Moment equations for magnetohydrodynamics
P. J. Dellar (2009) Moment equations for magnetohydrodynamics
JSTAT (2009) P06003
Reprint available (MHDmoments.pdf
526K)
Abstract
In kinetic treatments of hydrodynamics the macroscopic variables such
as density and momentum are given by moments of distribution functions.
In discrete kinetic theory it is possible to construct a complete set
of moments whose evolution provides a complete description of the
dynamics of the underlying kinetic equation. Moreover, the collision
operator is most easily specified by its action upon moments.This paper
presents the equivalent moment system for a kinetic formulation of
magnetohydrodynamics that uses vector-valued distribution functions to
represent the magnetic field. Besides leading to modest improvements in
numerical stability, this moment system is invaluable for designing new
kinetic equations to model more realistic plasma processes such as
current-dependent resistivity.
@article{Dellar09,
Author = {Dellar, P. J.},
Title = {Moment equations for
magnetohydrodynamics},
Journal = {J. Statist. Mech.: Theory \& Expt.},
Year = {2009},
Volume = {2009},
Pages = {P06003--22},
DOI =
{doi:10.1088/1742-5468/2009/06/P06003},
URL =
{http://stacks.iop.org/JSTAT/2009/P06003}
}