On the formation of current sheets in response to the compression or expansion of a potential magnetic field

Abstract

The compression or expansion of a magnetic field that is initially potential is considered. It was recently suggested by Janse & Low [2009, ApJ, 690, 1089] that, following the volumetric deformation, the relevant lowest energy state for the magnetic field is another potential magnetic field that in general contains tangential discontinuities (current sheets). Here we examine this scenario directly using a numerical relaxation method that exactly preserves the topology of the magnetic field. It is found that of the magnetic fields discussed by Janse & Low, only those containing magnetic null points develop current singularities during an ideal relaxation, while the magnetic fields without null points relax toward smooth force-free equilibria with finite non-zero current.

Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (3)

• Current sheet formation and non-ideal behaviour at three-dimensional magnetic null points
• Lagrangian relaxation schemes for calculating force-free magnetic fields, and their limitations
• Do Potential Fields Develop Current Sheets Under Simple Compression or Expansion?

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