Modification of magnetohydrodynamic waves by the relativistic Hall effect

Yohei Kawazura
Phys. Rev. E 96, 013207 – Published 12 July 2017

Abstract

This study shows that a relativistic Hall effect significantly changes the properties of wave propagation by deriving a linear dispersion relation for relativistic Hall magnetohydrodynamics (HMHD). Whereas, in nonrelativistic HMHD, the phase and group velocities of fast magnetosonic wave become anisotropic with an increasing Hall effect, the relativistic Hall effect brings upper bounds to the anisotropies. The Alfvén wave group velocity with strong Hall effect also becomes less anisotropic than the nonrelativistic case. Moreover, the group velocity surfaces of Alfvén and fast waves coalesce into a single surface in the direction other than near perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. It is also remarkable that a characteristic scale length of the relativistic HMHD depends on ion temperature, magnetic field strength, and density while the nonrelativistic HMHD scale length, i.e., ion skin depth, depends only on density. The modified characteristic scale length increases as the ion temperature increases and decreases as the magnetic field strength increases.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 21 February 2017
  • Revised 15 May 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.013207

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Plasma PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

Yohei Kawazura*

  • Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3NP, United Kingdom

  • *yohei.kawazura@physics.ox.ac.uk

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 96, Iss. 1 — July 2017

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review E

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×