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
Arber T
(2009)
THERMAL FRONTS IN FLARING MAGNETIC LOOPS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Morton R
(2009)
TRANSVERSE OSCILLATIONS OF A COOLING CORONAL LOOP
in The Astrophysical Journal
Taroyan Y
(2009)
Heating Diagnostics with MHD Waves
in Space Science Reviews
ZHANG K
(2009)
The onset of convection in rotating circular cylinders with experimental boundary conditions
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Baty H
(2009)
Petschek-like reconnection with uniform resistivity
in Physics of Plasmas
Jones C
(2009)
Compressible convection in the deep atmospheres of giant planets
in Icarus
Tsiklauri David
(2009)
Missing pieces of the solar jigsaw puzzle
in ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS
Arber T
(2009)
EFFECT OF SOLAR CHROMOSPHERIC NEUTRALS ON EQUILIBRIUM FIELD STRUCTURES
in The Astrophysical Journal
JONES C
(2009)
Linear theory of compressible convection in rapidly rotating spherical shells, using the anelastic approximation
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Hughes DW
(2009)
Large-scale dynamo action driven by velocity shear and rotating convection.
in Physical review letters
Simitev R
(2009)
Bistability and hysteresis of dipolar dynamos generated by turbulent convection in rotating spherical shells
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)
Morton R
(2009)
The effect of elliptic shape on the period ratio P ${_{1}}$/ P ${_{2}}$ of emerging coronal loops
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Silvers L
(2009)
Interactions between magnetohydrodynamic shear instabilities and convective flows in the solar interior
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilmot-Smith A
(2009)
MAGNETIC BRAIDING AND QUASI-SEPARATRIX LAYERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gruszecki M
(2010)
Phenomenon of Alfvénic vortex shedding.
in Physical review letters
Berkoff N
(2010)
Comparison of the anelastic approximation with fully compressible equations for linear magnetoconvection and magnetic buoyancy
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Tsiklauri D
(2010)
Vlasov - Maxwell, Self-consistent Electromagnetic Wave Emission Simulations in the Solar Corona
in Solar Physics
Bareford M
(2010)
A nanoflare distribution generated by repeated relaxations triggered by kink instability
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gordovskyy M
(2010)
Particle acceleration in a transient magnetic reconnection event
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
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
Yeates AR
(2010)
Topological constraints on magnetic relaxation.
in Physical review letters
Muñoz-Jaramillo A
(2010)
A DOUBLE-RING ALGORITHM FOR MODELING SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS: UNIFYING KINEMATIC DYNAMO MODELS AND SURFACE FLUX-TRANSPORT SIMULATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Komissarov S
(2010)
Supercollapsars and their X-ray bursts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Gordovskyy M
(2010)
PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN FRAGMENTING PERIODIC RECONNECTING CURRENT SHEETS IN SOLAR FLARES
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
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 |