Engineering topics

Hood, A. W.

Publications and source records attributed to Hood, A. W..

3 records

NASA NTRS1991

The fibril structure of prominences

It is suggested that the fibril structure of prominences may be caused by filamentation during its formation by radiative instability. Also discussed are the effects of other types of instability and a mechanism for the formation of vertical threads is given. The models indicate that highly inhomogeneous density structures can exist in the presence of smooth profiles for the plasma pressure and magnetic field. In the particular models the plasma pressure of a fibril prominence is higher and the vertical magnetical field is weaker than in a uniform prominence model, while the mass is substantially smaller.

Priest, E. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Magnetohydrodynamic instability

There have been major advances in the theory of magnetic reconnection and of magnetic instability, with important implications for the observations, as follows: (1) Fast and slow magnetic shock waves are produced by the magnetohydrodynamics of reconnection and are potential particle accelerators. (2) The impulsive bursty regime of reconnection gives a rapid release of magnetic energy in a series of bursts. (3) The radiative tearing mode creates cool filamentary structures in the reconnection process. (4) The stability analyses imply that an arcade can become unstable when either its height or twist of plasma pressure become too great.

Priest, E. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The stability of coronal and prominence magnetic fields

The significance of the localized instabilities is not yet fully understood. The nonlinear coupling of these modes may give rise to an explosive instability, with the modes coupling to longer wavelengths. On the other hand, if the modes saturate early, than the main effect of the instability may be an enhancement of transport coefficients. Nonetheless, the equation provides a simple test for the stability of cylindrical magnetic fields.

Hood, A. W.↗