L'origine de certains champs magnétiques stellaires observés et leur impact sur l'évolution des étoiles sont mal compris. C'est particulièrement vrai dans le cas des étoiles de masse intermédiaire de la séquence principale. Des relevés spectropolarimétriques récents ont en effet révélé l'existence d'une dichotomie magnétique inexpliquée, de 2 ordres de grandeur en terme de champ longitudinal, entre le fort champ des étoiles Ap/Bp et le faible champ des étoiles Vega-like. Le but de cette thèse est de tester la possibilité que cette dichotomie magnétique soit liée, comme proposé par Aurière el al. (2007), au développement d'instabilités magnétohydrodynamiques (MHD) dans la zone radiative des étoiles de masse intermédiaire. Pour cela, j'ai réalisé des simulations numériques MHD 2D et 3D qui permettent de suivre l'évolution d'un champ magnétique axisymétrique soumis initialement à une rotation différentielle dans une zone stratifiée de façon stable puis de considérer le développement d'instabilités MHD non-axisymétriques. L'influence de différents paramètres physiques des simulations, comme l'intensité initiale du champ magnétique poloïdal, le profil de rotation différentielle, la valeur des coefficients de diffusion ou encore l'importance de la stratification stable, a été testée. L'analyse des résultats des simulations montre que des instabilités MHD comme l'instabilité magnétorotationnelle et celle de Tayler peuvent se déclencher dans une zone radiative en rotation différentielle. En accord avec le scénario de Aurière et al. (2007), ces instabilités se développent assez pour modifier la structure spatiale à grande échelle d'un champ magnétique si l'intensité initiale du champ poloïdal est suffisamment faible par rapport à l'intensité initiale de la rotation différentielle. Le champ longitudinal calculé pour nos simulations les plus instables est diminué de 15% par rapport à un cas stable. Ce travail de thèse montre donc que les instabilités MHD sont des possibles candidats pour expliquer le désert magnétique des étoiles de masse intermédiaire de la séquence principale. / The origin of some of the observed stellar magnetic fields and their impact on stellar evolution are not well understood. This is particularly true for the main sequence intermediate-mass stars. Recent spectropolarimetric surveys have indeed exhibited an unexplained magnetic dichotomy, of 2 orders of magnitude in term of the longitudinal field, between the strong field of Ap/Bp stars and the weak field of Vega-like stars. This thesis aims to test the possibility that this magnetic dichotomy is linked to the development of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in the radiative zone of intermediate-mass stars, as proposed by Aurière et al. (2007). To do that, I have performed 2D and 3D MHD numerical simulations that allow to follow the evolution of an axisymetric magnetic field which is initially submitted to a differential rotation in a stably stratified zone and then to consider the development of non-axisymetric MHD instabilities. The influence of different physical parameters of the simulations, as the initial strength of the poloidal magnetic field, the differentially rotating profile, the diffusion coefficient values or the effect of the stable stratification, has been tested. The analysis of the simulation results show that MHD instabilities as the magneto-rotational instability or the Tayler instability can be triggered in a differentially rotating radiative zone. In agreement with the scenario of Aurière et al. (2007), these instabilities are enough developed to modify the large scale spatial structure of a magnetic field if the initial strength of the poloidal field is sufficiently weak with respect to the initial strength of the differentially rotation. The computed longitudinal field in our most unstable simulations is reduced by 15% with respect to a stable case. Therefore, this thesis work shows that the magnetic instabilities are possible candidates to explain the magnetic desert of the main sequence intermediate-mass stars.

The problem of heating the solar corona requires the conversion of magnetic energy into thermal energy. Presently, there are two promising mechanisms for heating the solar corona: wave heating and nanoflare heating. In this thesis, we consider nanoflare heating only. Previous modelling has shown that the kink instability can trigger energy release and heating in large scale loops, as the field rapidly relaxes to a lower energy state under the Taylor relaxation theory. Two distinct experiments were developed to understand the coronal heating problem: the avalanche effect within a multiple loop system, and the importance of thermal conduction and optically thin radiation during the evolution of the kinked-unstable coronal magnetic field. The first experiment showed that a kink-unstable thread can also destabilise nearby threads under some conditions. The second experiment showed that the inclusion of thermal conduction and optically thin radiation causes significant change to the internal energy of the coronal loop. After the initial instability occurs, there is continual heating throughout the relaxation process. Our simulation results show that the data is consistent with observation values, and the relaxation process can take over 200 seconds to reach the final relaxed state. The inclusion of both effects perhaps provides a more realistic and rapid heating experiment compared to previous investigations.

Les instabilités fluides peuvent dégrader le confinement du plasma au sein des tokamaks. Étant données les échelles spatio-temporelles, on choisit les modèles fluides obtenus à partir de la dérivation des modèles cinétiques. On dérive plusieurs modèles hiérarchiques de la MagnétoHydroDynamique (MHD) et en particulier les modèles de la MHD réduite du Current Hole et de l'équilibre de Grad-Shafranov. Une des difficulté de l'ensemble de ces modèles est de respecter l'équation modélisant l'absence de monopôles magnétiques. Pour assurer cette condition en tout point du domaine, le champ magnétique est réécrit avec un potentiel vecteur. L'utilisation de potentiels fait apparaître des équations faisant intervenir des dérivées d'ordre supérieurs. La stratégie numérique développée est l'utilisation de la méthode des éléments finis avec des éléments C1 de Bell. Sur un maillage non structuré, ces éléments ont l'intérêt de présenter une base réduite définir exclusivement avec des variables aux noeuds du maillage. Les modèles de MHD réduite du Current Hole et de Grad-Shafranov ont été résolus avec ces éléments. La résolution du cas test de Grad-Shafranov avec les conditions de bords exactes a permis d'obtenir l'ordre optimale de 5. La résolution du système du Current Hole avec ces éléments, validée par l'obtention du paramètre η1/3, a permis l'observation de développement d'instabilités en dents de scies. / Fluid instabilities can degrade plasma confinement in tokamaks. Given the spatial and temporal scales, we choose the fluid models obtained from the derivation of kinetic models. We derived several hierarchical models of MagnetoHydroDynamic (MHD) and in particular models of reduced MHD like the Current Hole and the Grad-Shafranov equilibrium. One of the difficulty of all these models is to respect the absence of magnetic monopoles equation. To ensure this condition at any point, the magnetic field is rewritten with a vector potential. The use of vector portential implies that higher order derivatives appear in the equation. The numerical strategy is developed using the finite element method with C1 Bell's elements. On a unstructured mesh, these have the advantage to present a reduced basis with degrees of freedom defined exclusively on the nodes of the mesh. The reduced MHD models of the Current Hole and Grad-Shafranov have thus been resolved with these elements. The resolution of a Grad-Shafranov test case with exact boundary conditions yields the optimal order of 5. The resolution of the Current Hole system with thesse elements has been validated by obtaining physical parameter η1/3 and allowed the observation of the development of sawtooth instabilities.

Giant molecular clouds (GMCs), out of which stars form, are complex, dynamic systems, which both influence and are shaped by the process of star formation. In this dissertation, I examine three different facets of the dynamical motions within GMCs. Collapse modes in different dimensional objects. Molecular clouds contain lower dimensional substructures, such as filaments and sheets. The collapse properties of finite filaments and sheets differ from those of spherical objects as well as infinite sheets and filaments. I examine the importance of local collapse modes of small central perturbations, relative to global collapse modes, in different dimensional objects to elucidate whether strong perturbations are required for molecular clouds to fragment to form stars. I also calculate the dependence of the global collapse timescale upon the aspect ratio of sheets and filaments. I find that lower dimensional objects are more readily fragmented, and that for a constant density, lower dimensional objects and clouds with larger aspect ratios collapse more slowly. An edge-driven collapse mode also exists in sheets and filaments and is most important in elongated filaments. The failure to consider the geometry of a gas cloud is shown to lead to an overestimation of the star formation rate by up to an order of magnitude. Molecular tracers of turbulent energy dissipation. Molecular clouds contain supersonic turbulence that simulations predict will decay rapidly via shocks. I use shock models to predict which species emit the majority of the turbulent energy dissipated in shocks and find that carbon monoxide, CO, is primarily responsible for radiating away this energy. By combining these shock models with estimates for the turbulent energy dissipation rate of molecular clouds, I predict the expected shock spectra of CO from molecular clouds. I compare the results of these shock models to predictions for the emission from the unshocked gas in GMCs and show that mid-to-high rotational transitions of CO (e.g., J = 8 to 7), should be dominated by shocked gas emission and should trace the turbulent energy being dissipated in molecular clouds. Orion-Eridanus superbubble. The nearby Orion star forming region has created a large bubble of hot plasma in the local interstellar medium referred to as the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. This bubble is unusual in that it is highly elongated, is believed to be oriented roughly parallel to the galactic plane, and contains bright filamentary features on the Eridanus side. I fit models for a wind driven bubble in an exponential atmosphere to the Orion-Eridanus superbubble and show that the elongation of the bubble cannot be explained by such a model in which the scale height of the galactic disk is the typical value of 150 pc. Either a much smaller scale height must be adopted or some additional physics must be added to the model. I also show that the Eridanus filaments cannot be equilibrium objects ionized by the Orion star forming region. / Graduate / 0606 / andyrpon@gmail.com