Interplanetary Magnetohydrodynamics

L. F. Burlaga0195084721, 9780195084726, 9780195359145

Spacecraft such as the Pioneer, Vela, and Voyager have explored the interplanetary medium between the orbits of Mercury and Pluto. The insights derived from these missions have been successfully applied to magnetospheric, astro-solar, and cosmic ray physics. This book is an overview of these insights, using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows as the framework for interpreting objects and processes observed in the interplanetary medium. Topics include various types of MHD shocks and interactions among them, tangential and rotational discontinuities, force-free field configurations, the formation of merged interaction regions associated with various types of flows, the destruction of flows, the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and formation of a heliospheric vortex street, the development of multifractal fluctuations on various scales, and the evolution of multifractal intermittent turbulence. Students and researchers in astrophysics will value the data from these missions, which provide confirmation of many theoretical models of the interstellar medium.

---

Table of contents :
Contents……Page 10
1.1 The Solar Wind……Page 14
1.2 Geometrical and Topological Properties of the Solar Wind……Page 16
1.3 Approach……Page 17
1.4 Coordinates……Page 18
1.5 Basic Equations……Page 20
1.6 Interplanetary Spacecraft and Trajectories……Page 24
2.2 Sectors and the Heliospheric Current Sheet……Page 25
2.3 The Spiral Magnetic Field……Page 38
3.1 Typical Plasma Characteristics at 1 AU……Page 45
3.2 Solar Cycle Variations at 1 AU……Page 48
3.3 Relations Among Fields at 1 AU……Page 49
3.4 Latitude Variations……Page 50
3.5 Radial Variations……Page 53
4.1 Basic Concept……Page 56
4.2 Tangential and Rotational Discontinuities……Page 61
4.3 Directional Discontinuities……Page 65
4.4 Stream Interfaces……Page 69
4.5 Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability and Shear Layers……Page 71
4.6 Magnetic Holes……Page 73
5.1 Fast MHD Shocks……Page 81
5.2 Slow MHD Shocks……Page 96
6.1 Interplanetary Ejecta……Page 100
6.2 Magnetic Clouds……Page 102
6.3 Magnetic Flux Tube Model of Magnetic Clouds……Page 105
6.4 Force-Free Field Models of Locally Cylindrical Magnetic Clouds……Page 107
6.5 Motions of Magnetic Clouds……Page 109
6.6 Force-Free Tori and Spheroids……Page 117
6.7 Internal Structure……Page 120
6.8 Relation to Shocks……Page 124
7.1 Corotating Streams and Interaction Regions 1 AU……Page 144
8.1 Definition and Classification of Merged Interaction Regions……Page 149
8.2 Formation of a Corotating Merged Interaction Region……Page 150
8.3 Quasi-Periodic Corotating MIRs……Page 162
8.4 Local MIRs……Page 173
8.5 Global MIRs……Page 176
9.1 Introduction……Page 180
9.2 Spectral Signatures of Large-Scale Fluctuations……Page 182
9.3 Multifractal Fluctuations……Page 192
9.4 Intermittent Turbulence and Multifractal Velocity Fluctuations……Page 193
9.5 Multifractal Magnetic Field Strength Fluctuations……Page 203
10.1 Observations……Page 212
10.2 Conventional Flow Models……Page 214
10.3 Vortex Street Models……Page 215
References……Page 226
G……Page 254
M……Page 255
S……Page 256
Z……Page 257
C……Page 258
F……Page 259
I……Page 260
L……Page 261
M……Page 262
P……Page 263
S……Page 264
V……Page 266
X……Page 267