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Register a new userDissipative instability in partially ionised prominence plasmas
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We investigate the nature of dissipative instability at the boundary (seen here as tangential discontinuity) between the viscous corona and the partially ionised prominence plasma in the incompressible limit. The importance of the partial ionisation is investigated in terms of the ionisation fraction. Matching the solutions for the transversal component of the velocity and total pressure at the interface between the prominence and coronal plasmas, we derive a dispersion relation whose imaginary part describes the evolution of the instability. Results are obtained in the limit of weak dissipation. Using simple analytical methods, we show that dissipative instabilities appear for flow speeds that are lower than the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability threshold. While viscosity tends to destabilise the plasma, the effect of partial ionisation (through the Cowling resistivity) will act towards stabilising the interface. For ionisation degrees closer to a neutral gas the interface will be unstable for larger values of equilibrium flow. The same principle is assumed when studying the appearance of instability at the interface between prominences and dark plumes. The unstable mode appearing in this case has a very small growth rate and dissipative instability cannot explain the appearance of flows in plumes. The present study improves our understanding of the complexity of dynamical processes at the interface of solar prominences and solar corona, and the role partial ionisation can have on the stability of the plasma. Our results clearly show that the problem of partial ionisation introduces new aspects of plasma stability with consequences on the evolution of solar prominences.
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We investigate the nature of dissipative instability appearing in a prominence planar thread filled with partially ionised plasma in the incompressible limit. The importance of partial ionisation is investigated in terms of the ionisation factor and wavelength of waves propagating in the slab. To highlight the role of partial ionisation, we have constructed models describing various situations we can meet in solar prominence fine structure. Matching the solutions for the transversal component of the velocity and total pressure at the interfaces between the prominence slab and surrounding plasmas, we derived a dispersion relation whose imaginary part describes the evolution of the instability. Results are obtained in the limit of weak dissipation. We have investigated the appearance of instabilities in prominence dark plumes using single and two-fluid approximations. We show that dissipative instabilities appear for flow speeds that are less than the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability threshold. The onset of instability is determined by the equilibrium flow strength, the ionisation factor of the plasma, the wavelength of waves and the ion-neutral collisional rate. For a given wavelength and for ionisation degrees closer to a neutral gas, the propagating waves become unstable for a narrow band of flow speeds, meaning that neutrals have a stabilising effect. Our results show that the partially ionised plasma describing prominence dark plumes becomes unstable only in a two-fluid (charged particles-neutrals) model, that is for periods that are smaller than the ion-neutral collision time. The present study improves our understanding of stability of solar prominences and the role of partial ionisation in destabilising the plasma. We show the necessity of two-fluid approximation when discussing the nature of instabilities: waves in a single fluid approximation show a great deal of stability.
Fast magnetic reconnection plays a fundamental role in driving explosive dynamics and heating in the solar chromosphere. The reconnection time scale of traditional models is shortened at the onset of the coalescence instability, which forms a turbulent reconnecting current sheet through plasmoid interaction. In this work we aim to investigate the role of partial ionisation on the development of fast reconnection through the study of the coalescence instability of plasmoids. Unlike the processes occurring in fully ionised coronal plasmas, relatively little is known about how fast reconnection develops in partially ionised plasmas of the chromosphere. We present 2.5D numerical simulations of coalescing plasmoids in a single fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, and a two-fluid model of a partially ionised plasma (PIP). We find that in the PIP model, which has the same total density as the MHD model but an initial plasma density two orders of magnitude smaller, plasmoid coalescence is faster than the MHD case, following the faster thinning of the current sheet and secondary plasmoid dynamics. Secondary plasmoids form in the PIP model where the effective Lundquist number $S = 7.8 cdot 10^3$, but are absent from the MHD case where $S = 9.7 cdot 10^3$: these are responsible for a more violent reconnection. Secondary plasmoids also form in linearly stable conditions as a consequence of the non-linear dynamics of the neutrals in the inflow. In the light of these results we can affirm that two-fluid effects play a major role on the processes occurring in the solar chromosphere.
This present study deals with the dissipative instability that appears in a compressible partially ionised plasma slab embedded in a uniform magnetic field, modelling the state of the plasma in solar prominences. In the partially ionised plasma, the dominant dissipative effect is the Cowling resistivity. The regions outside the slab (modelling the solar corona) are fully ionised, and the dominant mechanism of dissipation is viscosity. Analytical solutions to the extended magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations are found inside and outside of the slab and solutions are matched at the boundaries of the slab. The dispersion relation is derived and solutions are found analytically in the slender slab limit, while the conditions necessary for the appearance of the instability is investigated numerically for the entire parameter space. Our study is focussed on the effect of the compressibility on the generation and evolution of instabilities. We find that compressibility reduces the threshold of the equilibrium flow, where waves can be unstable, to a level that is comparable to the internal cusp speed, which is of the same order of flow speeds that are currently observed in solar prominences. Our study addresses only the slow waves, as these are the most likely perturbations to become unstable, however the time-scales of the instability are found to be rather large ranging from $10^5$-$10^7$ seconds. It is determined that the instability threshold is further influenced by the concentration of neutrals and the strength of the viscosity of the corona. Interestingly, these two latter aspects have opposite effects. Our numerical analysis shows that the interplay between the equilibrium flow, neutrals and dispersion can change considerably the nature of waves.
Compressional waves propagating in the partially ionised solar lower atmospheric plasmas can easily steepen into nonlinear waves, including shocks. Here we investigate the effect of weak dispersion generated by Hall currents perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field on the characteristics of shock waves. Our study will also focus on the interplay between weak dispersion and partial ionisation of the plasma. Using a multiple scale technique we derive the governing equation in the form of a Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers equation. The effect of weak dispersion on shock waves is obtained using a perturbation technique. The secular behaviour of second order terms is addressed with the help of a renormalisation technique. Our results show that dispersion modifies the characteristics of shock waves and this change is dependent also on the ionisation degree of the plasma. Dispersion can create short lived oscillations in the shocked plasma. The shock fronts become wider with the increase in the number of neutrals in the plasma.
Partially ionized plasmas are found across the Universe in many different astrophysical environments. They constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres and protoplanetary disks, among other environments, and display a richness of physical effects which are not present in fully ionized plasmas. This review provides an overview of the physics of partially ionized plasmas, including recent advances in different astrophysical areas in which partial ionization plays a fundamental role. We outline outstanding observational and theoretical questions and discuss possible directions for future progress.
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