Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 152 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

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.

In this PhD Thesis, we have studied several problems related to statistical properties of homogeneous, isotropic and turbulent flow of conducting fluid with direct numerical simulations (DNS) of equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and simplified shell models. The Thesis begins with an introductory overview of several statistical characterisation of fluid turbulence and MHD turbulence. Chapter-1 discusses various challenges in turbulence in MHD context. This chapter also describes specific problems that are attempted in this Thesis. The first problem, contained in Chapter 2, deals with dynamo action in a shell model for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We have carried out systematic and high-resolution studies of dynamo action in a shell model over a wide range of the magnetic Prandtl number PrMand the magnetic Reynolds number ReM. Our study suggests that it is natural to think of dynamo onset as a nonequilibrium, first-order phase transition between two different turbulent, but statistically steady, states. The ratio of the magnetic and kinetic energies is a convenient order parameter for this transition. By using this order parameter, we obtain the stability diagram (or nonequilibrium phase diagram) for dynamo formation in our MHD shell model in the (PrM−1,ReM)plane. The dynamo boundary, which separates dynamo and no-dynamo regions, appears to have a fractal character. We obtain hysteretic behavior of the order parameter across this boundary and suggestions of nucleation-type phenomena. In Chapter 3 we present the results of our detailed pseudospectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) studies, with up to 10243 collocation points, of in-compressible, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in three dimensions, without a mean magnetic field. Our study concentrates on the dependence of various statistical properties of both decaying and statistically steady MHD turbulence on the magnetic Prandtl number PrMover a large range, namely, 0.01 ≤PrM≤10. We obtain data for a wide variety of statistical measures such as probability distribution functions (PDFs) of moduli of the vorticity and current density, the energy dissipation rates, and velocity and magnetic-field increments, energy and other spectra, velocity and magnetic-field structure func-tions, which we use to characterise intermittency, isosurfaces of quantities such as the moduli of the vorticity and current, and joint PDFs such as those of fluid and magnetic dissipation rates. Our systematic study uncovers in-teresting results that have not been noted hitherto. In particular, we find a crossover from larger intermittency in the magnetic field than in the velocity field, at large PrM, to smaller intermittency in the magnetic field than in the velocity field, at low PrM. Furthermore, a comparison of our results for decaying MHD turbulence and its forced, statistically steady analogue suggests that we have strong universality in the sense that, for a fixed value of PrM, multi-scaling exponent ratios agree, at least within our error bars, for both decaying and statistically steady homogeneous, isotropic MHD turbulence. Chapter 4 is devoted to pseudospectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) studies of the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations (3DRFMHD) stirred by a stochastic force with zero mean and a variance ∼ k−3, where kis the wavevector, for magnetic Prandtl numbers PrM=0.1,1, and 10. We obtain velocity and magnetic-field structure functions and, from these, the multiscaling exponent ratios ζp/ζ3by using the extended self similarity (ESS) procedure. These exponent ratios lie within error bars of their counterparts for conventional three-dimensinal MHD turbulence (3DMHD). We carry out a systematic comparison of the statistical properties of 3DMHD and 3DRFMHD turbulence by examining various probability distribution functions (PDFs), joint PDFs, and isosurfaces of quantities such as the moduli of the vorticity and the cur-rent density. In Chapter 5 we present a study of the multiscaling of time-depedent velocity and magnetic-field structure functions in homogeneous, isotropic fluid turbulence. We first present a generalisation for magnetohydrodynamics of the formalisn that has been developed for analogous studies of time-dependent structure functions in fluid turbulence. We then carry out a detailed numerical study of such time-dependent structure functions in a shell model for MHD turbulence. From this study we extract both eqaul-time and dynamic multiscaling exponents; however, we have not so far been able to come up with the MHD analogues of the linear bridge relations that relate equal-time and dynamic multiscaling exponents in fluid turbulence; indeed, it is not clear whether such bridge relations should exist for MHD turbulence.

No description available.

Accretion disks are ubiquitous in astrophysics. They are found in active galactic nuclei, around newly formed stars, around compact stellar objects, like black holes, neutron stars etc. When the ambient matter with sufficient initial angular momentum falls towards a central massive object, forming a disk shaped astrophysical structure, it is called an accretion disk. There are both ionized and neutral disks depending on their temperatures. Generally, in accretion disks, Gravitational force is balanced by the centrifugal force (due to the presence of angular momentum of the matter) and the forces due to gas pressure, radiation pressure and advection. Now, the matter to be accreted needs to lose angular momentum. For most of the accretion disks, the mass of the central object is much higher than the mass of the disk, giving rise to a dynamics governed by a central force. Therefore we can neglect the effect of self-gravity of the disk. Balancing the Newtonian gravitational force and centrifugal force leads to a Keplerian rotation profile of the accreting matter with the angular velocity ∼ r−3/2, where r is the distance from the central object. The Keplerian disk model is extremely useful to explain several flow classes (e.g. emission of soft X-ray in disks around stellar mass black holes). Due to the presence of differential rotation and hence shear viscosity, the matter can slowly lose its angular momentum and falls towards the central object. In this way, the accreting matter in the disk releases its gravitational potential energy and gives rise to luminosity that we observe. However, the molecular viscosity originated from the microscopic physics (due to the collisions between molecules) of the disk matter is not sufficient to explain the observed luminosity or accretion rate. For example, it can be shown that the temperature arisen from the dissipation of energy due to molecular viscosity (which is around 50000K for optical depth τ = 100) is much less than the temperature observed in these systems (around 107K). In my thesis, I have addressed the famous problem of infall of matter in astrophysical accretion disks. In general, the emphasis is given on the flows whose angular velocity decreases but specific angular momentum increases with increasing radial coordinate. Such flows, which are extensively seen in astrophysics, are Rayleigh-stable, but must be turbulent in order to explain observed data (observed temperature, as described above). Since the molecular viscosity is negligible in these systems, for a very large astrophysical length scale, Shakura and Sunyaev argued for turbulent viscosity for energy dissipation and hence to explain the infall of matter towards the central object. This idea is particularly attractive because of its high Reynolds number (Re ∼ 1014). However, the Keplerian disks, which are relevant to many astrophysical applications, are remarkably Rayleigh stable. Therefore, linear perturbation apparently cannot induce the onset of turbulence, and consequently cannot provide enough viscosity to transport matter inwards. The primary theme of my thesis is, how these accretion disks can be made turbulent in the first place to give rise to turbulent viscosity. With the application of Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) to Keplerian disks, Balbus and Hawley showed that initial seed, weak magnetic fields can lead to the velocity and magnetic field perturbations growing exponentially. Within a few rotation times, such exponential growth could reveal the onset of turbulence. Since then, MRI has been a widely accepted mechanism to explain origin of instability and hence transport of matter in accretion disks. Note that for flows having strong magnetic fields, where the magnetic field is tightly coupled with the flow, MRI is not expected to work. Hence, it is very clear that the MRI is bounded in a small regime of parameter values when the field is also weak. It has been well established by several works that transient growth (TG) can reveal nonlinearity and transition to turbulence at a sub-critical Re. Such a sub-critical transition to turbulence was invoked to explain colder, purely hydrodynamic accretion flows, e.g. quiescent cataclysmic variables, proto-planetary and star-forming disks, the outer region of the disks in active galactic nuclei etc. Baroclinic instability is another plausible source for vigorous turbulence in colder accretion disks. Note that while hotter flows are expected to be ionized enough to produce weak magnetic fields therein and subsequent MRI, colder flows may remain to be practically neutral in charge and hence any instability and turbulence therein must be hydrodynamic. However, in the absence of magnetic effects, the Coriolis force does not allow any significant TG in accretion disks in three dimensions, independent of Re, while in pure two dimensions, TG could be large at large Re. However, a pure two-dimensional flow is a very idealistic case. Nevertheless, in the presence of magnetic field, even in three dimensions, TG could be very large (Coriolis effects could not suppress the growth). Hence, in a real three-dimensional flow, it is very important to explore magnetic TG. However, as mentioned above, the charge neutral Rayleigh-stable astrophysical flows have hardly any magnetic field (e.g. protoplanetary disks, quiescent cataclysmic variables etc.). Also, the hydrodynamic Rayleigh-stable Taylor-Couette flows and plane Couette flows in the laboratory experiments are seen to be turbulent without the presence of any magnetic field, while they are shown to be stable in linear stability analysis. It is a century old unsolved problem to explain hydrodynamically, the linear instability of Couette flows and other Rayleigh-stable Flows, which are observed to be turbulent, starting from laboratory experiments to astrophysical observations. Therefore, as in one hand, the hydrodynamic instability of the astrophysical accretion flows and laboratory shear flows (e.g. Rayleighstable Taylor-Couette flow, plane Couette flow etc.) has to be understood, on the other hand, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability of the hotter flows has also to be investigated to understand the nature of MHD instability clearly, whether it arises due to MRI or TG. I have investigated the effect of stochastic noise (which is generated by the shearing motion of the disk layers) on the hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics of accretion disks and explain how stochastic noise can make accretion Disks turbulent. It is found that such stochastically driven flows exhibit large temporal and spatial correlations of perturbations, and hence large energy dissipations of perturbation with time, which presumably generates instability and turbulence. I have also given in my thesis, a plausible resolution of the hydrodynamic turbulence problem of the accretion flows and laboratory shear flows (as discussed above) from pure hydrodynamics, invoking the idea of Brownian motion of particles. I have shown that in any shear flow, very likely, the stochastic noise is generated due to thermal fluctuations. Therefore, the shear flows must be studied including the effect of stochastically driving force and hence the governing equations should not be deterministic. Incorporating the effects of noise in the study of the above mentioned shear flows, I have shown in my thesis that hydrodynamic Rayleigh-stable flows and plane Couette flows can be linearly unstable. I have also investigated the importance of transient growth over magnetorotational instability (MRI) to produce turbulence in accretion disks. Balbus and Hawley asserted that the MRI is the fastest weak field instability in accretion disks. However, they used only the plane wave perturbations to study the instability problem. I have shown that for the flows with high Reynolds number, which are indeed the case for astrophysical accretion disks, transient growth can make the system nonlinear much faster than MRI and can be a plausible primary source of turbulence, using the shearing mode perturbations. Therefore, this thesis provides a plausible resolution of hydrodynamic turbulence observed in astrophysical accretion disks and some laboratory shear flows, such as, Rayleigh-stable Taylor-Couette flows and plane Couette flows. Moreover, this thesis also provides a clear understanding of MHD turbulence for astrophysical accretion disks.

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the flows of fluids and plasmas. This thesis is devoted to studies of the statistical properties of turbulence in the three-dimensional (3D) Hall magnetohydrodynamic (Hall-MHD) equations, the two-dimensional (2D) MHD equations, the one-dimensional (1D) hyperviscous Burgers equation, and the 3D Navier-Stokes equations. Chapter 1 contains a brief introduction to statistically homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. This is followed by an over-view of the equations we study in the subsequent chapters, the motivation for the studies and a summary of problems we investigate in chapters 2-6. In Chapter 2 we present our study of Hall-MHD turbulence [1]. We show that a shell-model version of the 3D Hall-MHD equations provides a natural theoretical model for investigating the multiscaling behaviors of velocity and magnetic structure functions. We carry out extensive numerical studies of this shell model, obtain the scaling exponents for its structure functions, in both the low-k and high-k power-law ranges of 3D Hall-MHD, and find that the extended-self-similarity procedure is helpful in extracting the multiscaling nature of structure functions in the high-k regime, which otherwise appears to display simple scaling. Our results shed light on intriguing solar-wind measurements. In Chapter 3 we present our study of the inverse-cascade regime in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence [2]. We present a detailed direct numerical simulation (DNS) of statistically steady, homogeneous, isotropic, two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (2D MHD) turbulence. Our study concentrates on the inverse cascade of the magnetic vector potential. We examine the dependence of the statistical properties of such turbulence on dissipation and friction coefficients. We extend earlier work significantly by calculating fluid and magnetic spectra, probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the velocity, magnetic, vorticity, current, stream-function, and magnetic-vector-potential fields and their increments. We quantify the deviations of these PDFs from Gaussian ones by computing their flatnesses and hyperflatnesses. We also present PDFs of the Okubo-Weiss parameter, which distinguishes between vortical and extensional flow regions, and its magnetic analog. We show that the hyperflatnesses of PDFs of the increments of the stream-function and the magnetic vector potential exhibit significant scale dependence and we examine the implication of this for the multiscaling of structure functions. We compare our results with those of earlier studies. In Chapter 4 we compare the statistical properties of 2D MHD turbulence for two different energy injection scales. We present systematic DNSs of statistically steady 2D MHD turbulence. Our two DNSs are distinguished by kinj, the wave number at which we inject energy into the system. In our first DNS (run R1), kinj = 2 and, in the second (run R2) kinj = 250. We show that various statistical properties of the turbulent states in the runs R1 and R2 are strikingly different The nature of energy spectrum, probability distribution functions, and topological structures are compared for the two runs R1 and R2 are found to be strikingly different. In Chapter 5 we study the hyperviscous Burgers equation for very high α, order of hyperviscosity [3]. We show, by using direct numerical simulations and theory, how, by increasing α in equations of hydrodynamics, there is a transition from a dissipative to a conservative system. This remarkable result, already conjectured for the asymptotic case α →∞ [U. Frisch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 144501 (2008)], is now shown to be true for any large, but finite, value of α greater than a crossover value α crossover. We thus provide a self-consistent picture of how dissipative systems, under certain conditions, start behaving like conservative systems, and hence elucidate the subtle connection between equilibrium statistical mechanics and out-of-equilibrium turbulent flows. In Chapter 6 we show how to use asymptotic-extrapolation and Richardson extrapolation methods to extract the exponents ξ p that characterize the dependence of the order-p moments of the velocity gradients on the Reynolds number Re. To use these extrapolation methods we must have high-precision data for such moments. We obtain these high-precision data by carrying out the most extensive, quadruple precision, pseudospectral DNSs of the Navier-Stokes equation.

The studies of particles advected by tubulent flows is an active area of research across many streams of sciences and engineering, which include astrophysics, fluid mechanics, statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, and also chemistry and biology. Advances in experimental techniques and high performance computing have made it possible to investigate the properties these particles advected by fluid flows at very high Reynolds numbers. The main focus of this thesis is to study the statistics of Lagrangian tracers and heavy inertial particles in hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent flows by using direct numerical simulations (DNSs). We also study the statistics of particles in model stochastic flows; and we compare our results for such models with those that we obtain from DNSs of hydrodynamic equations. We uncover some of aspects of the statistical properties of particle trajectories that have not been looked at so far. In the last part of the thesis we present some results that we have obtained by solving the three-dimensional Euler equation by using a new method based on the Cauchy-Lagrange formulation. This thesis is divided into 6 chapters. Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the background material that is required for this thesis; it also contains an outline of the problems we study in subsequent Chapters. Chapter 2 contains our study of “Persistence and first-passage time problems with particles in three-dimensional, homogeneous, and isotropic turbulence”. Chapter 3 is devoted to our study of “Universal Statistical Properties of Inertial-particle Trajectories in Three-dimensional, Homogeneous, Isotropic, Fluid Turbulence”. Chapter 4 deals with “Time irreversibility of Inertial-particle trajectories in Homogeneous, Isotropic, Fluid Turbulence”. Chapter 5 contains our study of the “Statistics of charged inertial particles in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence”. Chapter 6 is devoted to our study of “The Cauchy-Lagrange method for the numerical integration of the threedimensional Euler equation”.

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.

There are three main wave types present in the Sun’s atmosphere: Alfvén waves and fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves. Alfvén waves are purely magnetic and would not exist if it was not for the Sun’s magnetic field. The fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves are so named due to their relative phase speeds. As the magnetic field tends to zero, the slow wave goes to zero as the fast wave becomes the sound wave. When a resonance occurs energy may be transferred between the different modes, causing one to increase in amplitude whilst the other decreases. This is known as mode conversion. Mode conversion of fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves takes place when the characteristic wave speeds, the sound and Alfvén speeds, are equal. This occurs in regions where the ratio of the gas pressure to the magnetic pressure, known as the plasma β, is approximately unity. In this thesis we investigate the conversion of fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves as they propagate from low- to high-β plasma. This investigation uses a combination of analytical and numerical techniques to gain a full understanding of the process. The MacCormack finite-difference method is used to model a wave as it undergoes mode conversion. Complementing this analytical techniques are employed to find the wave behaviour at, and distant from, the mode-conversion region. These methods are described in Chapter 2. The simple, one-dimensional model of an isothermal atmosphere permeated by a uniform magnetic field is studied in Chapter 3. Gravitational acceleration is included to ensure that mode conversion takes place. Driving a slow magnetoacoustic wave on the upper boundary conversion takes place as the wave passes from low- to high-β plasma. This is expanded upon in Chapter 4 where the effects of a non-isothermal temperature profile are examined. A tanh profile is selected to mimic the steep temperature gradient found in the transition region. In Chapter 5 the complexity is increased by allowing for a two-dimensional model. For this purpose we choose a radially-expanding magnetic field which is representative of a coronal hole. In this instance the slow magnetoacoustic wave is driven upwards from the surface, again travelling from low to high β. Finally, in Chapter 6 we investigate mode conversion near a two-dimensional, magnetic null point. At the null the plasma β becomes infinitely large and a wave propagating towards the null point will experience mode conversion. The methods used allow conversion of fast and slow waves to be described in the various model atmospheres. The amount of transmission and conversion are calculated and matched across the mode-conversion layer giving a full description of the wave behaviour.

La stabilité des plasmas de fusion est un enjeu crucial dans le cadre du développement de nouvelles sources d'énergie. L'interaction entre le plasma et le champ magnétique peut en effet amener à la destruction du confinement : c'est une disruption. Le sujet de cette thèse porte sur les îlots magnétiques, une des causes des disruptions. Ces îlots magnétiques sont observés expérimentalement et analytiquement. Les théories peuvent prévoir la croissance d'un îlot magnétique et sa taille, mais les restrictions sur le domaine de validité de la théorie sont fortes et elles dé-corrèlent largement les domaines de validité théoriques et expérimentaux. Dans une première partie, nous montrons que, génériquement, les méthodes de contrôle dynamiques d'évolution des îlots magnétiques, basées notamment sur une relation entre la taille de l'îlot et la perturbation de flux magnétique à la résonance, devraient prendre en compte la modification du flux magnétique moyenné le long de la ligne de champ. Nous donnons aussi des limites quand au cadre de notre assertion (coalescence des îlots, effondrement du point X, ...). la seconde partie de la thèse aborde un nouvel effet dû au courant de part et d'autre de l'îlot magnétique. Il change la dynamique de l'îlot et la perception que l'on en a. Jusqu'à présent la dynamique de l'îlot était étudiée principalement au travers de mécanisme actifs au niveau de la résonance. Nous démontrons que la présence de courant aux abords de l'îlot peuvent jouer un rôle très important sur sa croissance et sur sa taille finale. La troisième partie détaille comment la turbulence aux abords d'un îlot magnétique peut affecter sa croissance. / The fusion plasma stability is a critical point for the developpement of newenergy source. The interaction between the plasma and the magnetic field can drive to the confinement descrution : it is a disruption. The topic of this thesis is the magnetic island, one of disruption causes. Those magnetic islands are observed theoretically and numerically. The theory can predict the growth and the final size of magnetic islands, but restrictions of its validity range are strong and they decorrelate the experimental and theoritical validity domain. In the first part, we show that the dynamic method of magnetic island control, based on the link between the island size and the perturbed magnetic flux at the resonance, should take in account the modification of the magnetic flux averaged along the field line. We show aswell the limitation of our assertion (magnetic island coalescence, X point collapse ...). The second part of the thesis address a new effet du to the current on sides of the magnetic island. This effect changes the magnetic island dynamics and the perception we got on it. Until now, the magnetic island dynamics have been studied through active mechanisms at the resonance. We show that the presence of current on sides can play an important role on the growth and saturation of the magnetic island. The last part of thesis details how the turbulence on the outskirts of a magnetic island can affect the island growth. We show that a turbulence generate by an interchange instability can penetrate into a stable zone concerning tearing mode and induce by a 3D mechanisme the growth of an magnetic island.