The million-degree temperature of the solar corona might be due to the combined effect of barely distinguishable energy releases, called nanoflares, that occur throughout the solar atmosphere. Unfortunately, the high density of nanoflares, implied by this hypothesis, means that conclusive verification is beyond present observational capabilities. Nevertheless, it might be possible to investigate the plausibility of nanoflare heating by constructing a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model; one that can derive the energy of nanoflares, based on the assumption that the ideal kink instability of a twisted coronal loop triggers a relaxation to a minimum energy state. The energy release depends on the current profile at the time when the ideal kink instability threshold is crossed. Subsequent to instability onset, fast magnetic reconnection ensues in the non-linear phase. As the flare erupts and declines, the field transitions to a lower energy level, which can be modelled as a helicity-conserving relaxation to a linear force-free state. The aim of this thesis is to determine the implications of such a scheme with respect to coronal heating. Initially, the results of a linear stability analysis for loops that have net current are presented. There exists substantial variation in the radial magnetic twist profiles for the loop states along the instability threshold. These results suggest that instability cannot be predicted by any simple twist-derived property reaching a critical value. The model is applied such that the loop undergoes repeated episodes of instability followed by energy-releasing relaxation. Photospheric driving is simulated as an entirely random process. Hence, an energy distribution of the nanoflares produced is collated. These results are discussed and unrealistic features of the model are highlighted.

Jatos e discos de acreção associados a objetos galácticos e extragalácticos tais como, microquasares (i.e., buracos negros de massa estelar presentes em alguns sistemas binários estelares), núcleos ativos de galáxias (NAGs) e objetos estelares jovens (OEJs), frequentemente exibem eventos de ejeção de matéria quase periódicos que podem fornecer importantes informações sobre os processos físicos que ocorrem nas suas regiões mais internas. Entre essas classes de objetos, os microquasares com emissão transiente em raios-X vêm sendo identificados em nossa Galáxia desde a última década, e tal como os NAGs e quasares distantes, alguns desses sistemas também produzem jatos colimados com velocidades aparentemente superluminais, não deixando dúvidas de que se tratam de um gás ejetado com velocidades relativísticas. Um exemplo amplamente observado em comprimentos de onda do rádio aos raios-X é o microquasar GRS 1915+105 (e.g., Dhawan et al.,2000), que foi o primeiro objeto galáctico a exibir evidências de um jato com movimento aparentemente superluminal (Mirabel e Rodríguez, 1998, 1994). Um modelo para explicar a origem dessas ejeções superluminais, bem como a emissão rádio sincrotrônica em flares não muito diferentes dos que ocorrem na coroa solar, foi desenvolvido por de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian (2005), onde é invocado um processo de reconexão magnética violenta entre as linhas de campo magnético que se erguem do disco de acreção e as linhas da magnetosfera da fonte central. Em episódios de acreção onde a razão entre a pressão efetiva do disco e a pressão magnética diminui para valores menores ou da ordem de 1 e as taxas de acreção se aproximam da taxa crítica de Eddington, a reconexão pode tornar-se violenta e libera grandes quantidades de energia magnética em pouco tempo. Parte dessa energia aquece o gás, tanto da coroa quanto do disco, e parte acelera as partículas a velocidades relativísticas por um processo de Fermi de primeira ordem, pela primeira vez estudado em zonas de reconexão magnética por esses autores, produzindo um espectro sincrotrônico de lei de potência com índice espectral comparável às observações. Neste trabalho realizamos um estudo complementar, iniciado por Piovezan (2009), no qual generalizamos o modelo acima descrito para o caso dos NAGs. Nesse estudo, constatamos que a atividade de reconexão magnética na região coronal, na base de lançamento do jato, pode explicar a origem das ejeções relativísticas, dos microquasares aos NAGs de baixa luminosidade (tais como galáxias Seyfert e LINERS). A potência liberada em eventos de reconexão magnética em função das massas dos buracos negros dessas fontes, de 5 massas solares a 10^10 massas solares, obedece a uma correlação que se mantém por todo esse intervalo, abrangendo 10^9 ordens de magnitude. Essa correlação implica em uma dependência quase linear (em um diagrama log-log), aproximadamente independente das características físicas locais dos discos de acreção dessas fontes. Além do mais, ela é compatível com o chamado plano fundamental, obtido empiricamente, que correlaciona a emissão rádio e raios-X dos microquasares e NAGs às massas dos seus buracos negros (veja Merloni et al., 2003). Assim, o modelo de de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian (2005), oferece uma interpretação física simples para a existência dessa correlação empírica, como devida à atividade magnética coronal nessas fontes. Já os quasares e NAGs mais luminosos não satisfazem à mesma correlação, possivelmente porque a densidade ao redor da região coronal nessas fontes é tão alta que mascara a emissão devida à atividade magnética. A emissão rádio nesses casos deve-se, possivelmente, a regiões mais externas do jato supersônico, onde ele já expandiu o suficiente para tornar-se opticamente fino e visível, e onde os elétrons relativísticos são possivelmente produzidos em choques (veja também de Gouveia Dal Pino et al., 2010a,b). Paralelamente, investigamos a formação de eventos de reconexão magnética através de simulações magnetohidrodinâmicas axissimétricas (2.5D-MHD), da interação entre o campo magnético poloidal ancorado no disco de acreção viscoso (satisfazendo ao modelo padrão de Shakura e Sunyaev, 1973) e a magnetosfera dipolar da fonte central em rotação. Para esse fim, consideramos condições iniciais semelhantes às dos OEJs. Nos testes preliminares aqui realizados, a reconexão magnética das linhas ocorre em presença de uma resistividade numérica, que não é intensa o bastante para determinar um processo de reconexão a taxas da ordem da velocidade de Alfvén, ou seja, ela é essencialmente lenta. Ainda assim, pudemos identificar alguns dos efeitos previstos pelo modelo de reconexão magnética rápida aqui estudado. Por exemplo, verificamos que a frequência e a intensidade com que eventos de reconexão magnética podem ocorrer é sensível tanto à topologia inicial do campo magnético do sistema quanto às taxas de acreção do disco (como previsto pelo modelo de de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian, 2005), de modo que tais eventos ocorrem de forma mais eficiente em regimes de alta taxa de acreção. Finalmente, além da investigação sobre o desenvolvimento de eventos de reconexão magnética, pudemos também examinar a partir das simulações a formação natural de funis de acreção, os quais são colunas de acreção que conduzem gás do disco para a superfície da fonte central através das linhas do campo magnético. Os resultados desse estudo foram comparados com as observações de funis de acreção de objetos estelares jovens. / Jets and accretion disks associated with galactic and extragalactic objects such as microquasars (i.e., stellar-mass black holes occurring in some binary stellar systems), active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and young stellar objects (YSOs), often exhibit quasi-periodic ejections of matter that may offer important clues about the physical processes that occur in their inner regions. Among these classes of objects, microquasars with transient emission in X-rays have been identified in our Galaxy since the last decade and like AGNs and distant quasars, some of them also produce collimated jets with apparent superluminal speeds, leaving no doubt that we are also dealing with ejected gas with relativistic velocities. One example widely investigated from radio wavelengths to X-rays is the microquasar GRS 1915+105 (e.g., Dhawan et al.,2000), which was the first Galactic object to show evidence of a jet with apparent superluminal motion (Mirabel e Rodríguez, 1998, 1994). A model to explain the origin of the superluminal ejections and the synchrotron radio emission in flares which are not very different from those occurring in the solar corona, was developed by de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian (2005), where they invoked a process of violent magnetic reconnection between the magnetic field lines that arise from the accretion disk and the lines of the magnetosphere of the central source. In accretion episodes where the ratio between the effective disk pressure and magnetic pressure decreases to values smaller than the unity and the accretion rate approaches the critical Eddington rate, the reconnection may become violent and releases large amounts of magnetic energy in a short time. Part of this energy heats the coronal and the disk gas and part accelerates particles to relativistic velocities through a first-order Fermi-like process, which was investigated for the first time in magnetic reconnection by these authors and results a synchrotron radio power-law spectrum that is compatible to the observations. In the present work we conducted a complementary study, initiated by Piovezan (2009), which generalize the model described above for the case of AGNs. We found that the activity due to magnetic reconnection in the coronal region, at the base of the launching jet, can explain the origin of relativistic ejections from microquasars to low luminous AGNs (LLAGNs, such as Seyfert galaxies and LINERs). The power released by magnetic reconnection events as a function of the black hole masses of these sources, between 5 solar mass and 10^10 solar mass, obeys a correlation that is maintained throughout this interval, spanning 10^9 orders of magnitude. This correlation implies an almost linear dependence (in a log-log diagram), which is approximately independent of the physical properties of the accretion disks of these sources. Moreover, it is compatible with the so-called fundamental plan obtained empirically, which correlates the radio and X-rays emission of microquasars and AGNs with the masses of their black holes (see Merloni et al., 2003). Thus, the model of de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian (2005) provides a simple physical interpretation for the existence of this empirical correlation as due to coronal magnetic activity in these sources. More luminous AGNs and quasars do not seem to obey the same correlation, possibly because the density around the coronal region in these sources is so high that it \"masks\" the emission due to the magnetic activity. The radio emission in these cases is possibly due regions further out of the supersonic jet, where it has already expanded enough to become optically thin and visible and where the relativistic electrons are probably accelerated in shocks (see also de Gouveia Dal Pino et al., 2010a,b). In addition, we investigated the development of magnetic reconnection events through axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic simulations (2.5D-MHD) of the interaction between the poloidal magnetic field that arises from the viscous accretion disk (which satisfies the standard model of Shakura e Sunyaev, 1973) and the dipolar magnetosphere of the rotating central source. To this aim, we considered initial conditions which are compatible to those of YSOs. In the preliminary tests conducted here, magnetic reconnection occurs in the presence of numerical resistivity only, which is not intense enough to determine a process of reconnection with rates of the order of the Alfvén speed, i.e., it is essentially slow. Nevertheless, we were able to identify some of the effects predicted by the model of fast magnetic reconnection studied here. For example, we found that the frequency and strength with which events of magnetic reconnection can occur is sensitive to both the initial topology of the magnetic field of the system and the accretion disk rates (as predicted by the model of de Gouveia Dal Pino e Lazarian, 2005), so that such events occur more efficiently under high accretion rates. Finally, besides the investigation of the development of magnetic reconnection events, we could also examine in our numerical studies the natural formation of funnel flows which are accretion columns that transport gas from the accretion disk to the surface of the central source along the magnetic field lines. The results of these studies were compared with the observations of funnel flows in young stellar objects.

No description available.

The study of low-frequency turbulence in magnetized plasmas is a difficult problem due to both the enormous range of scales involved and the variety of physics encompassed over this range. Much of the progress that has been made in turbulence theory is based upon a result from incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), in which energy is only transferred from large scales to small via the collision of Alfv ́n waves propagating oppositely along the mean magnetic field. Improvements in laboratory devices and satellite measurements have demonstrated that, while theories based on this premise are useful over inertial ranges, describing turbulence at scales that approach particle gyroscales requires new theory. In this thesis, we examine the limits of incompressible MHD theory in describing collisions between pairs of Alfvén waves. This interaction represents the fundamental unit of plasma turbulence. To study this interaction, we develop an analytic theory describing the nonlinear evolution of interacting Alfv ́n waves and compare this theory to simulations performed using the gyrokinetic code AstroGK. Gyrokinetics captures a much richer set of physics than that described by incompressible MHD, and is well-suited to describing Alfvénic turbulence around the ion gyroscale. We demonstrate that AstroGK is well suited to the study of physical Alfvén waves by reproducing laboratory Alfvén dispersion data collected using the LAPD. Additionally, we have developed an initialization alogrithm for use with AstroGK that allows exact Alfvén eigenmodes to be initialized with user specified amplitudes and phases. We demonstrate that our analytic theory based upon incompressible MHD gives excellent agreement with gyrokinetic simulations for weakly turbulent collisions in the limit that k⊥ ρi << 1. In this limit, agreement is observed in the time evolution of nonlinear products, and in the strength of nonlinear interaction with respect to polarization and scale. We also examine the effect of wave amplitude upon the validity of our analytic solution, exploring the nature of strong turbulence. In the kinetic limit where k⊥ ρi ≥ 1 where incompressible MHD is no longer a valid description, we illustrate how the nonlinear evolution departs from our analytic expression. The analytic theory we develop provides a framework from which more sophisticated of weak and strong inertial-range turbulence theories may be developed. Characterization of the limits of this theory may provide guidance in the development of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence.

Le but de cette thèse est l'étude du développement de la turbulence dans le vent solaire entre 0.2 et 1 unité astronomique (UA) du soleil (i.e. l'orbite terrestre). L'étude est faite en résolvant numériquement les équations de la MHD après soustraction de l'écoulement moyen radial. Les deux aspects de la turbulence qui nous intéressent sont la structure 3D des spectres d’énergie et le chauffage du plasma qui résulte de la dissipation turbulente des tourbillons et couches de courant emportés par le vent. On cherche à déterminer quelles sont les conditions du plasma près du soleil qui permettent d’aboutir à ce qu'on observe à 1 UA. Un but important de mon travail est aussi de déterminer si la physique qui est présente dans les équations que j'intègre (la MHD) suffit pour arriver à reproduire ce qu'on a déjà observé dans cet intervalle de distance. Nous introduisons le contexte de notre travail dans la première partie. On y trouve les équations de base, une introduction à la turbulence, un résumé sur la physique du vent solaire et de la couronne solaire. La partie 2 sera consacrée à l'étude de l'anisotropie de la cascade turbulente, et plus précisément du spectre 3D. Dans la zone inertielle, les mesures in-situ vers 1 UA montrent des figures complexes pour ces spectres qu'on peut interpréter de plusieurs façons : nos simulations numériques permettent de lever toute ambiguïté. Plus précisément, la question est de savoir quand intervient l'axe soleil-terre, et quand intervient l'axe du champ magnétique moyen. La partie trois est centrée sur le chauffage turbulent dans les vents rapides et lents. Entre 0.3 et 1 UA, la température des protons diminue anormalement lentement, ce qui indique une source de chauffage, qu'on suppose ici être la dissipation des tourbillons et couches de courant emportés par le vent. Pour démontrer que cette hypothèse est raisonnable, nous considérons d’abord le modèle de Burgers qui est un modèle pour l'évolution d’ondes sonores. Ensuite, nous passons à l'étude du cas plus complexe d'un volume de plasma 3D. Nous examinerons les conditions initiales correspondant aux vents lents et rapides. Dans les deux cas, on adoptera des anisotropies spectrales différentes. Dans la dernière partie, nous exposerons les conclusions de notre travail et proposerons d'introduire l'anisotropie de la température dans un travail futur. / The aim of this thesis is the study of the development of turbulence in the solar wind between 0.2 and 1 astronomical unit (AU) from the Sun (i.e. Earth’s orbit). The study is done by solving the magnetohydrodynamics equations (MHD) after subtracting the mean radial flow. The two aspects of turbulence that interest us are the 3D structure of the energy spectra and the heating of plasma that results from the turbulent dissipation of eddies and current layers transported by the wind. We want to determine which conditions of the plasma close to the Sun can result into what we observe at 1 AU. We have relatively detailed measurements of what happens between 0.3 and 1 AU. One important goal of this work is to determine if the physics present in the equations that are integrated (MHD) is sufficient to reproduce what is observed in this interval of distances. We introduce the context of our work in the first part. We give a summary of the physics concerning the solar wind and the solar corona, and the basic equations used to describe the solar wind plasma and an introduction to turbulence. Part 2 is dedicated to the study of anisotropy in the turbulent cascade, which characterizes 3D spectra. In the inertial range, in-situ measurements at 1 AU show complex figures for these spectra that we can interpret in several ways : numerical simulations allow to clear ambiguities. An important question is to know whether the Earth-Sun symmetry axis or the mean magnetic field axis is dominant.The third part focuses on turbulent heating in fast and slow winds. Between 0.3 and 1 AU, proton temperature decreases more slowly than expected, which requires a heating source. This source is supposed to be the continuous dissipation of eddies and current layers transported by the wind. To start with, we consider the simple case of Burgers equation, which is a one-dimensional model for shock formation. Thereupon, we switch to the 3-dimensional case, where we consider initial conditions appropriate for slow and fast winds. In the last part we expose our conclusions and propose the implementation of temperature anisotropy as future work.

Electromagnetic levitation experiments provide a powerful tool that allows for the study of nucleation, solidification and growth in a containerless processing environment. Containerless processing allows for the study of reactive melts at elevated temperatures without chemical interactions or contamination from a container. Further, by removing the interface between the liquid and its container, this processing technique allows for greater access to the undercooled region for solidification studies. However, in these experiments it is important to understand the magnetohydrodynamic flow within the sample and the effects that this fluid flow has on the experiment. A recent solidification study found that aluminum-nickel alloy sample have an unusual response of the growth rate of the solid to changes in undercooling. This alloy experienced a decrease in the growth velocity as the initial undercooling deepened, instead of the expected increase in solidification velocity with deepening undercoolings. Current work is exploring several different theories to explain this phenomenon. Distinguishing among these theories requires a comprehensive understanding of the behavior of the internal fluid flow. Our project, USTIP, has done flow modeling to support this and multiple other collaborators on ISS-EML. The fluid flow models presented for the aluminum-nickel sample provide critical insights into the nature of the flow within the aluminum-nickel alloy experiments conducted in the ISS-EML facility. These models have found that for this sample the RNG k-ε model should be used with this sample at temperatures greater than 1800 K and the laminar flow model should be used at temperatures lower than 1600 K. Other work in the ISS-EML, has studied the thermophysical properties of liquid germanium and has found the most recent measurements using oscillating drop techniques to have a discrepancy from the expected property measurements taken terrestrially. Investigating this discrepancy required the quantification of the velocity and characterization of the internal fluid flow in the drop. The models have found that the flow within the sample maintains turbulent behavior throughout cooling. This thesis presents the analysis of the internal flow of four additional samples processed in the International Space Station Electromagnetic Levitation facility. These samples consist of the following alloys: Ti39.5Zr39.5Ni21, Cu50Zr50, Vitreloy 106, and Zr64Ni36. Our collaborators work required the internal flow to be characterized and quantified for their work on solidification. In addition to quantifying the velocity of the flow, the Reynolds number was calculated to characterize the flow during processing. Additionally, the shear-strain rate was calculated for the flow during processing up to the recalescence of the melt.

No description available.

The interaction between the solar wind and the partially ionized gas of the local interstellar medium (ISM) creates a bubble known as the heliosphere. Classically, the shape of the heliosphere has been regarded as comet-like, with a long tail pointed in the direction opposite the Sun’s motion through the ISM. In this view, the solar magnetic field was assumed to have a negligible effect on the global structure of the heliosphere. Recent advances in numerical modeling have revealed the importance of the solar magnetic field in its ability to confine and collimate the solar wind plasma, and the shape of the heliosphere has been called into question. Energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) are created throughout the heliosphere via charge exchange. The separate contributions of the solar magnetic field topology and the solar wind structure to ENA observations is largely unexplored. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has been providing a global perspective of the heliosphere through ENA maps with energies ranging from 0.2 to 6 keV. In this dissertation, three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the heliosphere are used as input to an ENA model designed to produce synthetic ENA maps. I compare modeled ENA maps with IBEX observations to investigate how different heliospheric conditions and properties affect ENAs created in the heliosphere, and therefore how ENA observations can be used to understand the heliosphere. First, I investigate the effect of the solar wind collimation by the solar magnetic field on ENA maps in the case of a solar wind without latitudinal variation. I find that even in the absence of variations of the solar wind, two lobes of strong ENA flux form at high latitudes, similar to what is observed by IBEX at high energies. Second, I test the effect of a latitudinally-varying solar wind on ENAs both with and without the inclusion of the solar magnetic field. I show that the latitudinal variations of the solar wind during solar minimum creates a structured ENA profile with latitude, corresponding to the profile observed at 1 AU, but that the solar magnetic field significantly enhances ENA flux in the region where the solar wind is confined. Lastly, I investigate the effect of the solar cycle on ENAs and how changing solar wind conditions (e.g. density, temperature, velocity) affect the heliosphere over time. I demonstrate that, given changes in the solar cycle, there is a significant evolution in the modeled ENA flux due to the changes in the solar wind profile and the solar magnetic field, which is also seen by ENA observations.

No description available.

The origin of cosmic magnetic fields is a important area of astrophysics. The process by which they are created falls under the heading of dynamo theory, and is the topic of this thesis. Our focus for the location of where these magnetic fields operate is one the most ubiquitous objects in the universe, the accretion disk. By studying the accretion disk and the dynamo process that occurs there we wish to better understand both the accretion process and the dynamo process in stars and galaxies as well. We analyse the output from a stratified zero net flux shearing box simulation performed using the ATHENA MHD code in collaboration with Shane Davis. The simulation has turbulence which is naturally forced by the presence of a linear instability called the magnetorotational instability (MRI). We utilise Fourier filtering and the tools of mean field dynamo theory to establish a connection between the calculated EMF and the model predictions of the dynamically quenched alpha model. We find a positive correlation for both components parallel to the large scale magnetic field and the azimuthal components. We have explored many aspects of the theory including additional contributions from magnetic buoyancy and an effect arising from the large scale shear and the current density. We also directly measure the turbulent correlation time for the velocity and magnetic fields both large scale and small. We can also observe the effects of the dynamo cycle, with the azimuthal component of the large scale magnetic field flipping sign in this analysis. We find a positive correlation between the divergence of the eddy scale magnetic helicity flux and the component of the electromotive force parallel to the large scale magnetic field. This correlation directly links the transfer of magnetic helicity to the dynamo process in a system with naturally driven turbulence. This highlights the importance of magnetic helicity and its conservation even in a system with triply periodic boundary conditions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)