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Decay of MHD waves by phase mixing

II. The theta-pinch in cylindrical geometry

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Zeitschrift für Physik A Hadrons and nuclei

Abstract

The dispersion relation for stable waves in ideal MHD plasmas with diffuse profiles has been calculated. The non-uniformity in the density and magnetic field profiles gives rise to a very strong damping. Phase mixing is the mechanism responsible for the damping and can be seen to occur due to the presence of the continuous spectrum of the MHD equations of motion. The special case of the linear θ-pinch is examined in detail. In particular, damping coefficients for torsional Alfvén waves are computed which agree very well with a rather wide range of experimental findings.

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Author notes

  1. J. Tataronis

    Present address: Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, N.Y., USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Euratom Association, Garching bei München, Germany

    W. Grossmann & J. Tataronis

Authors
  1. W. Grossmann
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  2. J. Tataronis
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Additional information

This work was performed as part of the joint research program between the Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching, and Euratom.

The authors would like to thank the following colleagues for constructive discussions during the course of the investigations; Profs. H. Grad, H. Weitzner, D. Pfirsch, Drs. M. Kaufmann, J. Neuhauser.

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Grossmann, W., Tataronis, J. Decay of MHD waves by phase mixing. Z. Physik 261, 217–236 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391914

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391914

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