Magnetohydrodynamic Model Research Articles

Reduced scale stripline platform to extend accessible pressures on the Z machine: Shockless compression of platinum to 650 GPa

Reaching astrophysically relevant high energy density (HED) material states in the laboratory is an ongoing effort at multiple experimental facilities. We have developed a new dynamic compression platform for the Z Pulsed Power Facility that allows for sample sizes 100s of μm in thickness that accommodate multiple grains in order to fully capture bulk properties, such as material strength. A pair of experiments compressed platinum (Pt) to HED conditions and conventional inverse Lagrangian analysis as well as a recent Bayesian calibration technique were used to determine the principal isentrope to 650 GPa with density uncertainties of <2%. These low uncertainties are calculated for single sample experiments, presenting the possibility of even smaller experimental uncertainties with multiple samples the platform allows. Our new platform extends the accessible Pt ramp pressures achievable on the Z machine to over 80% of the pressure recently achieved using the National Ignition Facility planar Hohlraum platform. This new capability, the next generation evolution of the stripline platform, was made possible by advancements in both our understanding of the Z pulsed power driver and our overall magnetohydrodynamic modeling capabilities.

Drug-Loaded IRONSperm clusters: modeling, wireless actuation, and ultrasound imaging

Individual biohybrid microrobots have the potential to perform biomedical in vivo tasks such as remote-controlled drug and cell delivery and minimally invasive surgery. This work demonstrates the formation of biohybrid sperm-templated clusters under the influence of an external magnetic field and essential functionalities for wireless actuation and drug delivery. Ferromagnetic nanoparticles are electrostatically assembled around dead sperm cells, and the resulting nanoparticle-coated cells are magnetically assembled into three-dimensional biohybrid clusters. The aim of this clustering is threefold: First, to enable rolling locomotion on a nearby solid boundary using a rotating magnetic field; second, to allow for noninvasive localization; third, to load the cells inside the cluster with drugs for targeted therapy. A magneto-hydrodynamic model captures the rotational response of the clusters in a viscous fluid, and predicts an upper bound for their step-out frequency, which is independent of their volume or aspect ratio. Below the step-out frequency, the rolling velocity of the clusters increases nonlinearly with their perimeter and actuation frequency. During rolling locomotion, the clusters are localized using ultrasound images at a relatively large distance, which makes these biohybrid clusters promising for deep-tissue applications. Finally, we show that the estimated drug load scales with the number of cells in the cluster and can be retained for more than 10 h. The aggregation of microrobots enables them to collectively roll in a predictable way in response to an external rotating magnetic field, and enhances ultrasound detectability and drug loading capacity compared to the individual microrobots. The favorable features of biohybrid microrobot clusters place emphasis on the importance of the investigation and development of collective microrobots and their potential for in vivo applications.

Synthetic Lyman-α emissions for the coronagraph aboard the ASO-S mission

Context. Strong ultraviolet (UV) emission from the sun will be observed by the Lyman-α Solar Telescope (LST) on board the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), scheduled for launch in 2022. It will provide continuous observations from the solar disk to the corona below a 2.5 solar radius with high resolution. To configure the appropriate observing modes and also to better understand its upcoming observations, a series of simulations and syntheses of different structures and processes need to be done in advance. Aims. As prominence eruptions are the main drivers of space weather, the need to monitor such phenomena has been set as a priority among the objectives of ASO-S mission. In this work, we synthesize the evolution of a modeled prominence-cavity system before and during its eruption in the field of view (FOV) of LST. Methods. We adopted the input magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of a prominence-cavity system, which is readily comparable to the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) observations. The Lyman-α emission of the prominence and its eruptive counterparts are synthesized through the PRODOP code, which considers non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) radiative transfer processes, while the other coronal part such as the cavity and surrounding streamer, are synthesized with the FORWARD package, which deals with optically thin structures. Results. We present a discussion of the evolution of the eruptive prominence-cavity system, analyzing the synthetic emissions both on the disk near the limb and above the limb as viewed by the coronagraph, as well as the three-dimensional (3D) data of the MHD simulation. Conclusions. The evolution of the prominence-cavity system exhibits the condensation of cavity mass onto the prominence and the evaporation of prominence plasma into the central cavity. The synthetic emission in Lyman-α shows a similar pattern as in the AIA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths before eruption, namely, the appearance of a “horn” substructure as a precursor to the eruption. The emission of prominence with an optically thick assumption is one to two orders of magnitude lower than the optically thin one. Here, the dimming effect in Lyman-α is analyzed, for the first time, for the eruptive prominence-cavity system. Accompanying the prominence plasma motion during the eruption, the apparent dimming shows a preferred location evolving from the top and bottom of the bright core to the whole body above the bottom part, while the collisional component progressively dominates the total emission of the flux rope bright core at these locations. By analyzing the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) with a consideration of LST’s optical design, we conclude that the substructures in the cavity and the bright core of the CME can be observed with sufficient S/N at different stages in the FOV of LST.

Tracking the Subsolar Bow Shock and Magnetopause

AbstractGlobal magnetohydrodynamic models predict that plasma velocities vary almost linearly from 0 km s−1 at the nose of the stationary magnetopause on the stagnation streamline to a limiting value of 0.25 VSW for high solar wind Alfvénic Mach numbers at the nose of the bow shock, where VSW is the solar wind velocity. This paper presents a proof‐of‐concept study showing how two‐point measurements of the plasma velocity in the subsolar magnetosheath can be used to determine gradients in the plasma velocity and consequently the steady‐state or slowly moving locations of both the nose of the magnetopause and the nose of the bow shock. The results may be of use to those binning magnetosheath observations to develop empirical models, those testing models for magnetopause erosion or deposition in response to magnetic reconnection, and those determining the stand‐off distance of the bow shock as a function of solar wind conditions.

Effects of compressibility and guiding field on the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in weakly reversed magnetic shear configurations

The effects of compressibility and guiding field on the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability in a double resonant surface system are numerically investigated by using a compressible magnetohydrodynamics model. The linear growth rate and the nonlinear saturation amplitude are analyzed for different parameters. A transition from double tearing modes to the KH instability occurs depending on the compressibility and guiding field with a weak magnetic shear. These results may deepen our understanding of the properties of the KH instability with double resonant surfaces in both space and laboratory plasmas.

Experimental studies of a novel one-dimensional plasma window

The plasma window is a windowless vacuum sealing device that utilizes a cascade arc discharge to isolate regions with different pressures. It was proposed as an alternative to the traditional windowless sealing technology of differential pumping, which greatly improves the sealing efficiency and has been successfully applied in electron beam welding. The discharge channel of the existing plasma window is a small circular hole, referred to as a zero-dimensional plasma window, which has limited applications to its dimensions. In this study, we suggested a one-dimensional (1D) plasma window with a slit discharge channel (cross section: 3 × 35 mm2, length: 60 mm). An arc discharge is realized with the support of an 80 A DC power supply, which can maintain a pressure drop of more than 10 times between the high-pressure and low-pressure ends of the plasma window. A COMSOL-based magneto-hydrodynamic model of the plasma window was established, and simulations were in good agreement with the experimental results. The pressure drop in the plasma window caused by argon plasma has also been theoretically analyzed and discussed. The feasibility of a 1D plasma window to achieve vacuum isolation was verified theoretically, numerically, and experimentally.

SWASTi-SW: Space Weather Adaptive Simulation Framework for Solar Wind and Its Relevance to the Aditya-L1 Mission

Solar wind streams, acting as a background, govern the propagation of space weather drivers in the heliosphere, which induce geomagnetic storm activities. Therefore, predictions of the solar wind parameters are the core of space weather forecasts. This work presents an indigenous three-dimensional (3D) solar wind model (SWASTi-SW). This numerical framework for forecasting the ambient solar wind is based on a well-established scheme that uses a semiempirical coronal model and a physics-based inner heliospheric model. This study demonstrates a more generalized version of the Wang–Sheeley–Arge relation, which provides a speed profile input to the heliospheric domain. Line-of-sight observations of GONG and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager magnetograms are used as inputs for the coronal model, which in turn provides the solar wind plasma properties at 0.1 au. These results are then used as an initial boundary condition for the magnetohydrodynamics model of the inner heliosphere to compute the solar wind properties up to 2.1 au. Along with the validation run for multiple Carrington rotations, the effect of variation of specific heat ratio and study of the stream interaction region (SIR) are also presented. This work showcases the multidirectional features of SIRs and provides synthetic measurements for potential observations from the Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer subsystem of the Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment payload on board ISRO’s upcoming solar mission Aditya-L1.

Multi-Fluid MHD Simulations of Europa's Plasma Interaction: Effects of Variation in Europa's Atmosphere.

Europa's plasma interaction is inextricably coupled to its O2 atmosphere by the chemical processes that generate plasma from the atmosphere and the sputtering of magnetospheric plasma against Europa's ice to generate O2. Observations of Europa's atmosphere admit a range of possible densities and spatial distributions (Hall et al., 1998, https://doi.org/10.1086/305604). To better understand this system, we must characterize how different possible configurations of the atmosphere affect the 3D magnetic fields and bulk plasma properties near Europa. To accomplish this, we conducted a parameter study using a multi‐fluid magnetohydrodynamic model for Europa's plasma interaction (Harris et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ja028888). We varied parameters of Europa's atmosphere, as well as the conditions of Jupiter's magnetosphere, over 18 simulations. As the scale height and density of Europa's atmosphere increase, the extent and density of the ionosphere increase as well, generating strong magnetic fields that shield Europa's surface from impinging plasma on the trailing hemisphere. We also calculate the precipitation rate of magnetospheric plasma onto Europa's surface. As the O2 column density increased from (1–2.5) × 1014 cm−2, the precipitation rate decreased sharply then leveled off at 2 × 1024 ions/s for simulations with low magnetospheric plasma density and 6.4 × 1024 ions/s for simulations with high magnetospheric plasma density. These results indicate that the coupling between Europa's plasma populations and its atmosphere leads to feedback that limits increases in the ionosphere density.

Artificial intelligence knacks-based stochastic paradigm to study lie group analysis with the impact of electric field on MHD Prandtl–Eyring fluid flow system

In this research paper, we observed the Prandtl–Eyring magneto hydrodynamic fluid model (PE-MHDFM) by applying the Bayesian regularization scheme as backpropagated artificial neural networks (BRS-BANNs). Effect of suction/injection at the wall is the source of convective steady flow. The nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) of PE-MHDFM are converted into ordinary differential equations (ODE) by applying some suitable similarity transformation. These ODEs are solved by utilizing Lobatto IIIA numerical procedure to acquire the reference dataset for different scenarios of BRS-BANN. The reference dataset is used to design the solver BRS-BANN. Further, the performance of BRS-BANN is clarified by MSE results, error analysis plots, regression and error histogram. Moreover, the solution of PE-MHDFM is observed through the validation, training and testing procedures. It is observed that the best correlation between the targeted values outcomes of the study is matched effectively, which definitely authenticates the validity and reliability of the designed solver. Furthermore, the impacts on the velocity profile and temperature profile are examined by the variation of different physical quantities along with their comparison with state-of-the-art Lobatto IIIA numerical approach.

Two-dimensional MHD equilibria of diamagnetic bubble in gas-dynamic trap

This article presents a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) two-dimensional numerical model of diamagnetic bubble equilibria in an axisymmetric open trap. The theoretical model consists of the Grad–Shafranov equilibrium equation and the transport equation obtained within the resistive single-fluid MHDs with isotropic pressure. Found are the numerical solutions corresponding to the diamagnetic confinement mode. In particular, the equilibria of the diamagnetic bubble in the gas-dynamic multimirror trap are calculated. We investigate the effect of magnetic field corrugation on the equilibrium; the corrugation of the vacuum field is shown to lead to a rather moderate corrugation of the bubble boundary if the period of corrugation is sufficiently small. A valuable numerical result is the distribution of the diamagnetic field, which would be useful for optimizing the position of the wall-stabilization plates.

On the numerical modelling of astrospheres, including those of luminous blue variable stars, and the modulation of cosmic rays within

ABSTRACT Luminous blue variable-type stars are massive O-type stars that show variable outflow parameters. These stars can also undergo eruptions where a large amount of mass is ejected in a very short duration. The astrospheres of these stars are modelled using a magnetohydrodynamic model including the effect of radiative cooling. The variation in outflow parameters is demonstrated to lead to a variation in number density up to the termination shock, after which there is no effect in the post-shocked regions. On the other hand, eruptions increase the size of the astrosphere and cause the termination shock to oscillate between the inner boundary and the astropause. Galactic cosmic ray modulation within these types of astrospheres is also studied using a 1D stochastic differential equation model. It is shown that, even though these astrospheres are considerably larger than the heliosphere, calculated cosmic ray differential intensities remain larger than what is observed in the heliosphere at Earth, implying lower levels of modulation related to larger cosmic ray diffusion coefficients. During eruptive events, modelled cosmic ray intensities fluctuate due to the oscillating termination shock, and varying plasma parameters. It is also shown that such behaviour, can in principle, lead to the acceleration of these particles, but the results of this study, due to the 1D approach taken to solving the Parker transport equation, are argued to represent an upper limit to this phenomenon.

Runaway electron deconfinement in SPARC and DIII-D by a passive 3D coil

The operation of a 3D coil—passively driven by the current quench (CQ) loop voltage—for the deconfinement of runaway electrons (REs) is modeled for disruption scenarios in the SPARC and DIII-D tokamaks. Nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling is carried out with the NIMROD code including time-dependent magnetic field boundary conditions to simulate the effect of the coil. Further modeling in some cases uses the ASCOT5 code to calculate advection and diffusion coefficients for REs based on the NIMROD-calculated fields, and the DREAM code to compute the runaway evolution in the presence of these transport coefficients. Compared with similar modeling in Tinguely et al (2021 Nucl. Fusion 61 124003), considerably more conservative assumptions are made with the ASCOT5 results, zeroing low levels of transport, particularly in regions in which closed flux surfaces have reformed. Of three coil geometries considered in SPARC, only the n = 1 coil is found to have sufficient resonant components to suppress the runaway current growth. Without the new conservative transport assumptions, full suppression of the RE current is maintained when the thermal quench MHD is included in the simulation or when the RE current is limited to 250kA, but when transport in closed flux regions is fully suppressed, these scenarios allow RE beams on the order of 1–2 MA to appear. Additional modeling is performed to consider the effects of the close ideal wall. In DIII-D, the CQ is modeled for both limited and diverted equilibrium shapes. In the limited shape, the onset of stochasticity is found to be insensitive to the coil current amplitude and governed largely by the evolution of the safety-factor profile. In both devices, prediction of the q-profile evolution is seen to be critical to predicting the later time effects of the coil.

Simulation of Magnetospheric Sawtooth Oscillations: The Role of Kinetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail

AbstractMagnetospheric sawtooth oscillations are observed during strong and steady solar wind driving conditions. The simulation results of our global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model with embedded kinetic physics show that when the total magnetic flux carried by constant solar wind exceeds a threshold, sawtooth‐like magnetospheric oscillations are generated. Different from previous works, this result is obtained without involving time‐varying ionospheric outflow in the model. The oscillation period and amplitude agree well with observations. The simulated oscillations cover a wide range of local times, although the distribution of magnitude as a function of longitude is different from observations. Our comparative simulations using ideal or Hall MHD models do not produce global time‐varying features, which suggests that kinetic reconnection physics in the magnetotail is a major contributing factor to sawtooth oscillations.

A design of soft computing intelligent networks for MHD Carreau nanofluid model with thermal radiation

The objective of this work is to explore the flow features and thermal radiation properties of the 2-D Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Carreau nanofluid model over an impenetrable stretching surface by utilizing the supervised learning strength of Levenberg–Marquardt backpropagation neural networking technique (LMBNNT). The mathematical formulation for MHD Carreau nanofluid flow model (MHDCNFM) in terms of partial differential equations (PDEs) is transformed into equivalent nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by utilizing the similarity transformation and dimensional parameters. A reference dataset of proposed LMBNNT is made for Carreau nanofluid flow model exploiting the strength of Lobatto IIIA technique through the variations of different parameters against the velocity, temperature profile and concentration. These reference datasets are placed for validation, training and testing by LMBNNT and obtained outcomes are compared with reference results to check the accuracy of the designed methodology. The validation of the proposed solution methodology is obtained through the mean square error (MSE), error histogram error profile, regression p lot and fitness plot. MSE values’ accuracy is upto [Formula: see text] which establish the reliability of the LMBNNT. Moreover, due to an increase in Weissenberg number, fluid velocity decays in case of shear thinning liquid and higher values of Biot number enhance the temperature profile and improves the rate of heat transfer. Moreover, the increment in Hartman number reduces the surface drag force and large values of Prandtl number reduce the heat transfer process. These results of all these parameters are expressed in well-organized numerical and graphical forms.

Implicit Solar Coronal Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Modeling with a Low-dissipation Hybridized AUSM-HLL Riemann Solver

In this paper, we develop a 3D implicit single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model to simulate the steady-state solar corona with a wide range of Mach numbers and low plasma β. We employ a low-dissipation advection upstream splitting method (AUSM) to calculate the convective flux in the regions of low Mach numbers for a high resolution, and hybridize the AUSM with Harten-Lax-van Leer Riemann solver in the regions of high Mach numbers to improve the solver’s robustness. The inner boundary condition of no backflow is implemented by numerical flux. A reconstruction method based on the divergence-free radial basis function is adopted to enhance the divergence-free constraint of magnetic field. Also, an anisotropic thermal conduction term is considered; the positivity-preserving reconstruction method is used to prevent the presence of negative thermal pressure and plasma density, and the implicit lower-upper symmetric Gauss Seidel method is implemented for a better convergence rate. After establishing the implicit solar wind MHD model, we employ it to simulate steady-state solar coronal structures in Carrington rotations 2177 and 2212. The simulations demonstrate that the MHD model’s computational efficiency is desirable, and the modeled results are basically in agreement with the solar coronal observations and the mapped in situ measurements from the OMNI archive. Consequently, this implicit MHD model is promising to simulate a complex plasma environment with high-intensity magnetic field and wide-ranging Mach numbers.

Constraining Global Solar Models through Helioseismic Analysis

Global hydrodynamic simulations of internal solar dynamics have focused on replicating the conditions for solar-like (equator rotating faster than the poles) differential rotation and meridional circulation using the results of helioseismic inversions as a constraint. Inferences of meridional circulation, however, have provided controversial results showing the possibility of one, two, or multiple cells along the radius. To help address this controversy and develop a more robust understanding of global flow regimes in the solar interior, we apply a “forward-modeling” approach to the analysis of helioseismic signatures of meridional circulation profiles obtained from numerical simulations. We employ the global acoustic modeling code GALE to simulate the propagation of acoustic waves through regimes of mean mass-flows generated by global hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic models: EULAG, the Pencil code, and the Rayleigh code. These models are used to create synthetic Dopplergram data products, used as inputs for local time–distance helioseismology techniques. Helioseismic travel-time signals from solutions obtained through global numerical simulations are compared directly with inferences from solar observations, in order to set additional constraints on global model parameters in a direct way. We show that even though these models are able to replicate solar-like differential rotation, the resulting rotationally constrained convection develops a multicell global meridional circulation profile that is measurably inconsistent with local time–distance inferences of solar observations. However, we find that the development of rotationally unconstrained convection close to the model surface is able to maintain solar-like differential rotation, while having a significant impact on the helioseismic travel-time signal, replicating solar observations within one standard deviation of the error due to noise.

Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation of Multiple Coronal Mass Ejections: An Effect of “Pre-events”

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are a major source of solar wind disturbances that affect the space plasma and magnetic field environment along their propagation path. Accurate prediction of the arrival of a CME at Earth or any point in the heliosphere is still a daunting task. In this study we explore an often overlooked factor—the effects of “pre-events” that can alter the propagation of a CME due to a preceding CME. A data-driven magnetohydrodynamic numerical model is used to simulate the propagation of multiple CMEs and their driven shocks that occurred in 2012 July. The simulation results are validated with in situ solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements at 1 au, testing the appropriateness of our simulation results for interpreting the CME/shock evolution. By comparing the simulation results with and without preceding CMEs, we find that the trailing CME can be accelerated by the “wake” of a preceding CME. A detailed analysis suggests that the acceleration is caused partially by an increase in the background solar wind and partially by the so-called “snowplow” effect, with the latter being the major contributor for the 2012 July event.

Self-organized magnetic equilibria in tokamak plasmas with very low edge safety factor

Tokamak plasmas often exhibit self-organizing behavior in which internal modes shape the toroidal current density profile, a common example being the sawtooth instability. However, such behavior has not been studied in detail for edge safety factor below 2 due to disruptive kink instabilities that typically prevent operation in this regime. Now, steady tokamak plasmas with an edge safety factor down to 0.8 have been created in the Madison Symmetric Torus, where disruptions are prevented due to a thick, conductive wall and a feedback power supply that sustains the plasma current. Internal measurements and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic modeling reveal a family of safety factor profiles with a central value clamped near unity as the edge safety factor decreases, indicating current profile broadening through a relaxation process. As the safety factor decreases, the magnetic fluctuations become irregular, and the electron energy confinement time decreases.

The Solar Minimum Eclipse of 2019 July 2. II. The First Absolute Brightness Measurements and MHD Model Predictions of Fe x, xi, and xiv out to 3.4 R ⊙

We present the spatially resolved absolute brightness of the Fe x, Fe xi, and Fe xiv visible coronal emission lines from 1.08 to 3.4 R ⊙, observed during the 2019 July 2 total solar eclipse (TSE). The morphology of the corona was typical of solar minimum, with a dipole field dominance showcased by large polar coronal holes and a broad equatorial streamer belt. The Fe xi line is found to be the brightest, followed by Fe x and Fe xiv (in disk B ⊙ units). All lines had brightness variations between streamers and coronal holes, where Fe xiv exhibited the largest variation. However, Fe x remained surprisingly uniform with latitude. The Fe line brightnesses are used to infer the relative ionic abundances and line-of-sight-averaged electron temperature (T e ) throughout the corona, yielding values from 1.25 to 1.4 MK in coronal holes and up to 1.65 MK in the core of streamers. The line brightnesses and inferred T e values are then quantitatively compared to the Predictive Science Inc. magnetohydrodynamic model prediction for this TSE. The MHD model predicted the Fe lines rather well in general, while the forward-modeled line ratios slightly underestimated the observationally inferred T e within 5%–10% averaged over the entire corona. Larger discrepancies in the polar coronal holes may point to insufficient heating and/or other limitations in the approach. These comparisons highlight the importance of TSE observations for constraining models of the corona and solar wind formation.

Evolution of Alfvén Waves in the Solar Wind. Monochromatic Driver

We use a 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic model to investigate the propagation of azimuthally driven Alfvén waves with different periods and their interaction with the solar wind. In the absence of waves, the dipole field is stretched into a helmet streamer by the solar wind. The wind speeds near the equator are lower than those in the mid and high latitudes. Magnetic reconnection in the equatorial plasma sheet regularly triggers a breakup and expulsion of a plasmoid. We next inject monochromatic Alfvén waves with a moderate amplitude of 9 km s−1 and a period of τ = 1000 s at the coronal base. A cavity showing features of forward and backward propagating modes is formed. The backward waves are able to accelerate the background plasma at mid and high latitudes through the nonlinear coupling to compressional waves. The size of the cavity increases with the period of the Alfvén waves as long as the outer boundary remains in the sub-Alfvénic wind. When τ = 4000 s, we find enhanced acceleration and heating of the solar wind plasma as well as suppression of the reconnection in the equatorial plasma sheet. The amplitudes of the backward Alfvén waves remain large inside the cavity and modify its size. The cavity ceases to exist as its outer boundary gradually moves into the super-Alfvénic wind and the large amplitude backward waves are swept away by the wind. Results suggest that Alfvén waves with moderate amplitudes can modify the dynamics and the energetics of the solar wind plasma with the embedded magnetic field.