Oscillatory disintegration of a trans-Alfvenic shock: A magnetohydrodynamic simulation

Nonlinear evolution of a trans-Alfvenic shock wave (TASW), at which the flow velocity passes over the Alfven velocity, is computed in a magnetohydrodynamic approximation. The analytical theory suggests that an infinitesimal perturbation of a TASW results in its disintegration, i.e., finite variation of the flow, or transformation into some other unsteady configuration. In the present paper, this result is confirmed by numerical simulations. It is shown that the disintegration time is close to its minimum value equal to the shock thickness divided by a relative velocity of the emerging secondary structures. The secondary TASW that appears after the disintegration is again unstable with respect to disintegration. When the perturbation has a cyclic nature, the TASW undergoes oscillatory disintegration, during which it repeatedly transforms into another TASW. This process manifests itself as a train of shock and rarefaction waves, which consecutively emerge at one edge of the train and merge at the other edge.Comment: REVTEX, 8 pages, 13 PostScript figures, uses epsfig.st

Symmetry and magnetically driven ferroelectricity in rare-earth manganites RMnO3 (R=Gd, Tb, Dy)

This work investigates the magnetically driven ferroelectricity in orthorhombic manganites RMnO3 (R=Gd, Dy or Tb) from the point of view of the symmetry. The method adopted generalizes the one used to characterize the polar properties of displacive modulated structures to the case of an irreducible magnetic order parameter. The symmetry conditions for magnetically induced ferroelectricity are established and the Landau-Devonshire free energy functionals derived from general symmetry considerations. The ferroelectric polarisation observed in DyMnO3 and TbMnO3 at zero magnetic field is explained in terms of the symmetry of a reducible magnetic order parameter. The polarisation rotation induced in these compounds by external magnetic fields and the stabilization of a ferroelectric phase in GdMnO3 are accounted for by a mechanism in which magnetization and polarization are secondary order parameters that are not directly coupled but compete with each other through their coupling to competing primary modulated order parameters.Comment: Article submitted to Physical Review B, 39 page

Magnetic superspace groups and symmetry constraints in incommensurate magnetic phases

Although superspace formalism has become the standard approach for the analysis of structurally modulated crystals, it has remained during the last thirty years almost unexplored as a practical tool to deal with magnetic incommensurate structures. This situation has recently changed with the development of new computer tools for magnetic phases based on this formalism. In this context we show here that, as in the case of nonmagnetic incommensurate systems, the concept of superspace symmetry provides a simple, efficient and systematic way to characterize the symmetry and rationalize the structural and physical properties of incommensurate magnetic materials. The method introduces significant advantages over the most commonly employed method of representation analysis for the description of the magnetic structure of a crystal. But, more importantly, in contrast with that method, it consistently yields and classifies all degrees of freedom of the system. The knowledge of the superspace group of an incommensurate magnetic material allows to predict its crystal tensor properties and to rationalize its phase diagram, previous to any appeal to microscopic models or mechanisms. This is especially relevant when the properties of incommensurate multiferroics are being studied. We present first a summary of the superspace method under a very practical viewpoint particularized to magnetic modulations. Its relation with the usual representation analysis is then analyzed in detail, with the derivation of important general rules for magnetic modulations with a single propagation vector. The power and efficiency of the formalism is illustrated with various selected examples, including some multiferroic materials

On the Internal Structure of Relativistic Jets

A magnetohydrodynamic model is constructed for a cylindrical jet immersed in an external uniform magnetic field. It is shown that, as in the force-free case, the total electric current within the jet can be zero. The particle energetics and the magnetic field structure are determined in a self-consistent way; all jet parameters depend on the physical conditions in the external medium. In particular, we show that a region with subsonic flow can exist in the central jet regions. In actual relativistic jets, most of the energy is transferred by the electromagnetic field only when the magnetization parameter is sufficiently large, $\sigma>10^6$. We also show that, in general, the well-known solution with a central core, $B_z = B_0/(1+\varpi^2/\varpi_c^2)$, can not be realized in the presence of an external medium.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure