Stability analysis of the polytropic solar wind

Abstract

A linear stability analysis of a simple polytropic model for the solar wind dynamics within the framework of a magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium configuration is theoretically proposed. The simplistic analysis is based on the model developed based on the data available from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft mission. A unique form of dispersion relation is derived by coupling the adiabatic and polytropic processes in the limit of ideal gas approximation for the solar wind gas in accordance with the standard Fourier technique. Applying usual variable-separation methodology on the dispersion relation, we obtain the linear growth rate of the fluctuations. It is seen that the growth rate is an explicitly nonlinear function of the variable polytropic index (α) and radial position (r) with respect to the considered center of the Sun. Numerical analyses are carried out to understand the physical insight of the growth profiles of the fluctuations. It is shown that the growth is maximized near the solar corona, where α ∼ 1, relative to that observed elsewhere in the entire solar plasma system. The source for this growth may be attributed to the free flow of energy coming from the dynamic equilibrium of the solar plasma itself. As compared with existing model predictions, our results are qualitatively capable of reproducing the average behavior of the solar wind fluctuation and stability behaviors on the astrophysical scales of space and time.