Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010.

Bibliografiset tiedot
Päätekijä: Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth)
Muut tekijät: Bruno Coppi.
Aineistotyyppi: Opinnäyte
Kieli:eng
Julkaistu: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011
Aiheet:
Linkit:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61266
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author Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth)
author2 Bruno Coppi.
author_facet Bruno Coppi.
Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth)
author_sort Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth)
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010.
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spelling mit-1721.1/612662019-04-10T08:05:58Z Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth) Bruno Coppi. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics. Physics. Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2010. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53). Black holes and compact objects are often surrounded by structures known as accretion disks which consist of ionized plasma. Due to the immense forces present in the disk, interesting and complex magnetic field structures can be set up within the disk. The influence of gravity on these structures is explored via a higher-order expansion of the gravitational potential. We consider several cases: the case when the Lorentz force is negligible and the case when the Lorentz force becomes significant in the dynamics of the disk. When the Lorentz force is negligible, we find using the Ferraro Co-rotation Theorem that the strength of the magnetic field increases near the event horizon. As the strength of the Lorentz force increases and it is included in our analysis, we discover that it leads to a periodic "crystal" structure of concentric rings of current. This structure is significantly affected by gravitational forces: we find a solution to the equations of motion that shows a composite structure within the disk. We discuss the general relativistic effects near the event horizon using the Pseudo- Newtonian potential in this limit. In addition, we consider an alternate derivation of the equation of motion describing the behavior of the magnetic field and discuss its consequences. by Kristiana E. Schneck. S.B. 2011-02-23T14:38:51Z 2011-02-23T14:38:51Z 2010 2010 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61266 701925997 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 53 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Physics.
Schneck, Kristiana E. (Kristiana Elizabeth)
Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title_full Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title_fullStr Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title_full_unstemmed Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title_short Gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
title_sort gravitational influences on magnetic field structure in accretion disks
topic Physics.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61266
work_keys_str_mv AT schneckkristianaekristianaelizabeth gravitationalinfluencesonmagneticfieldstructureinaccretiondisks