Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 11, 2026
08:50
Total Internal Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy TIRAS for the Detection of Solvated Electrons at a Plasma-liquid Interface
Published on: January 24, 2018
14.3K
Alfvén Waves in Partially Ionised Solar Steady-State Plasmas
Nada F Alshehri1,2, Istvan Ballai1, Gary Verth1
1Plasma Dynamics Group, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH UK.
Solar Physics
|November 14, 2025
Summary
Steady flows significantly alter Alfvén waves in partially ionized solar plasmas, affecting their propagation, damping, and even leading to new wave modes due to ion-neutral collisions.
Area of Science:
- Plasma Physics
- Solar Physics
- Astrophysics
Background:
- Alfvén waves are crucial for energy transport in solar plasmas.
- Partial ionization and ion-neutral collisions are common in the solar atmosphere.
- Background flows can significantly influence wave dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate Alfvén wave properties in partially ionized solar plasmas with steady flows.
- Understand how flows and ion-neutral collisions modify wave propagation and damping.
- Explore new wave phenomena induced by these conditions.
Main Methods:
- Employed a two-fluid model treating ions and neutrals as separate, colliding fluids.
- Incorporated background steady flows for both charged and neutral particles.
- Utilized analytical dispersion analysis and numerical solutions.
Main Results:
- Steady flows cause substantial modifications to Alfvén wave properties.
- Observed Doppler shifts, propagation direction reversal, and flow-dependent damping rates.
- Identified a new wave mode linked to neutral flow and collisional coupling, and flow-driven mode conversion.
Conclusions:
- Steady flows and ion-neutral collisions play a critical role in Alfvén wave behavior in the solar atmosphere.
- These interactions lead to complex wave dynamics, including mode conversion.
- Findings provide new insights into energy transport and phenomena in partially ionized solar regions.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Plane Electromagnetic Waves II
4.0K
Consider a plane wavefront traveling in position x-direction with a constant speed. This wavefront can be utilized to obtain the relationship between electric and magnetic fields with the help of Faraday's law.
4.0K
01:17Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
773
Understanding steady, laminar flow between parallel plates is essential for analyzing and designing flow in narrow rectangular channels, commonly found in various water conveyance and drainage systems. The Navier-Stokes equations govern fluid motion and are generally challenging to solve due to their nonlinearity. However, simplifications are possible in certain cases, like the steady laminar flow between parallel plates. For this scenario, we assume steady, incompressible, laminar flow.
773
01:30Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
4.9K
The existence of combined electric and magnetic fields that propagate through space as electromagnetic (EM) waves is the most significant prediction of Maxwell's equations. As Maxwell's equations hold in free space, the predicted electromagnetic waves do not require a medium for their propagation. An EM wave comprises an electric field, defined as the force per charge on a stationary charge, and a magnetic field, which is the force per charge on a moving charge.
The EM field is assumed to be a...
The EM field is assumed to be a...
4.9K
01:29Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Lab
550
AES is a powerful analytical technique, especially effective when used with plasma sources, producing abundant spectra in characteristic emission lines. The Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), in particular, yields superior quantitative analytical data due to its high stability, low noise, low background, and minimal interferences under optimal experimental conditions. However, newer air-operated microwave sources are emerging as promising alternatives that could be more cost-effective than...
550
01:15Standing Electromagnetic Waves
2.2K
Electromagnetic waves can be reflected; the surface of a conductor or a dielectric can act as a reflector. As electric and magnetic fields obey the superposition principle, so do electromagnetic waves. The superposition of an incident wave and a reflected electromagnetic wave produces a standing wave analogous to the standing waves created on a stretched string.
Suppose a sheet of a perfect conductor is placed in the yz-plane, and a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave traveling in the...
Suppose a sheet of a perfect conductor is placed in the yz-plane, and a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave traveling in the...
2.2K
01:24Electromagnetic Wave Equation
2.1K
Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic fields are related to source charges, either static or moving. These fields act on a test charge, whose trajectory can thus be determined using suitable boundary conditions. The objective of electromagnetism is thus theoretically complete.
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations:...
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations:...
2.1K