Parallel Computing Resources for the UK MHD Community
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Mathematics and Statistics
Abstract
Virtually all material in the universe consists of an ionised gas called a plasma. Plasmas conduct electricity and interact with magnetic fields, producing many physical phenomena not easily reproduced in laboratories on Earth. The large-scale behaviour of these plasmas can be predicted by using a known set of complicated mathematical equations, called the equations of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The solutions of MHD equations can describe the behaviour of plasmas in which collisions dominate the physical processes, such as (i) the generation of magnetic fields through a process known as dynamo action, (ii) the release of a staggering amount of magnetic energy in a large solar flare by magnetic reconnection, (iii) the small scale chaotic motions of turbulence in a magnetised plasma, (iv) the fact that solar atmosphere is much hotter than the solar surface and (v) the way in which gigantic eruptions of solar plasma interact with the Earth's magnetic field to produce the Aurora. When collisional effects are weak, in low-density plasmas and in problems involving short length-scales, the more fundamental kinetic equations must be solved. However, the solution of both sets of equations require extremely large computers and the best way is to link several hundred computers together and get them all working on a fraction of the large problem. These computers are called parallel computers. The UK effort in this research area is at the forefront of the worldwide effort to understand how the Sun, the Solar System and astrophysical plasmas work. While this work is essentially theoretical, it is driven by the observations of the present fleet of solar and astrophysical ground and space-based observatories.
Organisations
Publications
Maclean R
(2008)
Relationship between the topological skeleton, current concentrations, and 3D magnetic reconnection sites in the solar atmosphere
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pascoe D
(2008)
Sausage oscillations in loops with a non-uniform cross-section
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Liao X
(2008)
A new integral property of inertial waves in rotating fluid spheres
in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Silvers L
(2009)
Interactions between magnetohydrodynamic shear instabilities and convective flows in the solar interior
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tsiklauri David
(2009)
Missing pieces of the solar jigsaw puzzle
in ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS
Baty H
(2009)
Petschek reconnection with a nonlocalized resistivity
in Physics of Plasmas
CATTANEO F
(2009)
Dynamo properties of the turbulent velocity field of a saturated dynamo
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Bian N
(2009)
Compressible Hall magnetohydrodynamics in a strong magnetic field
in Physics of Plasmas
COURVOISIER A
(2009)
Mean induction and diffusion: the influence of spatial coherence
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Proctor M. R. E.
(2009)
EFFECTS OF FLUCTUATION ON MEAN-FIELD a-O DYNAMOS
in MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
Baty H
(2009)
Petschek-like reconnection with uniform resistivity
in Physics of Plasmas
Komissarov S
(2009)
Magnetic acceleration of ultrarelativistic jets in gamma-ray burst sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Arber T
(2009)
EFFECT OF SOLAR CHROMOSPHERIC NEUTRALS ON EQUILIBRIUM FIELD STRUCTURES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tobias S.M.
(2009)
The solar dynamo: The role of penetration, rotation and shear on convective dynamos
in Space Science Reviews
Aschwanden M
(2009)
THE HYDRODYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF IMPULSIVELY HEATED CORONAL LOOPS: EXPLICIT ANALYTICAL APPROXIMATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Fedun V
(2009)
Oscillatory Response of the 3D Solar Atmosphere to the Leakage of Photospheric Motion
in Solar Physics
Wilmot-Smith A
(2009)
MAGNETIC BRAIDING AND QUASI-SEPARATRIX LAYERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shelyag S
(2009)
Acoustic wave propagation in the solar sub-photosphere with localised magnetic field concentration: effect of magnetic tension
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jones C
(2009)
The Solar Dynamo
in Space Science Reviews
Taroyan Y
(2009)
Heating Diagnostics with MHD Waves
in Space Science Reviews
Wilmot-Smith A
(2009)
MAGNETIC BRAIDING AND PARALLEL ELECTRIC FIELDS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Scullion E
(2009)
JETS IN POLAR CORONAL HOLES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jess DB
(2009)
Alfvén waves in the lower solar atmosphere.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Morton R
(2009)
The effect of elliptic shape on the period ratio P ${_{1}}$/ P ${_{2}}$ of emerging coronal loops
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Liao X
(2009)
Inertial oscillation, inertial wave and initial value problem in rotating annular channels
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Simitev R
(2009)
Bistability and hysteresis of dipolar dynamos generated by turbulent convection in rotating spherical shells
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)
ZHANG K
(2009)
The onset of convection in rotating circular cylinders with experimental boundary conditions
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Hughes D
(2009)
Dynamo action in the presence of an imposed magnetic field
in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Pontin D
(2009)
LAGRANGIAN RELAXATION SCHEMES FOR CALCULATING FORCE-FREE MAGNETIC FIELDS, AND THEIR LIMITATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Camus N
(2009)
Observations of â??wispsâ?? in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Crab Nebula
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jones C
(2009)
Compressible convection in the deep atmospheres of giant planets
in Icarus
Cattaneo F
(2009)
Problems with kinematic mean field electrodynamics at high magnetic Reynolds numbers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Deng X
(2009)
Dynamics and waves near multiple magnetic null points in reconnection diffusion region
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Komissarov S
(2009)
Activation of the Blandford-Znajek mechanism in collapsing stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hughes DW
(2009)
Large-scale dynamo action driven by velocity shear and rotating convection.
in Physical review letters
JONES C
(2009)
Linear theory of compressible convection in rapidly rotating spherical shells, using the anelastic approximation
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Morton R
(2009)
TRANSVERSE OSCILLATIONS OF A COOLING CORONAL LOOP
in The Astrophysical Journal
Arber T
(2009)
THERMAL FRONTS IN FLARING MAGNETIC LOOPS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Priest E
(2009)
Three-dimensional null point reconnection regimes
in Physics of Plasmas
Brennan D
(2009)
Helicity-injected current drive and open flux instabilities in spherical tokamaks
in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Bushby P
(2010)
The influence of a-effect fluctuations and the shear-current effect upon the behaviour of solar mean-field dynamo models a-Effect fluctuations in a solar dynamo model
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hughes DW
(2010)
Turbulent magnetic diffusivity tensor for time-dependent mean fields.
in Physical review letters
Komissarov S
(2010)
Rarefaction acceleration of ultrarelativistic magnetized jets in gamma-ray burst sources Rarefaction acceleration of magnetized GRB jets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhang K
(2010)
On fluid flows in precessing spheres in the mantle frame of reference
in Physics of Fluids
Gordovskyy M
(2010)
PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN FRAGMENTING PERIODIC RECONNECTING CURRENT SHEETS IN SOLAR FLARES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bareford M
(2010)
A nanoflare distribution generated by repeated relaxations triggered by kink instability
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Chan Kit H.
(2010)
An EBE finite element method for simulating nonlinear flows in rotating spheroidal cavities
in INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS
Tsiklauri D
(2010)
Vlasov - Maxwell, Self-consistent Electromagnetic Wave Emission Simulations in the Solar Corona
in Solar Physics
Komissarov S
(2010)
Supercollapsars and their X-ray bursts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Gruszecki M
(2010)
Phenomenon of Alfvénic vortex shedding.
in Physical review letters
| Description | The computations carried out with this equipment has shown us how magnetic fields play a crucial role in many astrophysical objects such as the Sun, stars, accretion discs and galaxies. |
| Exploitation Route | The research results will be used to extend our knowledge and suggest new areas for research. Our work has stimulated others to use many of our computational techniques in other areas of research. |
| Sectors | Education Other |