2,679 research outputs found
Review article: MHD wave propagation near coronal null points of magnetic fields
We present a comprehensive review of MHD wave behaviour in the neighbourhood
of coronal null points: locations where the magnetic field, and hence the local
Alfven speed, is zero. The behaviour of all three MHD wave modes, i.e. the
Alfven wave and the fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves, has been investigated
in the neighbourhood of 2D, 2.5D and (to a certain extent) 3D magnetic null
points, for a variety of assumptions, configurations and geometries. In
general, it is found that the fast magnetoacoustic wave behaviour is dictated
by the Alfven-speed profile. In a plasma, the fast wave is focused
towards the null point by a refraction effect and all the wave energy, and thus
current density, accumulates close to the null point. Thus, null points will be
locations for preferential heating by fast waves. Independently, the Alfven
wave is found to propagate along magnetic fieldlines and is confined to the
fieldlines it is generated on. As the wave approaches the null point, it
spreads out due to the diverging fieldlines. Eventually, the Alfven wave
accumulates along the separatrices (in 2D) or along the spine or fan-plane (in
3D). Hence, Alfven wave energy will be preferentially dissipated at these
locations. It is clear that the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in the
propagation and properties of MHD waves in the neighbourhood of coronal null
points. This topic is a fundamental plasma process and results so far have also
lead to critical insights into reconnection, mode-coupling, quasi-periodic
pulsations and phase-mixing.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figures, invited review in Space Science Reviews => Note
this is a 2011 paper, not a 2010 pape
Nambu monopoles interacting with lattice defects in two-dimensional artificial square spin ice
The interactions between an excitation (similar to a pair of Nambu monopoles)
and a lattice defect are studied in an artificial two-dimensional square spin
ice. This is done by considering a square array of islands containing only one
island different from all others. This difference is incorporated in the
magnetic moment (spin) of the "imperfect" island and several cases are studied,
including the special situation in which this distinct spin is zero (vacancy).
We have shown that the two extreme points of a malformed island behave like two
opposite magnetic charges. Then, the effective interaction between a pair of
Nambu monopoles with the deformed island is a problem involving four magnetic
charges (two pairs of opposite poles) and a string. We also sketch the
configuration of the field lines of these four charges to confirm this picture.
The influence of the string on this interaction decays rapidly with the string
distance from the defect.Comment: 7 pages, 13 figure
Manipulating type-I and type-II Dirac polaritons in cavity-embedded honeycomb metasurfaces
Pseudorelativistic Dirac quasiparticles have emerged in a plethora of
artificial graphene systems that mimic the underlying honeycomb symmetry of
graphene. However, it is notoriously difficult to manipulate their properties
without modifying the lattice structure. Here we theoretically investigate
polaritons supported by honeycomb metasurfaces and, despite the trivial nature
of the resonant elements, we unveil rich Dirac physics stemming from a
non-trivial winding in the light-matter interaction. The metasurfaces
simultaneously exhibit two distinct species of massless Dirac polaritons,
namely type-I and type-II. By modifying only the photonic environment via an
enclosing cavity, one can manipulate the location of the type-II Dirac points,
leading to qualitatively different polariton phases. This enables one to alter
the fundamental properties of the emergent Dirac polaritons while preserving
the lattice structure - a unique scenario which has no analog in real or
artificial graphene systems. Exploiting the photonic environment will thus give
rise to unexplored Dirac physics at the subwavelength scale
Review Article: MHD Wave propagation near coronal null points of magnetic fields
We present a comprehensive review of MHD wave behaviour in the neighbourhood of coronal null points: locations where the magnetic field, and hence the local Alfvén speed, is zero. The behaviour of all three MHD wave modes, i.e. the Alfvén wave and the fast and slow magnetoacoustic waves, has been investigated in the neighbourhood of 2D, 2.5D and (to a certain extent) 3D magnetic null points, for a variety of assumptions, configurations and geometries. In general, it is found that the fast magnetoacoustic wave behaviour is dictated by the Alfvén-speed profile. In a β=0 plasma, the fast wave is focused towards the null point by a refraction effect and all the wave energy, and thus current density, accumulates close to the null point. Thus, null points will be locations for preferential heating by fast waves. Independently, the Alfvén wave is found to propagate along magnetic fieldlines and is confined to the fieldlines it is generated on. As the wave approaches the null point, it spreads out due to the diverging fieldlines. Eventually, the Alfvén wave accumulates along the separatrices (in 2D) or along the spine or fan-plane (in 3D). Hence, Alfvén wave energy will be preferentially dissipated at these locations. It is clear that the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in the propagation and properties of MHD waves in the neighbourhood of coronal null points. This topic is a fundamental plasma process and results so far have also lead to critical insights into reconnection, mode-coupling, quasi-periodic pulsations and phase-mixing
Topological Hall effect and Berry phase in magnetic nanostructures
We discuss the anomalous Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas
subject to a spatially varying magnetization. This topological Hall effect
(THE) does not require any spin-orbit coupling, and arises solely from Berry
phase acquired by an electron moving in a smoothly varying magnetization. We
propose an experiment with a structure containing 2D electrons or holes of
diluted magnetic semiconductor subject to the stray field of a lattice of
magnetic nanocylinders. The striking behavior predicted for such a system (of
which all relevant parameters are well known) allows to observe unambiguously
the THE and to distinguish it from other mechanisms.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figure
Three-dimensional Simulations of Accretion to Stars with Complex Magnetic Fields
Disk accretion to rotating stars with complex magnetic fields is investigated
using full three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The studied
magnetic configurations include superpositions of misaligned dipole and
quadrupole fields and off-centre dipoles. The simulations show that when the
quadrupole component is comparable to the dipole component, the magnetic field
has a complex structure with three major magnetic poles on the surface of the
star and three sets of loops of field lines connecting them. A significant
amount of matter flows to the quadrupole "belt", forming a ring-like hot spot
on the star. If the maximum strength of the magnetic field on the star is
fixed, then we observe that the mass accretion rate, the torque on the star,
and the area covered by hot spots are several times smaller in the
quadrupole-dominant cases than in the pure dipole cases. The influence of the
quadrupole component on the shape of the hot spots becomes noticeable when the
ratio of the quadrupole and dipole field strengths , and
becomes dominant when . In the case of an off-centre dipole
field, most of the matter flows through a one-armed accretion stream, forming a
large hot spot on the surface, with a second much smaller secondary spot. The
light curves may have simple, sinusoidal shapes, thus mimicking stars with pure
dipole fields. Or, they may be complex and unusual. In some cases the light
curves may be indicators of a complex field, in particular if the inclination
angle is known independently. We also note that in the case of complex fields,
magnetospheric gaps are often not empty, and this may be important for the
survival of close-in exosolar planets.Comment: 13 pages, 21 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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