Singularities on the boundaries of magnetorotational instabilities and scaling laws

Abstract

AbstractIn the theory of magnetorotational instability and its modern extensions such as the helical MRI, non‐trivial scaling laws between the critical parameters are observed. In case of the standard MRI it is well known that the Reynolds and Hartmann numbers are scaled as Re ∼ Ha2 while for the helical MRI Re ∼ Ha3. What is less known is that the thresholds of SMRI and HMRI plotted as surfaces in the space of parameters, possess singularities that determine the scaling laws. Moreover, the two paradoxes of SMRI and HMRI in the limits of infinite and zero magnetic Prandtl number (Pm), respectively, sharply correspond to the singularities on the instability thresholds. In either case, it is the local Plücker conoid structure that explains the non‐uniqueness of the critical Rossby number, and its crucial dependence on the Lundquist number. For HMRI, we have found an extension of the former Liu limit Roc ≃ −0.828 (valid for Lu = 0) to a somewhat higher value Ro ≃ −0.802 at Lu = 0.618 which is, however, still below the Kepler value. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)