Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma
The phase mixing of Alfvén waves is one of the most promising mechanisms for the heating of the solar atmosphere. The damping of waves in this case requires small transversal scales, relative to the magnetic field direction; this requirement is achieved by considering a transversal inhomogeneity in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0364 |
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| author | M. McMurdo I. Ballai G. Verth A. Alharbi V. Fedun |
| author_facet | M. McMurdo I. Ballai G. Verth A. Alharbi V. Fedun |
| author_sort | M. McMurdo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The phase mixing of Alfvén waves is one of the most promising mechanisms for the heating of the solar atmosphere. The damping of waves in this case requires small transversal scales, relative to the magnetic field direction; this requirement is achieved by considering a transversal inhomogeneity in the equilibrium plasma density profile. Using a single-fluid approximation of a partially ionized chromospheric plasma, we study the effectiveness of the damping of phase-mixed shear Alfvén waves and investigate the effect of varying the ionization degree on the dissipation of waves. Our results show that the dissipation length of shear Alfvén waves strongly depends on the ionization degree of the plasma, but more importantly, in a partially ionized plasma, the damping length of shear Alfvén waves is several orders of magnitude shorter than in the case of a fully ionized plasma, providing evidence that phase mixing could be a large contributor to heating the solar chromosphere. The effectiveness of phase mixing is investigated for various ionization degrees, ranging from very weakly to very strongly ionized plasmas. Our results show that phase-mixed propagating Alfvén waves in a partially ionized plasma with ionization degrees in the range μ = 0.518–0.657, corresponding to heights of 1916–2150 km above the solar surface, can provide sufficient heating to balance chromospheric radiative losses in the quiet Sun. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:31:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d486edd0bd049b28a58162e74a97a6f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:31:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d486edd0bd049b28a58162e74a97a6f2023-11-14T15:56:04ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0195818110.3847/1538-4357/ad0364Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar PlasmaM. McMurdo0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1997-4361I. Ballai1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3066-7653G. Verth2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9546-2368A. Alharbi3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3659-8000V. Fedun4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0893-7346Plasma Dynamics Group, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sheffield , Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, UK ; mmcmurdo1@sheffield.ac.ukPlasma Dynamics Group, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sheffield , Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, UK ; mmcmurdo1@sheffield.ac.ukPlasma Dynamics Group, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sheffield , Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, UK ; mmcmurdo1@sheffield.ac.ukDepartment of Mathematics, Jamoum University College, Umm Al-Qura University , Jamoum, 25375 Makkah, Saudi ArabiaPlasma Dynamics Group, Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, The University of Sheffield , Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UKThe phase mixing of Alfvén waves is one of the most promising mechanisms for the heating of the solar atmosphere. The damping of waves in this case requires small transversal scales, relative to the magnetic field direction; this requirement is achieved by considering a transversal inhomogeneity in the equilibrium plasma density profile. Using a single-fluid approximation of a partially ionized chromospheric plasma, we study the effectiveness of the damping of phase-mixed shear Alfvén waves and investigate the effect of varying the ionization degree on the dissipation of waves. Our results show that the dissipation length of shear Alfvén waves strongly depends on the ionization degree of the plasma, but more importantly, in a partially ionized plasma, the damping length of shear Alfvén waves is several orders of magnitude shorter than in the case of a fully ionized plasma, providing evidence that phase mixing could be a large contributor to heating the solar chromosphere. The effectiveness of phase mixing is investigated for various ionization degrees, ranging from very weakly to very strongly ionized plasmas. Our results show that phase-mixed propagating Alfvén waves in a partially ionized plasma with ionization degrees in the range μ = 0.518–0.657, corresponding to heights of 1916–2150 km above the solar surface, can provide sufficient heating to balance chromospheric radiative losses in the quiet Sun.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0364MagnetohydrodynamicsSolar magnetic fieldsSpace plasmasAlfvén waves |
| spellingShingle | M. McMurdo I. Ballai G. Verth A. Alharbi V. Fedun Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma The Astrophysical Journal Magnetohydrodynamics Solar magnetic fields Space plasmas Alfvén waves |
| title | Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma |
| title_full | Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma |
| title_fullStr | Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma |
| title_short | Phase Mixing of Propagating Alfvén Waves in a Single-fluid Partially Ionized Solar Plasma |
| title_sort | phase mixing of propagating alfven waves in a single fluid partially ionized solar plasma |
| topic | Magnetohydrodynamics Solar magnetic fields Space plasmas Alfvén waves |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0364 |
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