Sufficient Condition For Linear Stability Research Articles

On the stability of a particular class of one-dimensional states of dynamic equilibrium of the Vlasov–Poisson electron gas

The one-dimensional problem of the linear stability of dynamic states of local thermodynamic equilibria with respect to small perturbations was studied for the case when the Vlasov–Poisson electron gas contains electrons with a stationary distribution function that is constant in physical space and variable in a continuum of velocities. The absolute instability of all considered one-dimensional dynamic states of any local thermodynamic equilibrium was proved using the direct Lyapunov method. The scope of applicability of the Newcomb–Gardner–Rosenbluth sufficient condition for linear stability was outlined. An a priori exponential estimation was obtained for the rise of small one-dimensional perturbations from below. Analytic counterexamples to the spectral Newсomb–Gardner theorem and the Penrose criterion were constructed. Earnshaw’s theorem was extended from classical mechanics tostatistical one.

Sufficient Conditions for Linear Stability of Complex-Balanced Equilibria in Generalized Mass-Action Systems

Sufficient Conditions for Linear Stability of Complex-Balanced Equilibria in Generalized Mass-Action Systems

Linear stability of certain translationally symmetric MHD equilibria with incompressible flow

In this paper, the linear stability analysis for ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows is investigated. MHD flows in cylindrical domains with arbitrary cross-section as well as circular cross-section are considered. A solution method for obtaining solutions of the full MHD equations of incompressible flow is constructed. Two criteria around the linear stability of that flow are applied to several nonlinear equilibria with constant and non-constant Mach number. The constructed method is exploited in obtaining sufficient conditions for linear stability of the former equilibria.

On stability criteria for kinetic magnetohydrodynamics

The existence of a potential energy functional in the zero-Larmor-radius collisionless plasma theory of Kruskal & Oberman (Phys. Fluids, vol. 1, 1958 p. 275), Rosenbluth & Rostoker (Phys. Fluids, vol. 2, 1959, p. 23) allows us to derive easily sufficient conditions for linear stability. However, this kinetic magnetohydrodynamics (KMHD) theory does not have a self-adjointness property, making it difficult to derive necessary conditions. In particular, the standard methods to prove that an instability follows if some trial perturbation makes the incremental potential energy negative, which rely on the self-adjointness of the force operator or on the existence of a complete basis of normal modes, are not applicable to KMHD. This paper investigates KMHD linear stability criteria based on the time evolution of initial-value solutions, without recourse to the classic bounds or comparison theorems of Kruskal–Oberman and Rosenbluth–Rostoker for the KMHD potential energy. The adopted approach does not solve the kinetic equations by integration along characteristics and does not require that the particle orbits be periodic or nearly periodic. Most importantly, the investigation of a necessary condition for stability does not require the self-adjointness of the force operator or the existence of a complete basis of normal modes. It is thereby shown that stability in isothermal ideal-MHD is a sufficient condition for stability in KMHD and that, with a proviso on the long-time behaviour of oscillations about stable equilibria, stability in the double-adiabatic fluid theory, including the variation of the parallel fluid displacement, would be a necessary condition for stability in KMHD.

On the Equilibrium and Stability of ITER Relevant Plasmas

We present recent results on steady states of translational symmetric and axisymmetric ITER relevant plasmas with incompressible sheared flow in connection with a generalized Grad-Shafranov (GGS) equation and on their stability. On the basis of a vari- ety of ITER pertinent solutions of the GGS equation constructed it turns out that the flow affects noticeably the equilibrium quantities in qualitative agreement with the advanced confinement regimes phenomenology. Also, application of a sufficient condition for linear stability indicates that stabilization is mainly caused by the variation of the magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic surfaces, related to the magnetic shear, depends on the plasma shaping and is sensitive to the up-down asymmetry. In certain cases the sheared flow has a weaker stabilizing effect enhanced by the equilibrium nonlinearity.

Toroidal equilibrium states with reversed magnetic shear and parallel flow in connection with the formation of Internal Transport Barriers

We construct nonlinear toroidal equilibria of fixed diverted boundary shaping with reversed magnetic shear and flows parallel to the magnetic field. The equilibria have hole-like current density and the reversed magnetic shear increases as the equilibrium nonlinearity becomes stronger. Also, application of a sufficient condition for linear stability implies that the stability is improved as the equilibrium nonlinearity correlated to the reversed magnetic shear gets stronger with a weaker stabilizing contribution from the flow. These results indicate synergetic stabilizing effects of reversed magnetic shear, equilibrium nonlinearity and flow in the establishment of Internal Transport Barriers (ITBs).

Variational necessary and sufficient stability conditions for inviscid shear flow.

A necessary and sufficient condition for linear stability of inviscid parallel shear flow is formulated by developing a novel variational principle, where the velocity profile is assumed to be monotonic and analytic. It is shown that unstable eigenvalues of Rayleigh's equation (which is a non-self-adjoint eigenvalue problem) can be associated with positive eigenvalues of a certain self-adjoint operator. The stability is therefore determined by maximizing a quadratic form, which is theoretically and numerically more tractable than directly solving Rayleigh's equation. This variational stability criterion is based on the understanding of Kreĭn signature for continuous spectra and is applicable to other stability problems of infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems.

Generalized Solovev equilibrium with sheared flow of arbitrary direction and stability consideration

A Solovev-like solution describing equilibria with field aligned incompressible flows [G. N. Throumoulopoulos and H. Tasso, Phys. Plasmas 19, 014504 (2012)] is extended to non parallel flows. The solution expressed as a superposition of Bessel functions contains an arbitrary number of free parameters which are exploited to construct a variety of configurations including ITER shaped ones. For parallel flows, application of a sufficient condition for linear stability shows that this condition is satisfied in an appreciable part of the plasma region on the high-field side mostly due to the variation of the magnetic field perpendicular to the magnetic surfaces. Also, the results indicate that depending on the shape of the Mach-function profile and the values of the free parameters the flow and flow shear may have either stabilizing or destabilizing effects.

An analytic nonlinear toroidal equilibrium with flow

A nonlinear solution to the Grad–Shafranov equation (Cicogna et al 2010 Phys. Plasmas 17 102506) is extended to plasmas with incompressible flows parallel to the magnetic field. The solution can describe either crescent-shaped or D-shaped equilibria having hollow current density profiles but safety factors monotonically increasing from the magnetic axis to the plasma boundary. Application of a sufficient condition for linear stability implies that this condition is satisfied in a plasma area located on the high magnetic field side. Stabilization is related to the variation of the magnetic field perpendicular to the magnetic surfaces. The area in which the condition is satisfied depends on the plasma shape but is insensitive to the amplitude and shear of the flow.

Linear stability analysis of parallel shear flows for an inviscid generalized two-dimensional fluid system

The linear stability of parallel shear flows for an inviscid generalized two-dimensional (2D) fluid system, the so-called α turbulence system, is studied. This system is characterized by the relation q = −( − Δ)α/2ψ between the advected scalar q and the stream function ψ. Here, α is a real number not exceeding 3 and q is referred to as the generalized vorticity. In this study, a sufficient condition for linear stability of parallel shear flows is derived using the conservation of wave activity. A stability analysis is then performed for a sheet vortex that violates the stability condition. The instability of a sheet vortex in the 2D Euler system (α = 2) is referred to as a Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability; such an instability for the generalized 2D fluid system is investigated for 0 < α < 3. The sheet vortex is unstable in the sense that a sinusoidal perturbation applied to it grows exponentially with time. The growth rate is finite and depends on the wavenumber of the perturbation as k3 − α for 1 < α < 3, where k is the wavenumber of the perturbation. In contrast, for 0 < α ⩽ 1, the growth rate is infinite. In other words, a transition of the growth rate of the perturbation occurs at α = 1. A physical model for KH instability in the generalized 2D fluid system, which can explain the transition of the growth rate of the perturbation at α = 1, is proposed.

Nonlinear translational symmetric equilibria relevant to the L–H transition

AbstractNonlinear z-independent solutions to a generalized Grad–Shafranov equation (GSE) with up to quartic flux terms in the free functions and incompressible plasma flow non-parallel to the magnetic field are constructed quasi-analytically. Through an ansatz, the GSE is transformed to a set of three ordinary differential equations and a constraint for three functions of the coordinate x, in Cartesian coordinates (x,y), which then are solved numerically. Equilibrium configurations for certain values of the integration constants are displayed. Examination of their characteristics in connection with the impact of nonlinearity and sheared flow indicates that these equilibria are consistent with the L–H transition phenomenology. For flows parallel to the magnetic field, one equilibrium corresponding to the H state is potentially stable in the sense that a sufficient condition for linear stability is satisfied in an appreciable part of the plasma while another solution corresponding to the L state does not satisfy the condition. The results indicate that the sheared flow in conjunction with the equilibrium nonlinearity plays a stabilizing role.

Equilibrium properties, variational principles, and linear stability for steady-state, two-dimensional, ideal gravitating plasma of a barotropic compressible flow

The equilibrium and stability properties of a planar gravitating plasma in the theory of ideal magnetohydrody- namic flows are investigated. The flow is taken to be barotropic. Variational principles for the steady state equations of aligned magnetic field and plasma flow are formulated. A simple and efficient way is proposed for investigating the stability properties of this state. Sufficient conditions for linear stability of the steady-state flow are obtained.

Non-negativity and stability analyses of lattice Boltzmann method for advection–diffusion equation

Stability is one of the main concerns in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The objectives of this study are to investigate the linear stability of the lattice Boltzmann equation with the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook collision operator (LBGK) for the advection–diffusion equation (ADE), and to understand the relationship between the stability of the LBGK and non-negativity of the equilibrium distribution functions (EDFs). This study conducted linear stability analysis on the LBGK, whose stability depends on the lattice Peclet number, the Courant number, the single relaxation time, and the flow direction. The von Neumann analysis was applied to delineate the stability domains by systematically varying these parameters. Moreover, the dimensionless EDFs were analyzed to identify the non-negative domains of the dimensionless EDFs. As a result, this study obtained linear stability and non-negativity domains for three different lattices with linear and second-order EDFs. It was found that the second-order EDFs have larger stability and non-negativity domains than the linear EDFs and outperform linear EDFs in terms of stability and numerical dispersion. Furthermore, the non-negativity of the EDFs is a sufficient condition for linear stability and becomes a necessary condition when the relaxation time is very close to 0.5. The stability and non-negativity domains provide useful information to guide the selection of dimensionless parameters to obtain stable LBM solutions. We use mass transport problems to demonstrate the consistency between the theoretical findings and LBM solutions.

Linear stability of relative equilibria in the charged three-body problem

A relative equilibrium is a periodic orbit of the n-body problem that rotates uniformly maintaining the same central configuration for all time. In this paper we generalize some results of R. Moeckel and we apply it to study the linear stability of relative equilibria in the charged three-body problem. We find necessary conditions to have relative equilibria linearly stable for the collinear charged three-body problem, for planar relative equilibria we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for linear stability in terms of the parameters, masses and electrostatic charges. In the last case we obtain a stability inequality which generalizes the Routh condition of celestial mechanics. We also proof the existence of spatial relative equilibria and the existence of planar relative equilibria of any triangular shape.

Collisionless magnetic reconnection dynamics with electron inertia and parallel electron compressibility

AbstractCollisionless magnetic reconnection dynamics is considered by including the effects of electron inertia as well as parallel electron compressibility. A fluid treatment is adopted for both electrons and ions. Collisionless plasma dynamics properties near a two-dimensional X-type magnetic neutral line in the steady state are explored. The effects of electron inertia and parallel electron compressibility on the hyperbolicity (or lack thereof) of the magnetic field lines in the neutral layer are discussed. A unified linear tearing-mode formulation incorporating both electron inertia and parallel electron compressibility is given. The parallel-electron-compressibility branch is shown to couple in general to the electron-inertia branch in the presence of resistivity. A sufficient condition for linear stability in the Lyapunov sense for steady states of this collisionless plasma system signifying current confinement is deduced. Bounds on the equilibrium current gradient are shown to constitute sufficient conditions for nonlinear stability in the Lyapunov sense for steady states via nonlinear bounds for a suitable perturbation norm.

Stability, bifurcation and global existence of a Hopf-bifurcating periodic solution for a class of three-neuron delayed network models

In this paper a system of three delay differential equations representing a Hopfield type general model for three neurons with two-way (bidirectional) time delayed connections between the neurons and time delayed self-connection from each neuron to itself is studied. Delay independent and delay dependent sufficient conditions for linear stability, instability and the occurrence of a Hopf bifurcation about the trivial equilibrium are addressed. The partition of the resulting parametric space into regions of stability, instability, and Hopf bifurcation in the absence of self-connection is realized. To extend the local Hopf branches for large delay values a particular bidirectional delayed tri-neuron model without self-connection is investigated. Sufficient conditions for global existence of multiple non-constant periodic solutions are obtained for such a model using the global Hopf-bifurcation theorem for functional differential equations due to J. Wu and the Bendixson criterion for higher dimensional ordinary differential equations due to Li and Muldowney, and following the approach developed by Wei and Li.

On general transformations and variational Principles of an ideal three-dimensional compressible

In this paper we have used the general theory of Arnold (1965,1966) and Vladimirov et al. (1997) to obtain sufficient conditions for linear stability of steady MHD flows of an ideal three-dimensional compressible gravitating flows.

Energy principle for magnetohydrodynamic flows and Bogoyavlenskij’s transformation

The stability of steady magnetohydrodynamic flows of an inviscid incompressible fluid is studied using the energy method. It is shown that certain symmetry transformations of steady solutions of the equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics have an important property: if a given steady magnetohydrodynamic flow is stable by the energy method, then certain infinite-dimensional families of steady flows obtained from the given flow by these transformations are also stable. This result is used to obtain new sufficient conditions for linear stability. In particular, it is shown that certain classes of steady magnetohydrodynamic flows in which both the magnetic field and the velocity depend on all three spatial coordinates are stable.

The stability of steady magnetohydrodynamic flows with current-vortex sheets

The stability of steady magnetohydrodynamic flows of an inviscid incompressible fluid with current-vortex sheets to small three-dimensional perturbations is studied. The energy method of Frieman and Rotenberg is extended to the case of steady flows with surfaces of tangential discontinuities across which the tangent velocity or the tangent magnetic field or both of them have jump discontinuities. Sufficient conditions for linear stability of some classes of steady flows with parallel velocity and magnetic field are obtained. Also, a sufficient condition for instability of a tubular current-vortex sheet is given.

Nyquist method for Wigner-Poisson quantum plasmas

By means of the Nyquist method, we investigate the linear stability of electrostatic waves in homogeneous equilibria of quantum plasmas described by the Wigner-Poisson system. We show that, unlike the classical Vlasov-Poisson system, the Wigner-Poisson case does not necessarily possess a Penrose functional determining its linear stability properties. The Nyquist method is then applied to a two-stream distribution, for which we obtain an exact, necessary and sufficient condition for linear stability, as well as to a bump-in-tail equilibrium.