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
Pontin D
(2010)
Dynamics of braided coronal loops II. Cascade to multiple small-scale reconnection events
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Courvoisier A
(2010)
A self-consistent treatment of the electromotive force in magnetohydrodynamics for large diffusivities
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Yeates A
(2010)
Solar Cycle Variation of Magnetic Flux Ropes in a Quasi-Static Coronal Evolution Model
in Solar Physics
Komissarov S
(2010)
Supercollapsars and their X-ray bursts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Brummell N
(2010)
Dynamo efficiency in compressible convective dynamos with and without penetration
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Al-Hachami A
(2010)
Magnetic reconnection at 3D null points: effect of magnetic field asymmetry
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Zhang K
(2010)
On fluid flows in precessing spheres in the mantle frame of reference
in Physics of Fluids
Yeates AR
(2010)
Topological constraints on magnetic relaxation.
in Physical review letters
Gordovskyy M
(2010)
Particle acceleration in a transient magnetic reconnection event
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Hughes DW
(2010)
Turbulent magnetic diffusivity tensor for time-dependent mean fields.
in Physical review letters
Gordovskyy M
(2011)
Magnetic Relaxation and Particle Acceleration in a Flaring Twisted Coronal Loop
in Solar Physics
Tsiklauri D
(2011)
An alternative to the plasma emission model: Particle-in-cell, self-consistent electromagnetic wave emission simulations of solar type III radio bursts
in Physics of Plasmas
Galsgaard K
(2011)
Steady state reconnection at a single 3D magnetic null point
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tobias S
(2011)
ON THE GENERATION OF ORGANIZED MAGNETIC FIELDS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Liang Y
(2011)
Observations of multi-resonance effect in ELM control with magnetic perturbation fields on the JET tokamak
in Nuclear Fusion
Busse F
(2011)
Remarks on some typical assumptions in dynamo theory
in Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
Jones C
(2011)
Anelastic convection-driven dynamo benchmarks
in Icarus
Sreenivasan B
(2011)
Helicity generation and subcritical behaviour in rapidly rotating dynamos
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Komissarov S
(2011)
On the origin of variable gamma-ray emission from the Crab nebula Gamma-ray emission from the Crab nebula
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pontin D
(2011)
Generalised models for torsional spine and fan magnetic reconnection
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hughes D
(2011)
The a-effect in rotating convection: a comparison of numerical simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Botha G
(2011)
CHROMOSPHERIC RESONANCES ABOVE SUNSPOT UMBRAE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Galsgaard K
(2011)
Current accumulation at an asymmetric 3D null point caused by generic shearing motions
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jones C
(2011)
Planetary Magnetic Fields and Fluid Dynamos
in Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics
Favier B
(2011)
Small-scale dynamo action in rotating compressible convection
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
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 |