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Determination of minimum magnetic energy states in frozen plasmas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2003

C. A. PAOLA  and
A. M. PLATZECK
C. A. PAOLA
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina
A. M. PLATZECK
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina ([email protected])
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Abstract

As is known, the minimum magnetic energy state for a frozen plasma, subject to the infinite topological constraints, corresponds to a nonlinear force-free field. The magnetic flux invariance in ideal magnetohydrodynamics is possible in important astrophysical applications. We develop a method for explicitly obtaining a minimum energy state starting from an arbitrary initial state. This method does not require the explicit use of the invariance of the differential magnetic helicities. It is particularly useful when the minimum magnetic energy state for the given topological structure is unique. We show examples of the application of the method for this kind of system.

Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 69 , Issue 5 , October 2003 , pp. 431 - 438
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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