Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 11, 2026

Total Internal Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy TIRAS for the Detection of Solvated Electrons at a Plasma-liquid Interface
Published on: January 24, 2018
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.
None:
Our study investigates the properties of Alfvén waves in partially ionised solar plasmas in the presence of steady, field-aligned, flows of charged and neutral particles. Our work aims to understand how such flows modify wave propagation and damping in environments where ion-neutral collisions are significant. We employ a two-fluid model that treats ions and neutrals as separate colliding fluids and incorporates background steady flows for both species. Using a combination of analytical dispersion analysis and numerical solutions, we examine the impact of these flows on the behaviour of Alfvén waves. Our results show that steady flows lead to substantial modifications of wave properties, including Doppler shifts, propagation direction reversal, flow-dependent changes in damping rates, and the appearance of a new mode associated with neutral flow and collisional coupling. We also identify conditions under which flow-driven mode conversion can arise. Our results offer new insights into the interplay between plasma flows and particle collisions in the regions of the solar atmosphere where partial ionisation is relevant.
Related Concept Videos
Plane Electromagnetic Waves II
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Lab
Standing Electromagnetic Waves
Suppose a sheet of a perfect conductor is placed in the yz-plane, and a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave traveling in the...
Electromagnetic Wave Equation
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:...

