coincide with the periods of waves observed in the corona. Simultaneously, the phase speed of the fast waves is not affected by the thermal misbalance. The geometry of the magnetic structure still remains the main dispersion mechanism for the fast waves. Our estimation reveals that dissipation of the fast waves is weaker than dissipation of the slow waves in the coronal conditions. The obtained results are of importance for using the magnetoacoustic waves not only as a tool for estimating plasma parameters, but also as a tool for estimating the non-adiabatic processes.

astro-ph.SR

Mixed properties of slow magnetoacoustic and entropy waves in a plasma with heating/cooling misbalance

The processes of the coronal plasma heating and cooling were previously shown to significantly affect the dynamics of slow magnetoacoustic (MA) waves, causing amplification or attenuation, and also dispersion. However, the entropy mode is also excited in such a thermodynamically active plasma and is affected by the heating/cooling misbalance too. This mode is usually associated with the phenomenon of coronal rain and formation of prominences. Unlike the adiabatic plasmas, the properties and evolution of slow MA and entropy waves in continuously heated and cooling plasmas get mixed. Different regimes of the misbalance lead to a variety of scenarios for the initial perturbation to evolve. In order to describe properties and evolution of slow MA and entropy waves in various regimes of the misbalance, we obtained an exact analytical solution of the linear evolutionary equation. Using the characteristic timescales and the obtained exact solution, we identified regimes with qualitatively different behaviour of slow MA and entropy modes. For some of those regimes, the spatio-temporal evolution of the initial Gaussian pulse is shown. In particular, it is shown that slow MA modes may have a range of non-propagating harmonics. In this regime, perturbations caused by slow MA and entropy modes in a low-$β$ plasma would look identically in observations, as non-propagating disturbances of the plasma density (and temperature) either growing or decaying with time. We also showed that the partition of the initial energy between slow MA and entropy modes depends on the properties of the heating and cooling processes involved. The obtained exact analytical solution could be further applied to the interpretation of observations and results of numerical modelling of slow MA waves in the corona and the formation and evolution of coronal rain.

astro-ph.SR

Formation of quasi-periodic slow magnetoacoustic wave trains by the heating/cooling misbalance

Slow magnetoacoustic waves are omnipresent in both natural and laboratory plasma systems. The wave-induced misbalance between plasma cooling and heating processes causes the amplification or attenuation, and also dispersion, of slow magnetoacoustic waves. The wave dispersion could be attributed to the presence of characteristic time scales in the system, connected with the plasma heating or cooling due to the competition of the heating and cooling processes in the vicinity of the thermal equilibrium. We analysed linear slow magnetoacoustic waves in a plasma in a thermal equilibrium formed by a balance of optically thin radiative losses, field-align thermal conduction, and an unspecified heating. The dispersion is manifested by the dependence of the effective adiabatic index of the wave on the wave frequency, making the phase and group speeds frequency-dependent. The mutual effect of the wave amplification and dispersion is shown to result into the occurrence of an oscillatory pattern in an initially broadband slow wave, with the characteristic period determined by the thermal misbalance time scales, i.e. by the derivatives of the combined radiation loss and heating function with respect to the density and temperature, evaluated at the equilibrium. This effect is illustrated by estimating the characteristic period of the oscillatory pattern, appearing because of thermal misbalance in the plasma of the solar corona. It is found that by an order of magnitude the period is about the typical periods of slow magnetoacoustic oscillations detected in the corona.

astro-ph.SR

Stabilization of class-B broad-area lasers emission by external optical injection

We theoretically examine the effect of external optical injection on the spatio-temporal dynamics of class-B broad-area lasers. We demonstrate that optical injection can efficiently stabilize the intrinsic transverse instabilities in such lasers associated with both the boundaries of the pumping area and with the bulk nonlinearities of the active medium. Stabilizing action of optical injection is shown to be closely related to the suppression of inherent relaxation oscillations behavior.

physics.optics