Static Flux Tube Research Articles

Geometry of AdS-Melvin spacetimes

We study asymptotically AdS generalizations of Melvin spacetimes, describing gravitationally bound tubes of magnetic flux. We find that narrow fluxtubes, carrying strong magnetic fields but little total flux, are approximately unchanged from the Λ = 0 case at scales smaller than the AdS scale. However, fluxtubes with weak fields, which for Λ = 0 can grow arbitrarily large in radius and carry unbounded magnetic flux, are limited in radius by the AdS scale and like the narrow fluxtubes carry only small total flux. As a consequence, there is a maximum magnetic flux that can be carried by static fluxtubes in AdS. For flux Φtot < Φmax there are two branches of solutions, with one branch always narrower in radius than the other. We compute the ADM mass and tensions for AdS-Melvin fluxtube, finding that the wider radius branch of solutions always has lower mass. In the limit of vanishing flux, this branch reduces to the AdS soliton.

Damped kink oscillations of flowing prominence threads

Transverse oscillations of thin threads in solar prominences are frequently reported in high-resolution observations. Two typical features of the observations are that the oscillations are damped in time and that simultaneous mass flows along the threads are detected. Flows cause the dense threads to move along the prominence magnetic structure while the threads are oscillating. The oscillations have been interpreted in terms of standing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) kink waves of the magnetic flux tubes which support the threads. The damping is most likely due to resonant absorption caused by plasma inhomogeneity. The technique of seismology uses the observations combined with MHD wave theory to estimate prominence physical parameters. This paper presents a theoretical study of the joint effect of flow and resonant absorption on the amplitude of standing kink waves in prominence threads. We find that flow and resonant absorption can either be competing effects on the amplitude or both can contribute to damp the oscillations depending on the instantaneous position of the thread within the prominence magnetic structure. The amplitude profile deviates from the classic exponential profile of resonantly damped kink waves in static flux tubes. Flow also introduces a progressive shift of the oscillation period compared to the static case, although this effect is in general of minor importance. We test the robustness of seismological estimates by using synthetic data aiming to mimic real observations. The effect of the thread flow can significantly affect the estimation of the transverse inhomogeneity length scale. The presence of random background noise adds uncertainty to this estimation. Caution needs to be paid to the seismological estimates that do not take the influence of flow into account.

Flux tube dynamics in the dual superconductor

We have studied plasma oscillations in a flux tube created in a dual superconductor. Starting from a static flux tube configuration, with electric charges at either end, we release a fluid of electric charges in the system that accelerate and screen the electric field. The weakening of the electric field allows the flux tube to collapse, and the inertia of the charges forces it open again. We find strong radiation of electric flux into the superconductor in all regimes of couplings.

Analytic solutions for resonant Alfv�n waves in 1D magnetic flux tubes in dissipative stationary MHD

Resonantly driven Alfven waves are studied in non-uniform stationary magnetic flux tubes. Analytic dissipative MHD solutions are obtained for the Lagrangian displacement and the Eulerian perturbation of the total pressure. These analytic solutions are valid in the dissipative layer and in the two overlap regions to the left and the right of the dissipative layer. From these analytic solutions we obtain the fundamental conservation law and the jump conditions for resonantly driven Alfven waves in magnetic flux tubes with an equilibriun flow. The fundamental conservation law and the jump conditions depend on the equilibrium flow in a more complicated way than just a Doppler shift. The effects of an equlibrium flow are not to be predicted easily in general terms with the exception that the polarization of the driven Alfven waves is still in the magnetic surfaces and perpendicular to the magnetic field lines as it is in a static flux tube.

Q [formula omitted] pair production in expanding hadronic flux tubes

The q q pair production probability per unit time and unit volume is calculated for a hadronic flux tube with constant radius, expanding longitudinally with the speed of light. We find that the pair production rate is suppressed for short times in comparison to that in a static flux tube of infinite length. Consequently, the half life of the longitudinally expanding flux tube is sufficiently large, so that the assumption of the formation of a flux-tube like gluon-field configuration between a q q pair receding with the speed of light seems to be justified. The results support a flux tube radius of 0.5 fm.

Self-Consistent Models for Small Photospheric Flux Tubes

We give a short summary of some results of a numerical study of magnetic field concentrations in the solar photosphere and upper convection zone. We have developed a 2D time dependent code for the full MHD equations (momentum equation, equation of continuity, induction equation for infinite conductivity and energy equation) in slab geometry for a compressible medium. A Finite-Element-technique is used. Convective energy transport is described by the mixing-length formalism while the diffusion approximation is employed for radiation. We parametrize the inhibition of convective heat flow by the magnetic field and calculate the material functions (opacity, adiabatic temperature gradient, specific heat) self-consistently. Here we present a nearly static flux tube model with a magnetic flux of ∼ 1018 mx, a depth of 1000 km and a photospheric diameter of ∼ 300 km as the result of a dynamical calculation. The influx of heat within the flux tube at the bottom of the layer is reduced to 0.2 of the normal value. The mass distribution is a linear function of the flux function A: dm(A)/dA = const. Fig. 1 shows the model: Isodensities (a), fieldlines (b), isotherms (c) and lines of constant continuum optical depth (d) are given. The “Wilson depression” (height difference between τ = 1 within and outside the tube) is ∼ 150 km and the maximum horizontal temperature deficit is ∼ 3000 K. Field strengths as function of x for three different depths and as function of depth along the symmetry axis are shown in (e) and (f), respectively. Note the sharp edge of the tube.