Statistical mechanics for ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)
Craig L. Zirbel
Department of Mathematics, Bowling Green State University
The equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) describe the time
evolution of fluids of charges particles, such as plasmas found in fusion
reactors (tokamaks and stars). Typically, as the solution evolves, smaller
and smaller features (eddies, vortices, and the like) develop, to the point
that only a probabilistic description will be adequate -- the solution
cannot be predicted exactly. On the other hand, in the midst of this
chaos, one often sees islands of calm, called coherent structures. The
goal is to predict the coherent structures and describe the small-scale
fluctuations one is likely to see.
This will be an expository talk discussing a model developed by Bruce
Turkington (University of Massachusetts) and the speaker. Topics will
include:
- the equations of MHD and their integrals of motion
- the ideas behind statistical mechanics and why they don't work here
- a lattice model for MHD using the discrete Fourier transform
- an approximation
- nice formulas involving the multidimensional Gaussian distribution
- equations for the coherent structure and a probabilistic description of
small-scale fluctuations
Refreshments: 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. Fri, Nov 14, at 327 Yost
Talk: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Fri, Nov 14, at 327 Yost.
Back to General Schedule
Questions? jiayang@sun.cwru.edu
Wed Aug 13 13:54:29 EDT 1997