Minimum energy states of the plasma pinch in standard and Hall magnetohydrodynamics

Axisymmetric relaxed states of a cylindrical plasma column are found analytically in both standard and Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) by complete minimization of energy with constraints imposed by invariants inherent in corresponding models. It is shown that the relaxed state in Hall MHD is the force-free magnetic field with uniform axial flow and/or rigid azimuthal rotation. The relaxed states in standard MHD are more complex due to the coupling between velocity and magnetic field. Application of these states for reversed-field pinches (RFP) is discussed

Energy of eigen-modes in magnetohydrodynamic flows of ideal fluids

Analytical expression for energy of eigen-modes in magnetohydrodynamic flows of ideal fluids is obtained. It is shown that the energy of unstable modes is zero, while the energy of stable oscillatory modes (waves) can assume both positive and negative values. Negative energy waves always correspond to non-symmetric eigen-modes -- modes that have a component of wave-vector along the equilibrium velocity. These results suggest that all non-symmetric instabilities in ideal MHD systems with flows are associated with coupling of positive and negative energy waves. As an example the energy of eigen-modes is calculated for incompressible conducting fluid rotating in axial magnetic field.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure