Author name code: aly ADS astronomy entries on 2022-09-14 author:"Aly, Jean-Jacques" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Title: Necessary Conditions for a Hot Quiet Sun Atmosphere: Chromospheric Flares and Low Corona Twisted Flux Rope Eruptions Authors: Amari, Tahar; Luciani, Jean-Francois; Aly, Jean-Jacques; Canou, Aurelien; Mikic, Zoran; Velli, Marco Bibcode: 2021AGUFMSH12B..05A Altcode: The issue of relevant scales involved in the heating of the solar atmosphere is an important one. Since the temperature already reaches 1 MK a few megameters above the photosphere, observations made by Parker Solar Probe will be able to explore those at larger heights but only indirectly at those lower heights, where small scale coupling between sub-photospheric, chromospheric and coronal structure and dynamics occurs. While Solar Orbiter will be able to bring such observations, modeling appears a complementary interesting approach to interpret those observations Taking a sub-surface dynamo and a sharp realistic VAL- like scale profile from photosphere to corona, with a fixed temperature profile in time, we investigate the necessary conditions implied on the structures and dynamics of the atmosphere to keep this thermal structuration, as well as their implication in the energy budget of the atmosphere. Under those hypothesis we show that :i) the transverse photospheric field below 100km plays a major role; ii) an associated scale of one megameter activity naturally results to produce a zone above the photosphere with high confined electric currents, which then expands into the chromosphere and releases energy(4 500 W/m2) through small-scale eruptions driving sonic motions; iii) meso scale structuration, leads to the formation of larger coherent twisted flux ropes, and associated eruptive like activity in a way similar to large scale eruptive phenomena, as result of cancellation, emergence, and convergence motions. Finally a wave dynamics is also naturally driven in core corona associated to above 300 W/m2. Title: Magnetic cage and rope as the key for solar eruptions Authors: Amari, Tahar; Canou, Aurélien; Aly, Jean-Jacques; Delyon, Francois; Alauzet, Fréderic Bibcode: 2018Natur.554..211A Altcode: Solar flares are spectacular coronal events that release large amounts of energy. They are classified as either eruptive or confined, depending on whether they are associated with a coronal mass ejection. Two types of model have been developed to identify the mechanism that triggers confined flares, although it has hitherto not been possible to decide between them because the magnetic field at the origin of the flares could not be determined with the required accuracy. In the first type of model, the triggering is related to the topological complexity of the flaring structure, which implies the presence of magnetically singular surfaces. This picture is observationally supported by the fact that radiative emission occurs near these features in many flaring regions. The second type of model attributes a key role to the formation of a twisted flux rope, which becomes unstable. Its plausibility is supported by simulations, by interpretations of some observations and by laboratory experiments. Here we report modelling of a confined event that uses the measured photospheric magnetic field as input. We first use a static model to compute the slowly evolving magnetic state of the corona before the eruption, and then use a dynamical model to determine the evolution during the eruption itself. We find that a magnetic flux rope must be present throughout the entire event to match the field measurements. This rope evolves slowly before saturating and suddenly erupting. Its energy is insufficient to break through the overlying field, whose lines form a confining cage, but its twist is large enough to trigger a kink instability, leading to the confined flare, as previously suggested. Topology is not the main cause of the flare, but it traces out the locations of the X-ray emission. We show that a weaker magnetic cage would have produced a more energetic eruption with a coronal mass ejection, associated with a predicted energy upper bound for a given region. Title: Small-scale dynamo magnetism as the driver for heating the solar atmosphere Authors: Amari, Tahar; Luciani, Jean-François; Aly, Jean-Jacques Bibcode: 2015Natur.522..188A Altcode: The long-standing problem of how the solar atmosphere is heated has been addressed by many theoretical studies, which have stressed the relevance of two specific mechanisms, involving magnetic reconnection and waves, as well as the necessity of treating the chromosphere and corona together. But a fully consistent model has not yet been constructed and debate continues, in particular about the possibility of coronal plasma being heated by energetic phenomena observed in the chromosphere. Here we report modelling of the heating of the quiet Sun, in which magnetic fields are generated by a subphotospheric fluid dynamo intrinsically connected to granulation. We find that the fields expand into the chromosphere, where plasma is heated at the rate required to match observations (4,500 watts per square metre) by small-scale eruptions that release magnetic energy and drive sonic motions. Some energetic eruptions can even reach heights of 10 million metres above the surface of the Sun, thereby affecting the very low corona. Extending the model by also taking into account the vertical weak network magnetic field allows for the existence of a mechanism able to heat the corona above, while leaving unchanged the physics of chromospheric eruptions. Such a mechanism rests on the eventual dissipation of Alfvén waves generated inside the chromosphere and that carry upwards the required energy flux of 300 watts per square metre. The model shows a topologically complex magnetic field of 160 gauss on the Sun's surface, agreeing with inferences obtained from spectropolarimetric observations, chromospheric features (contributing only weakly to the coronal heating) that can be identified with observed spicules and blinkers, and vortices that may be possibly associated with observed solar tornadoes. Title: Characterizing and predicting the magnetic environment leading to solar eruptions Authors: Amari, Tahar; Canou, Aurélien; Aly, Jean-Jacques Bibcode: 2014Natur.514..465A Altcode: The physical mechanism responsible for coronal mass ejections has been uncertain for many years, in large part because of the difficulty of knowing the three-dimensional magnetic field in the low corona. Two possible models have emerged. In the first, a twisted flux rope moves out of equilibrium or becomes unstable, and the subsequent reconnection then powers the ejection. In the second, a new flux rope forms as a result of the reconnection of the magnetic lines of an arcade (a group of arches of field lines) during the eruption itself. Observational support for both mechanisms has been claimed. Here we report modelling which demonstrates that twisted flux ropes lead to the ejection, in support of the first model. After seeing a coronal mass ejection, we use the observed photospheric magnetic field in that region from four days earlier as a boundary condition to determine the magnetic field configuration. The field evolves slowly before the eruption, such that it can be treated effectively as a static solution. We find that on the fourth day a flux rope forms and grows (increasing its free energy). This solution then becomes the initial condition as we let the model evolve dynamically under conditions driven by photospheric changes (such as flux cancellation). When the magnetic energy stored in the configuration is too high, no equilibrium is possible and the flux rope is `squeezed' upwards. The subsequent reconnection drives a mass ejection. Title: Reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field in spherical geometry Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. -J.; Canou, A.; Mikic, Z. Bibcode: 2013A&A...553A..43A Altcode: Context. High-resolution vector magnetographs either onboard spacecrafts or satellites (HMI/SDO, etc.) or ground based (SOLIS, etc.) now gives access to vector synoptic maps, composite magnetograms made of multiple interactive active regions, and full disk magnetograms. It thus become possible to reconstruct the coronal magnetic field on the full Sun scale.
Aims: We present a method for reconstructing the global solar coronal magnetic field as a nonlinear force-free field. It is based on a well-posed Grad-Rubin iterative scheme adapted to spherical coordinates
Methods: This method is a natural extension to spherical geometry of the one we previously developed in Cartesian geometry. It is implemented in the code XTRAPOLS, which is a massively parallel code. It allows dealing with the strong constraints put on the computational methods by having to handle the very large amounts of data contained in high-resolution large-scale magnetograms. The method exploits the mixed elliptic-hyperbolic nature of the Grad-Rubin boundary value problem. It uses a finite-difference method for the elliptic part and a method of characteristics for the hyperbolic part. The computed field guarantees to be divergence free up to round-off errors, by introducing a representation in terms of a vector potential satisfying specific gauge conditions. The construction of the latter - called here the restricted DeVore gauge - is described in detail in an appendix.
Results: We show that XTRAPOLS performs well by applying it to the reconstruction of a particular semi-analytic force-free field that has already been considered by various authors. Title: On Some Algorithm for Modeling the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field as MHD Equilibrium on Unstructured Mesh Authors: Amari, T.; Delyon, F.; Alauzet, F.; Frey, P.; Olivier, G.; Aly, J. J.; SDO/HMI Team Bibcode: 2012ASPC..459..189A Altcode: The low solar corona is dominated by the magnetic field which is created inside the sun by a dynamo process and then emerges into the atmosphere. This magnetic field plays an important role in most structures and phenomena observed at various wavelengths such as prominences, small and large scale eruptive events, and continuous heating of the plasma, and therefore it is important to understand its three-dimensional properties in order to elaborate efficient theoretical models. Unfortunately, the magnetic field is difficult to measure locally in the hot and tenuous corona. But this can be done at the level of the cooler and denser photosphere, and several instruments with high resolution vector magnetographs are currently available (THEMIS, Imaging Vector Magnetograph (IVM), the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter (ASP), SOLIS, HINODE , Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), or will be shortly availableby future telescopes such as EST and solar missions as SOLAR-ORBITER. This has lead solar physicists to develop an approach which consists in "Reconstructing" the coronal magnetic field from boundary data given on the photosphere. We will present some of the issues we encountered in solving this problem numerically as well our recent progress and results. Title: Self-gravitating Body with an Internal Magnetic Field. I. New Analytical Equilibria Authors: Aly, J. -J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 2012ApJ...750....4A Altcode: We construct exact analytical solutions of the equations describing the equilibrium of a self-gravitating magnetized fluid body, possibly rigidly rotating, by superposing two solutions of finite energy defined in the whole space, one describing a non-magnetized gravitating equilibrium (ST1) and the other describing a magnetized non-gravitating equilibrium (ST2). A large number of ST1s can be found in the literature and directly used for our constructions, and we thus concentrate on ST2s, which are difficult to obtain. We derive some of their general properties and exhibit two explicit classes of axisymmetric "elementary" such equilibria. The first one is extracted from the stellar models proposed by Prendergast and by Kutvitskii & Solov'ev, respectively. The second one is constructed by using Palumbo's theory of isodynamic equilibria, for which the magnetic pressure is constant on each flux surface. Both types of ST2s have their magnetic field confined within a bounded region, respectively, of spherical and toroidal shapes. A much more general ST2 can be obtained by juxtaposing n+q elementary ST2s, with n of the first type and q of the second type, in such a way that the magnetic regions do not pairwise overlap. The specific equilibria we obtain by superposition thus have no external field extending to infinity, and may be three dimensional (3D), which invalidates a recent nonexistence conjecture. Moreover, they may be arranged to contain force-free regions. Our superposition method can be considered as a 3D generalization of the axisymmetric splitting method previously developed by Kutvitskii & Solov'ev. Title: Connecting the photosphere to the corona : Reconstructing the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field Authors: Amari, T.; Delyon, F.; Alauzet, F.; Canou, A.; Mikic, Z.; Aly, J. J.; Solis Team; Stanford Sdo/Hmi Team Bibcode: 2012decs.confE..50A Altcode: The low solar corona is dominated by the magnetic field which is created inside the sun by a dynamo process and then emerges into the atmosphere. This magnetic field plays an important role in most structures and phenomena observed at various wavelengths such as prominences, small and large scale eruptive events, and continuous heating of the plasma, and therefore it is important to understand its three-dimensional properties in order to elaborate efficient theoretical models. Unfortunately, the magnetic field is difficult to measure locally in the hot and tenuous corona. But this can be done at the level of the cooler and denser photosphere, and several instruments with high resolution vector magnetographs are currently available (THEMIS, Imaging Vector Magnetograph (IVM), the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter (ASP)), SOLIS, HINODE , Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), or will be shortly available and future programmed missions such as , SOLAR-ORBITER. This has lead solar physicists to develop an approach which consists in reconstructing the coronal magnetic field from boundary data given on the photosphere. We will present our recent progress and results to solve this problem at the scale of active regions or larger ones such as full disk or synoptic scales, for which the large amount of data as well as their sparsity on the solar disk, require to develop particular strategies. We will also illustrate the interest of the reconstruction for characterizing the magnetic environments of prominences, emerging sub-photospheric structures and the pre-eruptive ones. Title: Magnetic bubbles and magnetic towers - I. General properties and simple analytical models Authors: Aly, J. -J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 2012MNRAS.420..237A Altcode: 2011MNRAS.tmp.2086A We consider magnetostatic equilibria in which a bounded region D containing a magnetized plasma is either fully confined by a field-free external medium - magnetic bubble equilibria (MBEqs) - or is confined by both such a medium and line-tying in a dense plasma region - magnetic tower equilibria (MTEqs). We first establish some of their general properties. In particular, we derive a series of useful integral equalities relating the magnetic field and the thermal pressures inside and outside D, respectively. We use them to prove the non-existence of an axisymmetric MBEq with a purely poloidal field, and to discuss some recent results of Braithwaite on MBEq formation by relaxation from an initial non-equilibrium state. We next present two families of exact analytical axisymmetric MBEqs with, respectively, spherical and toroidal shapes. The first family is extracted from Prendergast's model of a self-gravitating magnetized body, while the second one is constructed by using Palumbo's theory of isodynamic equilibria, for which both magnetic and thermal pressures take constant values on any flux surface. MTEqs with a large variety of structures are thus obtained in a simple way: we start from an arbitrary MBEq and just consider the part of it above a given plane cutting the bubble D. For MBEqs and MTEqs in either family, we compute in closed form most of the interesting physical quantities (such as energy, magnetic helicity and twist). Our results are expected to be useful for building up simple models of several astrophysical objects (such as X-ray cavities in the intracluster medium, jets emitted by disc accreting compact objects, eruptive events in stellar coronae and their ejecta). Title: Nonlinear Stability of a Class of Magnetostatic Equilibria with an Application to Solar Prominences Authors: Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 2012ApJ...746...52A Altcode: We consider a particular class of three-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria in which the plasma is submitted to a vertical gravitational field and the gradient of the total (thermal+magnetic) pressure vanishes. We show analytically that an equilibrium in that class makes the energy an absolute minimum in the set of all the configurations accessible from it by an arbitrary finite deformation constrained by ideal MHD and imposed to vanish on a rigid conducting wall (line-tying condition). Along with energy conservation, this implies the nonlinear ideal stability of that equilibrium in the following sense. Suppose that a perturbation of energy w(0) is applied at time t = 0 and thus evolves by obeying the nonlinear MHD equations. Then some measure of the sizes of the plasma velocity and the deformation of the structure can be made to stay at any t >= 0 below an arbitrarily prescribed value by choosing w(0) small enough. Nonlinear stability also holds true for a configuration obtained by superposing an equilibrium of the previous type and a nonmagnetic equilibrium which is also an energy minimizer—for instance an equilibrium with uniform specific entropy, which is shown to have that property. Our result applies to a subset of a family of equilibria, computed by B. C. Low, which includes in particular the standard Kippenhahn-Schlüter model describing the magnetic support of solar corona prominences. Title: Coronal Mass Ejection Initiation by Converging Photospheric Flows: Toward a Realistic Model Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. -J.; Luciani, J. -F.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. Bibcode: 2011ApJ...742L..27A Altcode: In the context of coronal mass ejections triggering, we reconsider the class of models in which the evolution of an active region (AR) is driven by imposed boundary motions converging toward the polarity inversion line (PIL). We introduce a new model problem in which there is a large-scale flow with a diverging structure on the photosphere. This flow is reminiscent of that of the well-known moat flow around each of the two spots of a bipolar AR and transports only part of the magnetic flux toward the PIL. It is thus more compatible with observations than the one used in our previous study, which forced the whole positive and negative polarity parts of the AR approaching each other. We also include a diffusion term associated with small-scale turbulent photospheric motions, but keep the associated diffusivity at a low value in the particular study described here. We show that the evolution of an initial sheared force-free field first leads to the formation of a twisted flux rope which stays in equilibrium for some time. Eventually, however, the configuration suffers a global disruption whose underlying mechanism is found by energetic considerations to be nonequilibrium. It begins indeed when the magnetic energy becomes of the order of the energy of an accessible partially open field. For triggering an eruption by converging flows, it is thus not necessary to advect the whole AR toward the PIL, but only its central part. Title: Reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field, from active region to large scale Authors: Amari, T.; Canou, A.; Delyon, F.; Aly, J. J.; Frey, P.; Alauzet, F. Bibcode: 2011sf2a.conf..389A Altcode: The low solar corona is dominated by the magnetic field which is created inside the sun by a dynamo process and then emerges into the atmosphere. This magnetic field plays an important role in most structures and phenomena observed at various wavelengths such as prominences, small and large scale eruptive events, and continuous heating of the plasma, and therefore it is important to understand its three-dimensional properties in order to elaborate efficient theoretical models. Unfortunately, the magnetic field is difficult to measure locally in the hot and tenuous corona. But this can be done at the level of the cooler and denser photosphere, and several instruments with high resolution vector magnetographs are currently available (THEMIS, Imaging Vector Magnetograph (IVM), the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter (ASP), SOLIS, HINODE, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), or will be shortly available by future telescopes such as EST and solar missions as SOLAR-ORBITER. This has lead solar physicists to develop an approach which consists in " reconstructing" the coronal magnetic field from boundary data given on the photosphere. We will discuss some of the issues encountered in solving this problem as well our recent progress and results at the scale of active region scales or the larger one such as full sun scale. Title: Observational constraints on well-posed reconstruction methods and the optimization-Grad-Rubin method Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 2010A&A...522A..52A Altcode: Context. Grad-Rubin type methods are interesting candidates for reconstructing the force-free magnetic field of a solar coronal region. As input these methods, however, require the normal component Bn of the field on the whole boundary of the numerical box and the force-free function α on the part of the boundary where Bn > 0 (or Bn < 0), while observations provide data only on its lower photospheric part. Moreover, they introduce an unpleasing asymmetry between the opposite polarity parts of the boundary, and certainly do not take full advantage of the available data on α.
Aims: We address these issues resulting from observations. We present a possible way to supply the missing information about Bn and α on the non-photospheric sides of the box, and to use more effectively the data provided by the measurements.
Methods: We introduce the optimization-Grad-Rubin method (OGRM), which is in some sense midway between optimization methods and the standard Grad-Rubin methods. It is based on an iterative scheme in which the α used as a boundary condition is imposed to take identical values at both footpoints of any field line and to be as close as possible to the α provided by the measurements on the photosphere. The degree of “closeness” is measured by an “error functional” containing a weight function reflecting the confidence that can be placed on the observational data.
Results: The new method is implemented in our code XTRAPOL, along with some technical improvements. It is thus tested for two specific choices of the weight function by reconstructing a force-free field from data obtained by perturbing in either a random or a non-random way boundary values provided by an exact solution. Title: Coronal Mass Ejection Initiation: On the Nature of the Flux Cancellation Model Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. -J.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. Bibcode: 2010ApJ...717L..26A Altcode: 2010arXiv1005.4669A We consider a three-dimensional bipolar force-free magnetic field with a nonzero magnetic helicity, occupying a half-space, and study the problem of its evolution driven by an imposed photospheric flux decrease. For this specific setting of the Flux Cancellation Model describing coronal mass ejections occurring in active regions, we address the issues of the physical meaning of flux decrease, of the influence on field evolution of the size of the domain over which this decrease is imposed, and of the existence of an energetic criterion characterizing the possible onset of disruption of the configuration. We show that (1) the imposed flux disappearance can be interpreted in terms of transport of positive and negative fluxes toward the inversion line, where they get annihilated. (2) For the particular case actually computed, in which the initial state is quite sheared, the formation of a twisted flux rope and the subsequent global disruption of the configuration are obtained when the flux has decreased by only a modest amount over a limited part of the whole active region. (3) The disruption is produced when the magnetic energy becomes of the order of the decreasing energy of a semi-open field, and then before reaching the energy of the associated fully open field. This suggests that the mechanism leading to the disruption is nonequilibrium as in the case where flux is imposed to decrease over the whole region. Title: Does the Compression or the Expansion of a Simple Topology Potential Magnetic Field Lead to the Development of Current Sheets? Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 2010ApJ...709L..99A Altcode: Janse & Low have most recently addressed the following question. Consider a cylindrical domain containing a simple topology potential magnetic field threading its lower and upper horizontal faces, and a perfectly conducting plasma. Suppose that this domain is made to slowly contract or expand in the vertical direction, so driving the field into a quasi-static evolution through a series of force-free configurations. Then are these configurations smooth, or do they contain current sheets (CSs)? We reexamine here their three-step argument leading to the conclusion that CSs form most generally. We prove analytically that the field has to evolve through "topologically untwisted" and "nonpotential" configurations, thus confirming the first two steps. However, we find the third step—leading to the conclusion that a smooth untwisted force-free field is necessarily potential—to be very disputable. Title: Simple analytical examples of boundary driven evolution of a two-dimensional magnetohydrostatic equilibrium Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2009A&A...507...29A Altcode: Aims: We construct families of time-sequences of x-invariant magnetostatic equilibria which describe ideal quasi-static evolutions driven by stationary shearing motions imposed on a boundary. The change in the thermal pressure of the plasma is determined by imposing either an adiabatic, or an isothermal, or an isobaric, prescription.
Methods: We start from a well known family of linear force-free fields, on which we effect simple transforms.
Results: In either case, the magnetic field and the pressure are expressed analytically as functions of space and time. The field is found to suffer an indefinite expansion, with a decrease to zero of the pressure in the adiabatic and isothermal cases, and to eventually open. Moreover, the configurations forming any sequence are shown to be linearly stable with respect to x-invariant perturbations. Title: Magnetic flux ropes: Fundamental structures for eruptive phenomena Authors: Amari, Tahar; Aly, Jean-Jacques Bibcode: 2009IAUS..257..211A Altcode: We consider some general aspects of twisted magnetic flux ropes (TFR), which are thought to play a fundamental role in the structure and dynamics of large scale eruptive events. We first discuss the possibility to show the presence of a TFR in a pre-eruptive configuration by using a model along with observational informations provided by a vector magnetograph. Then we present, in the framework of a generic model in which the coronal field is driven into an evolution by changes imposed at the photospheric level, several mechanisms which may lead to the formation and the disruption of a TFR, including the development of a MHD instability, and we discuss the issues of the energy and helicity contents of an erupting configuration. Finally we report some results of a recent and more ambitious approach to the physics of TFRs in which one tries to describe in a consistent way their rising through the convection zone, their emergence through the photosphere, and their subsequent evolution in the corona. Title: Coronal Closure of Subphotospheric MHD Convection for the Quiet Sun Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2008ApJ...681L..45A Altcode: We use our resistive layer model (RLM), which stresses the importance of the resistivity at the photospheric interface, to study the evolution of a solar coronal quiet region driven by subphotospheric convection. The initial version of the RLM is improved by introducing a new Boussinesq MHD model for the upper part of the convection zone (CZ), while the low-beta corona is still described by a MHD model. We compute the evolution of a weak magnetic field introduced initially in the CZ. We observe its amplification by the turbulence, the concentration of the photospheric flux at the boundaries of the convection cells, the coalescence and the cancellation of flux elements, and the transfer of about 10% of the magnetic energy into the corona. The currents associated with the nonpotential coronal field are found to be organized in filament-like localized structures due to the photospheric vortices and the complexity of the magnetic topology. Their resistive dissipation contributes to the heating of the quiet corona. Title: Coronal Mass Ejection Initiation and Complex Topology Configurations in the Flux Cancellation and Breakout Models Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. Bibcode: 2007ApJ...671L.189A Altcode: We present some new results showing that the flux cancellation model for coronal mass ejections (CMEs) works well also in a complex-topology magnetic field. We consider as a model problem the case of the flux-cancellation-driven evolution of a quadrupolar configuration. We find that (1) during the first phase, the field evolves slowly, with a twisted flux rope in equilibrium being created at some time; (2) nonequilibrium sets in at a critical time and the configuration experiences a major global disruption. These features are similar to those previously obtained for a bipolar configuration. Some differences between the two cases are however observed: (1) the presence of an X-point above the twisted flux rope makes the expulsion of the latter much easier due to the weaker confinement near this point; this difference may be at the origin of the existence of two classes of CMEs-fast and slow; (2) the energy W(t) of the configuration remains smaller than the energy Wσ(t) of the associated totally open field, and then the disruption does not occur when W(t)~Wσ(t), as in the bipolar case. Rather we get nonequilibrium when W(t)~WSO(t), where WSO(t) is the energy of a semiopen field which has its open lines connected to the two central spots on which flux cancellation is imposed. A consequence of our results is that the topological complexity of a preerupting configuration cannot be taken as a criterion for eliminating the flux cancellation model in favor of the well-known breakout model. Title: Structure and evolution of the solar coronal magnetic field Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 2007GApFD.101..249A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Well posed reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field Authors: Amari, T.; Boulmezaoud, T. Z.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2006A&A...446..691A Altcode: We present and compare two methods for the reconstruction of the solar coronal magnetic field, assumed to be force-free, from photospheric boundary data. Both methods rely on a well posed mathematical boundary value problem and are of the Grad-Rubin type, i.e., the couple ({B},α) is computed iteratively. They do differ from each other on the one hand by the way they address the zero-divergence of {B} issue, and on the other hand by the scheme they use for computing α at each iteration. The comparison of the two methods is done by numerically computing two examples of nonlinear force-free fields associated to large scale strong electric current distributions, whose exact forms can be otherwise determined semi-analytically. In particular, the second solution has a large nonlinearity even in the weak field region - a feature which is not present in the actual magnetograms, but is interesting to consider as it does allow to push the methods to the limits of their range of validity. The best results obtained with those methods give a relative vector error smaller than 0.01. For the latter extreme case, our results show that higher resolution reconstructions with bounded convergence improve the approximated solution, which may be of some interest for the treatment of the data of future magnetographs. Title: Non-Current-free Coronal Closure of Subphotospheric MHD Models Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2005ApJ...629L..37A Altcode: We propose a method that allows the matching of two classes of models that have been well developed so far, but largely independently from each other: (1) convection zone (CZ) models, which generally either end up below the photosphere or are matched with an external potential field, and (2) coronal models of eruptive processes and heating, which usually consider the evolution of current-carrying magnetic fields driven by given photospheric changes. In our approach, the thin turbulent photospheric layer between the two large regions is modeled as a resistive layer across which the physical quantities suffer stiff variations. We show that this layer enables the transport of an electric current into the corona through the tangential component of the electric field (continuous across the various interfaces), as well as good conservation of the global magnetic helicity. To illustrate our general approach, we present in detail a model problem in which the rising of an initially twisted flux rope through the CZ is described kinematically while the physics inside the corona is described by a full magnetohydrodynamic model. We show that the evolution leads to the emergence of magnetic flux and electric current into the corona, with the creation of a flux rope that eventually suffers a dynamical transition toward fast expansion. Title: Conservation laws and theorems of confinement and stability for a charged equatorial disk in a pulsar magnetosphere Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2005A&A...434..405A Altcode: For studying the nonaxisymmetric stability of the bounded electrosphere of an “aligned pulsar” (Michel's structure with polar domes and equatorial belt), Pétri et al. (2002) recently introduced a simplified but useful model in which all the charge-separated plasma located outside the magnetized rotating star is concentrated into a thin equatorial disk. In this paper, some aspects of this model are investigated analytically. It is shown that the equations governing the behaviour of the disk - in the case where there are no sources of particles feeding it - imply a series of conservation laws (for energy, angular momentum,...), and that there is a non-canonical Hamiltonian structure hidden behind them. The conservation laws are used to prove that: (i) for any initial conditions imposed on the disk, its evolution cannot lead to charges escaping to infinity (confinement theorem); (ii) a disk steady state with a possibly rotating pattern is nonlinearly stable if the charge density per unit of magnetic flux is a decreasing function of the electrostatic potential in the rotating frame (stability theorem). Title: A stability property of a force-free surface bounding a vacuum gap Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2005A&A...429..779A Altcode: 2010arXiv1005.4698A A force-free surface (FFS) S is a sharp boundary separating a void from a region occupied by a charge-separated force-free plasma. It is proven here under very general assumptions that there is on S a simple relation between the charge density μ on the plasma side and the derivative of δ=E\cdotB along B on the vacuum side (with E denoting the electric field and B the magnetic field). Combined with the condition δ=0 on S, this relation implies that a FFS has a general stability property, already conjectured by Michel (1979, ApJ 227, 579): S turns out to attract charges placed on the vacuum side if they are of the same sign as μ. In the particular case of a FFS existing in the axisymmetric stationary magnetosphere of a ``pulsar'', the relation is given a most convenient form by using magnetic coordinates, and is shown to imply an interesting property of a gap. Also, a simple proof is given of the impossibility of a vacuum gap forming in a field B which is either uniform or radial (monopolar). Title: A uniqueness result for a simple force-free magnetic field submitted to a topological constraint Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2005A&A...429...15A Altcode: A proof is given of the following statement: if B is a smooth force-free magnetic field contained in a cylindrical domain of axis parallel to z and of star-shaped cross-section, and if B is topologically equivalent to the uniform field B0=B0z, then B=B0. In addition to being a very first step in the general study of the uniqueness of a magnetostatic equilibrium subject to a topological constraint, this result has a direct relevance to the approach recently developed by Ng & Bhattacharjee (1998, Phys. Plasma, 5, 4028) to support Parker's theory of current sheets formation in the solar corona. Title: Coronal Magnetohydrodynamic Evolution Driven by Subphotospheric Conditions Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 2004ApJ...615L.165A Altcode: We consider the approach to the theory of formation, evolution, and major disruption of coronal twisted flux ropes, in which subphotospheric structures play a crucial role. We set a boundary value problem in the corona in which the boundary conditions at the photospheric level are determined by a simple kinematic model describing the rising of a tube throughout the convection zone. In addition to peculiar features like the existence of areas of flux concentration on the lower boundary and the bending of the polarity inversion line, we find that the coronal configuration suffers a transition from arcade to rope topology and (later) a transition from a slow quasi-static evolution to a dynamic nonequilibrium one, both these critical phenomena occurring during the phase of decrease of the net photospheric flux. There is a continuous injection of magnetic helicity into the corona, and the magnetic energy remains smaller than that of the corresponding open field. Contrary to what has been observed in some other simulations, the formation of the equilibrium flux rope prior to the disruption is not associated with some reconnection on the ``photospheric'' surface. This may possibly suggest the utility of different observational diagnostics. Title: Coronal Mass Ejection: Initiation, Magnetic Helicity, and Flux Ropes. II. Turbulent Diffusion-driven Evolution Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. Bibcode: 2003ApJ...595.1231A Altcode: We consider a three-dimensional bipolar magnetic field B, occupying a half-space, which is driven into evolution by the slow turbulent diffusion of its normal component on the boundary. The latter is imposed by fixing the tangential component of the electric field and leads to flux cancellation. We first present general analytical considerations on this problem and then construct a class of explicit solutions in which B keeps evolving quasi-statically through a sequence of force-free configurations without exhibiting any catastrophic behavior. Thus, we report the results of a series of numerical simulations in which B evolves from different force-free states, the electric field on the boundary being imposed to have a vanishing electrostatic part (the latter condition is not enforced in the analytical model, and thus it is possible a priori for the results of the two types of calculations to be different). In all the cases, we find that the evolution conserves the magnetic helicity and exhibits two qualitatively different phases. The first one, during which a twisted flux rope is created, is slow and almost quasi-static, while the second one is associated with a disruption, which is confined for a small initial helicity and global for a large initial helicity. Our calculations may be relevant for modeling the coronal mass ejections that have been observed to occur in the late dispersion phase of an active region. In particular, they may allow us to understand the role played by a twisted flux rope in these events. Title: Coronal Mass Ejection: Initiation, Magnetic Helicity, and Flux Ropes. I. Boundary Motion-driven Evolution Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J.; Mikic, Z.; Linker, J. Bibcode: 2003ApJ...585.1073A Altcode: In this paper we study a class of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic model problems that may be useful to understand the role of twisted flux ropes in coronal mass ejections. We construct in a half-space a series of force-free bipolar configurations with different helicity contents and bring them into an evolution by imposing to their footpoints on the boundary slow motions converging toward the inversion line. For all the cases that have been computed, this process leads, after a phase of quasi-static evolution, to the formation of a twisted flux rope by a reconnection process and to the global disruption of the configuration. In contrast with the results of some previous studies, however, the rope is never in equilibrium. It thus appears that the presence of a rope in the preeruptive phase is not a necessary condition for the disruption but may be the product of the disruption itself. Moreover, the helicity keeps an almost constant value during the evolution, and the problem of the origin of the helicity content of an eruptive configuration appears to be that of the initial force-free state. In addition to these numerical simulations, we report some new relations for the time variations of the energy and the magnetic helicity and develop a simple analytical model in which the magnetic field evolution exhibits essential features quite similar to those observed during the quasi-static phase in the numerics. Title: Thermodynamics of a two-dimensional unbounded self-gravitating system Authors: Aly, Jean-Jacques; Perez, Jérôme Bibcode: 1999PhRvE..60.5185A Altcode: The thermodynamics of a two-dimensional self-gravitating system occupying the whole plane is considered in the mean-field approximation. First, it is proven that, if the number N of particles and the total energy E are imposed as the only external constraints, then the entropy admits the least upper bound S+(N,E)=2E/N+N ln(eπ2) (in appropriate units). Moreover, there does exist a unique state of maximum entropy, which is characterized by a Maxwellian distribution function with a temperature T=N/2 independent of E. Next, it is shown that, if the total angular momentum J is imposed as a further constraint, the largest possible value of the entropy does not change, and there is no admissible state of maximum entropy, but in the case J=0. Finally, some inequalities satisfied by a class of so-called H functions and related generalized entropies are given. Title: Reconstructing the Solar Coronal Magnetic Field as a Force-Free Magnetic Field Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J.; Luciani, J. F.; Boulmezaoud, T. Z.; Mikic, Z. Bibcode: 1997SoPh..174..129A Altcode: We present some preliminary results on different mathematical problems encountered in attempts to reconstruct the coronal magnetic field, assumed to be in a force-free state, from its values in the photosphere. We discuss the formulations associated with these problems, and some new numerical methods that can be used to get their approximate solutions. Both the linear constant-α and the nonlinear cases are considered. We also discuss the possible use of dynamical 3D MHD codes to construct approximate solutions of the equilibrium force-free equations, which are needed for testing numerical extrapolation schemes. Title: Current sheets in two-dimensional potential magnetic fields. III. Formation in complex topology configurations and application to coronal heating. Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 1997A&A...319..699A Altcode: We study the spontaneous formation of a current sheet (CS) in an x-invariant y-symmetric magnetic field B(y,z,t) occupying the half-space {z>0}, and embedded in a pressureless perfectly conducting plasma. At the initial time t=0, B(y,z,0) is potential and quadrupolar, and therefore its lines in a poloidal plane have a complex topology: there is either one separatrix, which contains a neutral X-point or is tangent to the y-axis (X- and U-topology, respectively), or two separatrices extending to infinity (I-topology). For t>=0, the field is made to evolve quasi-statically by imposing its footpoints on the boundary {z=0} to move parallel to the y-axis at the slow velocity v(y,t). It thus passes through a sequence of configurations which are either potential equilibria or quasi-potential singular equilibria, the latter containing a CS, assumed a priori to be vertical. We compute analytically B(y,z,t) and its free-energy contents δ W (t) as functionals of B_z_(y,0,t) (this boundary value depending on B_z_(y,0,0) and v(y,t)), and also, when there is a CS, of the unknown heights z_1_(t) and z_2_(t) of its bottom and top, respectively. We derive equations satisfied by the latter quantities, and use them to show that: (i) When the initial field is of the U- or I-type, a CS - and a vertical one indeed - is actually present at time t if and only if the potential field B^p^(y,z,t) associated to B_z_(y,0,t) has a X-topology. (ii) When the initial field is of the X-type, a CS exists in general at each time t>0, but it is vertical if and only if a quite specific condition is satisfied - which may not be the case for arbitrarily chosen data and puts a limit on the generality of our model. Finally, we derive for z_1_(t), z_2_(t), B(y,z,t) and δW(t) useful approximate explicit expressions, which are valid just after the CS has started forming at some time t_c_>=0. As an application, we consider a plasma heating process in which a field evolving through a sequence of singular equilibria as described above, relaxes at each time t_k_ = k τ_D_ (k=1,2, ...,N) to a new potential equilibrium, the vertical CS being destroyed by some reconnection process. We present an estimate of the resulting heating rate, which is found to depend on the ratio τ_D_/τ_ev_ (assumed to be <<1) of a given phenomenological dissipation time τ_D_ to the ideal evolution time τ_ev_ of the system. The relevance of this process for heating a stellar corona is briefly discussed. Title: Very Fast Opening of a Three-dimensional Twisted Magnetic Flux Tube Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J.; Tagger, M. Bibcode: 1996ApJ...466L..39A Altcode: This Letter is devoted to the still open problem of the evolution of a three-dimensional coronal flux tube embedded in a low-beta ideal plasma and having its footpoints twisted by slow photospheric motions. Such a process has been simulated with a recently developed magnetohydrodynamic code. In the particular calculation reported here, the system occupies a large cubic box. The field is initially potential, being generated by an underlying horizontal dipole, and it is twisted by two vortices located on the lower face {z = 0} of the box, on both sides of the neutral line. In a first phase, the field roughly evolves quasi-statically through a sequence of force-free configurations. Thus, it enters a dynamical phase during which it suffers a very fast expansion, closely approaching after some finite time a semi-open configuration. The energy increases monotonically during all the evolution, and it tends to a limit, which is equal to about 80% of the energy of the totally open field associated with Bz. Title: Stability of spherical stellar systems - I. Analytical results Authors: Perez, Jerome; Aly, Jean-Jacques Bibcode: 1996MNRAS.280..689P Altcode: 1995astro.ph.11103P The so-called `symplectic method' is used for studying the linear stability of a self-gravitating collisionless stellar system, in which the particles are also subjected to an external potential. The system is steady and spherically symmetric, and its distribution function f_0 thus depends only on the energy E and the squared angular momentum L^2 of a particle. Assuming that ∂f_0/∂<e1>E<</e1>0, it is first shown that stability holds with respect to all the spherical perturbations - a statement which turns out also to be valid for a rotating spherical system. Thus it is proven that the energy of an arbitrary aspherical perturbation associated with a `preserving generator' deltag_1 [i.e., one satisfying ∂f_0/∂L^2lcubdeltag_1,L^2rcub=0] is always positive if ∂f_0/∂L^2<=0 and the external mass density is a decreasing function of the distance r to the centre. This implies in particular (under the latter condition) the stability of an isotropic system with respect to all the perturbations. Some new remarks on the relation between the symmetry of the system and the form of f_0 are also reported. It is argued, in particular, that a system with a distribution function of the form f_0=f_0(E,L^2 ) is necessarily spherically symmetric. Title: Stability of spherical stellar systems - II. Numerical results Authors: Perez, Jerome; Alimi, Jean-Michel; Aly, Jean-Jacques; Scholl, Hans Bibcode: 1996MNRAS.280..700P Altcode: 1995astro.ph.11090P We have performed a series of high-resolution N-body experiments on a connection machine CM-5 in order to study the stability of collisionless self-gravitating spherical systems. We interpret our results in the framework of symplectic mechanics, which provides the definition of a new class of particular perturbations: the preserving perturbations, which are a generalization of the radial ones. Using models defined by the Ossipkov-Merritt algorithm, we show that the stability of a spherical anisotropic system is directly related to the preserving or non-preserving nature of the perturbations acting on the system. We then generalize our results to all spherical systems. Since the `isotropic component' of the linear variation of the distribution function cannot be used to predict the stability or instability of a spherical system, we propose a more useful stability parameter which is derived from the `anisotropic' component of the linear variation. Title: Stability of an axisymmetric massive current sheet supported by a potential magnetic field. Authors: Lepeltier, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1996A&A...306..645L Altcode: The ideal linear stability of a class of axisymmetric magnetostatic equilibria is investigated by using the classical energy principle of Bernstein et al. (1958). The system under consideration is constituted of an infinitely thin equatorial disk of cold dense matter and of a corona filled up with a massless plasma. The disk is supported against the radial gravity of a central object by a magnetic field which is potential in the corona and has its footpoints firmly anchored in the rigid boundary of that region (line-tying). Such a configuration is proven to be always stable with respect to axisymmetric perturbations, but to be stable against arbitrary ones if and only if two criteria (in which stabilization by line-tying appears explicitly) are satisfied. These criteria are applied to several particular equilibria (constructed by a general superposition method), which may be considered as crude models useful to understand some of the mechanisms at work in solar prominences and in accretion disks around compact objects. Stable configurations are shown to exist in each of the cases which have been worked out. Title: Plasmoid formation in a single sheared arcade and application to coronal mass ejections. Authors: Amari, T.; Luciani, J. F.; Aly, J. J.; Tagger, M. Bibcode: 1996A&A...306..913A Altcode: We address the question whether a plasmoid can be produced and ejected by an isolated x-invariant arcade located in a half-space, when its footpoints are sheared parallel to the x-axis, but no converging y-motions are applied. We use a recently developed MHD numerical code based upon a new efficient semi-implicit method, and well adapted for treating long time evolution problems in which small spatial scales develop spontaneously. Starting from a configuration created by a dipole located under the photosphere, we follow numerically the evolution of the sheared arcade. In the ideal case, and in contrast to previous attempts effected in such a geometry, our simulations show that, after a long phase of slow evolution, the poloidal magnetic configuration strongly inflates, while the electric current concentrates into a thin layer extending vertically in the central region, as predicted by analytical studies. Adding a small amount of resistivity then leads to the formation of a rising plasmoid, with stronger flows appearing along the separatrices. Title: Nonequilibrium in Sheared Axisymmetric Force-free Magnetic Fields Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1995ApJ...439L..63A Altcode: The problem of the ideal evolution through a sequence of force-free configurations of an axisymmetric magnetic field occupying the region outside a sphere is considered. The field is initially a potential arcade, and its footpoints on the boundary are slowly sheared by azimuthal stationary motions. It is shown on general grounds that, after an initial phase during which energy gets quietly stored, the field starts expanding at an increasing rate, approaching very rapidly an open field (possibly reached at finite time] -- which implies in general a breakdown of the quasi-static approximation at some stage. he possible importance of this result for our understanding of eruptive processes in the solar corona is emphasized. Title: Computation of the magnetic field around a quiescent prominence from observational data. Authors: Lepeltier, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1995A&A...293..906L Altcode: A prominence is often modelized by a vertical infinitely thin massive current sheet {SIGMA} embedded in the coronal half-space {z>0}, and supported against a uniform gravitational field -gz{hat} by an x-invariant magnetic field which is potential outside {SIGMA}. In the framework of this simple model, we reconsider the problem of the determination of the magnetic field from the knowledge of its normal components on both {SIGMA} and the photospheric plane {z=0}, the values of these quantities being assumed to be extracted from actual observational data. It is shown that there is in general no regular field satisfying these boundary conditions. A sensible "regularization" procedure can however be applied to the problem, which allows to determine a field in a unique way. Conditions on the data for this field being actually able to support a prominence are established, and an explicit example is computed. Title: Current sheet model of a normal prominence in which the background magnetic lines show a `dip structure' Authors: Lepeltier, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1994SoPh..154..393L Altcode: We propose a simple 2D current sheet model of a normal prominence, in which the lines of the background magnetic field have the `dip structure' which seems to be required for such an object to form and to be stably supported. Title: Stability Criteria for Massive Current Sheets in Two-dimensional Potential Magnetic Fields Authors: Aly, J. J.; Colombi, S.; Lepeltier, T. Bibcode: 1994ApJ...432..793A Altcode: We investigate the linear stability of a simple model describing a solar prominence as a perfectly conducting vertical massive current sheet located in the 'coronal half-space' (z greater than 0), and supported against gravity by an x-invariant magnetic field. Assuming the region outside the sheet to be current-free and to contain a low-beta plasma having an infinite conductivity, and imposing the field lines to be firmly tied to the 'photospheric plane' (z = 0): (1) We show that the model is stable with respect to any perturbation which do not depend on x. (2) We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for three-dimensional stability to hold. As expected a priori, our criteria are much less severe than those Anzer obtained by taking the sheet to be embedded in a vacuum. They allow in particular -- contrary to Anzer's -- the stability of a sheet of low mass suspended in a region where the lines of the background field would have their concavity directed upward, were they unperturbed by the heavy plasma. Title: Asymptotic formation of a current sheet in an indefinitely sheared force-free field: an analytical example Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1994A&A...288.1012A Altcode: We construct an analytical sequence of x-invariant force-free magnetic configurations occupying the half-space {Z>0} and having an arcade topology. The field is initially current-free, and it evolves eventually towards an open field, with all the currents concentrating into a current sheet. Title: Thermodynamics of a two-dimensional self-gravitating system Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1994PhRvE..49.3771A Altcode: The mean field thermodynamics of a system of N gravitationally interacting particles confined in some bounded plane domain Ω is considered in the four possible situations corresponding to the following two pairs of alternatives: (a) Confinement is due either to a rigid circular wall ∂Ω or to an imposed external pressure (in which case ∂Ω is a free boundary). (b) The system is either in contact with a thermal bath at temperature T, or it is thermally insulated. It is shown in particular that (i) for a system at given temperature T, a globally stable equilibrium (minimum free energy or minimum free enthalpy state for ∂Ω rigid or free, respectively) exists and is unique if and only if T exceeds a critical value Tc, and (ii) for a thermally insulated system, a unique globally stable (maximum entropy) equilibrium exists for any value of the energy (rigid ∂Ω) or of the enthalpy (free ∂Ω). The case of a system confined in a domain of arbitrary shape is also discussed. Bounds on the free energy and the entropy are derived, and it is proven that no isothermal equilibrium (stable or unstable) with a temperature T<=Tc can exist if the domain is ``star shaped.'' Title: Eruptive processes in the solar corona. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1994cmcp.conf....7A Altcode: The author discusses the following problem, which seems to be important for our understanding of eruptive processes in the solar corona: in which conditions does a sequence of evolving force-free magnetic arcades lose equilibrium, thus entering a phase of fast dynamical evolution in the course of which energy is released and mass and magnetic flux are possibly ejected. Title: Recent Results on the Stability of Anisotropic Stellar Systems Authors: Perez, J.; Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 1994LNP...430..177P Altcode: 1994ecsd.conf..177P We present a new approach to deal with the problem of stability of collisionless stellar systems. This technique, based on the symplectic structure of the Vlasov-Poisson system, allows us to derive a new stability criterion for general systems. It is very useful in the anisotropic spherical case. Title: Minimum Energy States of a Self-Gravitating System Authors: Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 1994LNP...430..226A Altcode: 1994ecsd.conf..226A We prove the existence of a unique global minimum energy state for a self-gravitating system whose mass and a "quasi-entropy" assume a priori given values. Title: Stability of collisionless self-gravitating systems. Authors: Alimi, J. -M.; Perez, J.; Aly, J. -J.; Scholl, H. Bibcode: 1994euoq.conf..403A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Source-Surface Model with Force-Free Fields Authors: Seehafer, N.; Aly, J. J.; Schmidtmann, O. Bibcode: 1994emsp.conf..103S Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Coronal Force-Free Magnetic Field - Source Surface Model Authors: Aly, J. J.; Seehafer, N. Bibcode: 1993SoPh..144..243A Altcode: Models of the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere and corona are still mainly based on theoretical extrapolations of photospheric measurements. For the practical calculation of the global field, the so-called source-surface model has been introduced, in which the influence of the solar wind is described by the requirement that the field be radial at some exterior (source) surface. Then the assumption that the field is current-free in the volume between the photosphere and this surface allows for its determination from the photospheric measurement. In the present paper a generalization of the source-surface model to force-free fields is proposed. In the generalized model the parameterα( = ∇ ×B.B/B2)must be non-constant (or vanish identically) and currents are restricted to regions with closed field lines. A mathematical algorithm for computing the field from boundary data is devised. Title: Minimum Energy / Maximum Entropy States of a Self-gravitating System Authors: Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 1993nbpg.conf...19A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: A model for magnetic energy storage and Taylor's relaxation in the solar corona. I: Helicity-constrained minimum energy state in a half-cylinder Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1993PhFlB...5..151A Altcode: The paper is concerned with the problem of the existence of a minimum energy state in a set of all the magnetic fields B occupying a circular half-cylinder D, with a normal component vanishing on the vertical part of the boundary of D and taking prescribed axisymmetric values on its lower horizontal part, and having a given relative helicity. It is shown that the only possible solution is a constant-alpha force-free field B-alpha. The main properties of this type of field (in particular, its existence and uniqueness under the imposed conditions) are determined. The implications of the results obtained for the problem of the solar corona are discussed. Title: Stability of Spherical Stellar Systems by Symplectic Method: Numerical Test Authors: Perez, J.; Alimi, J. -M.; Aly, J. -J.; Scholl, H. Bibcode: 1993nbpg.conf...43P Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Reconnection in the solar atmosphere Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1992PPCF...34.1785A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: On the stability of a gaseous sphere against non-radial perturbations Authors: Aly, Jean-Jacques; Perez, Jerome Bibcode: 1992MNRAS.259...95A Altcode: We present a simplified proof of the Antonov-Lebovitz theorem, asserting that any spherical barotropic star having a mass density decreasing monotonically outwards and vanishing at its surface is stable to all non-radial perturbations. We also develop a simple argument showing in a straightforward way a related but somewhat weaker result, according to which any such star is stable if and only if it is stable to radial perturbations. Extension of these results to a star with non-decreasing specific entropy distribution is also briefly discussed. Title: Extended massive current sheet in a two-dimensional constant-alpha force-free field - A model for quiescent prominences Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1992A&A...265..791A Altcode: We consider a simple 2D analytical model of a solar prominence represented by a massive current sheet supported in a uniform gravitational field by an external constant-alpha force-free magnetic field. We show that it is possible to construct so-called inverse configurations above either bipolar or quadrupolar photospheric regions by a suitable adjustment of the free parameters of the model, namely the boundary flux distribution, the current in the sheet, and the value of alpha. It turns out that such configurations may exist only for large value of alpha, and thus in highly sheared magnetic fields, a result which should prove important for our understanding of the formation of the prominences of the Kuperus-Raadu type. Title: Some properties of finite energy constant-α force-free magnetic fields in a half-space Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1992SoPh..138..133A Altcode: Some useful properties of a finite energy, constant-α, force-free magnetic field Bα occupying a half-space D are presented. In particular: Fourier and Green representations of Bα are obtained and used to derive conditions for the existence and uniqueness of a Bα having a given normal component Bz on the boundary ∂D. Title: How Much Energy Can Be Stored in a Three-dimensional Force-free Magnetic Field? Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1991ApJ...375L..61A Altcode: Simple physical considerations indicate that the energy of any finite-energy, force-free magnetic field occupying a half-space, and having all its lines unknotted and tied to the half-space boundary, will not be larger than the energy of the 'open field' which has the same half-space boundary flux distribution. Attention is given to the consequences of this view for the solar corona's eruptive phenomena; an upper bound on the energy which a flare can release is implied, and any spontaneous transition of the coronal field to an open state is precluded. Title: The stability of a line-tied force-free magnetic field in an unbounded region of space Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990PhFlB...2.1928A Altcode: Sufficient criteria of linear ideal magnetohydrodynamic stability are derived for a three-dimensional nonlinear force-free magnetic field B occupying an infinite region Omega, which is either a half-space or an 'exterior domain'; all the field lines of B are assumed to be firmly rooted in the line-typing condition, but their topological pattern may be otherwise quite arbitrary. Roughly speaking, a field characterized by a length scale Lambda is found to be stable if alpha sub 0 is less than O(1), where alpha sub 0 is a number measuring the magnitude of the force-free function. The stability criteria established here have some important astrophysical applications (solar corona, magnetosphere of a compact object, etc.), which are briefly discussed. Title: Quasi-static evolution of a force-free magnetic field Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990CoPhC..59...13A Altcode: We consider in the half-space {z > 0} a simple-topology force-free magnetic field B embedded in a highly conducting plasma (resistivity σ) and its quasi-static evolution driven by motions imposed to the feet of its lines on the boundary {z = 0}. We first study the case when B is an x-invariant arcade, discussing in particular: (i) for σ = 0, the existence of stable equilibria corresponding to arbitrarily large shearing, and the qualitative time behaviour of the field (in particular in the limit t --> ∞) (ii) for σ ≠ 0, the possibility of a fast transition by reconnection from an arcade to a complex topology configuration having a lower energy, but the same ``distribution of magnetic fluxes''. We thus consider a fully three-dimensional field (having an ``arcade'' or a ``tube'' topology), showing in particular how it is possible to extend to that situation some of the results obtained for an x-invariant arcade when σ = 0. Title: Extended massive current sheet in a two-dimensional constant-alpha force-free field - A model for quiescent prominences. I - Theory Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990A&A...231..213A Altcode: We present an analytical model of extended massive current sheet Σ in equilibrium in a 2 D x-invariant constant-α force-free field, and a vertical gravitational field. We show in particular that there is a maximal mass that can be supported by the magnetic field and that the topology of the field lines is always of the "Kippenhahn-Schlüter" type. This model can be used to describe the magnetic support of solar quiescent prominences. This work is an extension of Amari and Aly (1989) in which the simpler approximation of a prominence by a filament was considered. Title: Current Sheets in Two-Dimensional Potential Magnetic Fields - Part Two - Asymptotic Limits of Indefinitely Sheared Force-Free Fields Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990A&A...227..628A Altcode: We compute analytically the singular state B which is approached asymptotically by an arcade-like x-invariant force- free field in {z > 0} when indefinitely sheared. B is a field which is potential everywhere in {z > 0} but on a current sheet in equilibrium extending up to infinity; it is determined from the values of Bz on the boundary plane {z = 0} and of a number A1 characterizing the magnetic surface from which the sheet is starting. Title: Do Current Sheets Necessarily Form in 3D Sheared Magnetic Force-Free Fields? Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990PDHO....7..176A Altcode: 1990ESPM....6..176A; 1990dysu.conf..176A No abstract at ADS Title: Stability of a Massive Current Sheet Supported by a Two-Dimensional Potential Magnetic Field Authors: Aly, J. J.; Colombi, S. Bibcode: 1990IAUS..142..341A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Flaring interactions between accretion disk and neutron star magnetosphere. Authors: Aly, J. J.; Kuijpers, J. Bibcode: 1990A&A...227..473A Altcode: The effect of magnetic reconnections between the magnetosphere of a neutron star and the accretion disk is considered using a model of a neutron-star/disk system, which assumes the existence of magnetic 'loops' anchored in the disk and extending into a corona on both sides of the disk. It is shown that these magnetic links are efficient transmitters of angular momentum. At the disk plane, the linked field is forced to rotate with near-Keplerian velocity, while it corotates with the star at the other end. The magnetic energy is stored in the sheared and expanding field link, which is released upon a transition to a lower energy state again caused by reconnection. This process leads to a release of flaring energy in the magnetosphere and to the transport of angular momentum between the disk and the star. It is proposed that these magnetic flares might be an explanation for quasi-periodic oscillations. Title: Structure of two-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria in the presence of gravity Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990GMS....58..327A Altcode: Results are presented from an analytical study of three different 2D, x-invariant equilibrium models for a plasma that occupies the half-space and is subject to both a magnetic field and a constant vertical gravitational field. The models are differentiated by their assumptions concerning the spatial distribution of matter; while models 1 and 2, respectively, take the plasma to be concentrated in a vertical sheet and in the filament, model 3's plasma occupies all of half-space and possesses a uniform temperature. In all three cases, attention is given to the existence and uniqueness of solutions. Nonequilibrium phenomena are noted. Title: Current Sheet Models for Solar Prominences. Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amary, T.; Colombi, S. Bibcode: 1990ppsa.conf..181A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: How much Energy can be Stored in a Stable Force-Free Magnetic Field? Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990PDHO....7..179A Altcode: 1990dysu.conf..179A; 1990ESPM....6..179A No abstract at ADS Title: Quasi-Static Evolution of a Force-Free Magnetic Field. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990ppsa.conf..167A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Storage and Release of Magnetic Energy in a Force-Free Field Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990IAUS..142..313A Altcode: Some of the analytical results obtained in a study by Aly (1989) of the quasi-static evolution of a 2D force-free field are extended to a 3D situation. For a 3D force-free field occupying a half-space D = (z greater than 0), attention is given to: the storage of free magnetic energy when the field evolves quasi-statically as a consequence of motions imposed to its footpoints on the plane (z = 0); and (2) the release of this energy during a reconnection process implying a rearrangement of the lines which is either local or global. It is shown that a 3D field may approach asymptotically an open field. Title: Quasi-potential-singular-equilibria and evolution of the coronal magnetic field due to photospheric boundary motions Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1990GMS....58..245A Altcode: Novel general properties are presented of configurations in a class of 2D, x-invariant magnetostatic equilibria, showing that the general condition of equilibrium at the extremities of the current sheet implies a heretofore unsuspected constraint on the magnetic field. Attention is given to situations in which singular states are obtained asymptotically by means of an arcadelike, x-invariant force-free field that is indefinitely sheared. A method is given for the analytical computation of such asymptotic states, as the solutions of boundary-value problems. Title: On the lowest energy state of a collisionless self-gravitating system under phase space volume constraints. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989MNRAS.241...15A Altcode: The problem of minimizing the energy of a collisionless self-gravitating system under the only constraint of phase space volume conservation is reconsidered. With respect to the recent paper on the same subject by Wiechen, Ziegler and Schindler, the author brings about essentially three new results: 1. he establishes a lower bound on the energy by using arguments which are both simpler and more general than those of these authors; 2. he proves that the lowest energy state is necessarily spherically symmetric (in the physical space), and 3. he shows that, if one fixes also the total angular momentum J of the system, then there is no lowest energy state satisfying this further constraint if J ≠ 0. Title: Current sheets in two-dimensional potential magnetic fields. I - General properties Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 1989A&A...221..287A Altcode: The equilibrium of a set of current sheets embedded in a potential magnetic field is studied as well as some general properties of quasi-potential singular equilibrium (QPSE). Representations were established for an x-invariant magnetic field which is potential everywhere but on a set of singular surfaces. It is shown that, in a QPSE, the current sheets are analytical curves. An analytical curve may always be interpreted as a current sheet embedded in a QPSE. Title: Magnetospheres of magnetic stars surrounded by disks. Authors: Zylstra, G. J.; Lamb, F. K.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989BAPS...34.1289Z Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: On the Reconstruction of the Nonlinear Force-Free Coronal Magnetic Field from Boundary Data Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989SoPh..120...19A Altcode: Using a simple model in which the corona is represented by the half-space domain Ω = {z > 0} and the photosphere by the boundary plane ∂Ω = {z = 0}, we discuss some important aspects of the general problem of the reconstruction of the magnetic field B in a small isolated coronal region from the values of the vector B¦∂Ω measured by a magnetograph over its whole basis. Assuming B to be force-free in Ω: (i) we derive a series of relations which must be necessarily satisfied by the boundary field B¦∂Ω, and then by the magnetograph data if the force-free assumption is actually correct; (ii) we show how to extract directly from the measured B¦∂Ω some useful informations about the energy of B in Ω and the topological structure of its field lines; (iii) we present a critical discussion of the two methods which have been proposed so far for computing effectively B in Ω from B¦∂Ω. Title: Quasi-static evolution of a three-dimensional force-free magnetic field. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989sasf.confP.265A Altcode: 1989IAUCo.104P.265A; 1988sasf.conf..265A No abstract at ADS Title: Two-dimensional isothermal magnetostatic equilibria in a gravitational field. I - Unsheared equilibria Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989A&A...208..361A Altcode: Some new results concerning the structure and the quasi-static evolution of two-dimensional x-invariant magnetostatic equilibria in the half-space (z greater than 0) are presented. The plasma pressure p and the gravity are taken into account, but the field is assumed to be shearless (Bx = 0). The values of Bz and of p are given on the boundary (z =0). The problem of the existence of solutions is discussed, and some of their general properties are determined. Title: Interaction between a line current and a two-dimensional constant-alpha force-free field - an analytical model for quiescent prominences Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989A&A...208..261A Altcode: A simple analytical model describing the equilibrium of a massive line current submitted to the action of a vertical gravitational field and of a two-dimensional constant-alpha force-free magnetic field is described. This model is then applied to the problem of the magnetic support of quiescent prominences. It is shown in particular that the introduction of a background force-free field instead of a potential one may be a clue for solving difficulties which appear when some previous models are confronted with the observations. Title: Quasi-static evolution of a force-free magnetic field and conditions for the onset of a stellar flare. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989sasf.confP.259A Altcode: 1988sasf.conf..259A; 1989IAUCo.104P.259A No abstract at ADS Title: An analytical study of the structure of two-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria in the presence of gravity. Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1989sasf.confP.271A Altcode: 1989IAUCo.104P.271A; 1988sasf.conf..271A No abstract at ADS Title: Two-dimensional non-symmetric models of quiescent prominences in potential magnetic fields Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 1988A&A...207..154A Altcode: The authors present a general method which allows to construct in the half-space {z > 0} non-y-symmetric x invariant models describing the equilibrium of a massive current sheet submitted to the action of a vertical gravitational field and of a potential magnetic field. They also derive general relations which determine the current and the mass of the sheet and the total energy of the configuration from the only value of the magnetic field on the plane {z = 0}. Title: Some properties of the solutions of a non-linear boundary value problem for a force-free field in an infinite region of space. I - Energy estimates Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1988A&A...203..183A Altcode: The author considers the boundary value problem which determines a finite energy force-free field B in a domain of space Ω from the values of its normal component Bn on the boundary ∂Ω, and of α = B^m∇×B^ on that part ∂Ω+ of ∂Ω on which Bn > 0. Title: Some integral properties of two-dimensional force-free fields supporting massive current sheets Authors: Amari, T.; Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1988A&A...193..291A Altcode: A set of useful integral relations satisfied by any x-invariant nonlinear force-free field occupying the half-space z greater than zero and supporting a massive current sheet against the action of a vertical gravitational field is derived. These relations are used to prove a nonexistence theorem for the solutions of a boundary value problem which determines the equilibrium of a massive sheet when the amount of mass per unit of flux of the background nonlinear force-free field is given. Title: Quasi-static evolution of a force-free magnetic field - Applications to the theory of stellar flares and coronal heating Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1988ASSL..143..153A Altcode: 1988acse.conf..153A The author considers in the highly conducting half-space {z > 0} an x-invariant arcade force-free field which is evolving in a quasi-static way as a consequence of a velocity field v = v(y)x^ imposed on the boundary plane {z = 0}. He shows in particular that, when the shear exceeds a critical value, the configuration becomes metastable with respect to non-linear perturbations which change the topology of the field lines, but preserve the magnetic fluxes. Title: On the uniqueness of the determination of the coronal potential magnetic field from line-of-sight boundary conditions. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1987SoPh..111..287A Altcode: We consider a simple model in which the coronal magnetic field B is assumed to be potential in the region between the solar surface Γo and an exterior `source-surface' Γ1 of arbitrary shape. We prove that the boundary value problem that determines B from the value Blof its component on Γ0 along either (orthoradial direction) or (fixed direction) has at most one solution. On the other hand, we show that a solution can exist only if Blsatisfies some `solubility conditions'. Title: Evolving magnetostatic equilibria. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1987imfo.work..240A Altcode: The author reviews some of the work which has been done recently on the problem of the externally driven quasi-static evolution of an ideal magnetohydrostatic configuration. In particular, he pays much attention to the possible development during such an evolution of current sheets. Title: Some topics in the magnetohydrodynamics of accreting magnetic compact objects Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1986AIPC..144...45A Altcode: 1986mpa..book...45A Magnetic compact objects (neutron stars or white dwarfs) are currently thought to be present in many accreting systems that are releasing large amounts of energy. The magnetic field of the compact star may interact strongly with the accretion flow and play an essential role in the physics of these systems. Some magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) problems that are likely to be relevant in building up self-consistent models of the interaction between the accreting plasma and the star's magnetosphere are addressed in this series of lectures. The basic principles of MHD are first introduced and some important MHD mechanisms (Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities; reconnection) are discussed, with particular reference to their role in allowing the infalling matter to penetrate the magnetosphere and mix with the field. The structurre of a force-free magnetosphere and the possibility of quasi-static momentum and energy transfer between regions linked by field-aligned currents are then studied in some detail. Finally, the structure of axisymmetric accretion flows onto magnetic compact objects is considered. Title: Magnetospheres of accreting compact objects in binary systems Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1986csms.coll...25A Altcode: Bright pulsating X-ray sources (X-ray pulsars, AM Her stars, . . .) have been identified as strongly magnetized compact objects accreting matter from a binary companion. A summary of some of the work which has been recently done to try to understand the interaction between the magnetic field of the compact object and the matter around is given. The models describing the interaction of the field with a spherically symmetric accretion flow, a thin Keplerian accretion disk, and the companion itself are examined. In all these cases, attention is paid to the following problems: (1) how the external plasma interacting with the magnetosphere can get mixed with the field; and (2) by which mechanism the magnetic field controls the mass-momentum-energy exchanges between the two stars. The magnetosphere of an accreting component object is compared with that of a planet. Title: Structure of the Magnetospheres of Accreting Magnetic Compact Objects Authors: Aly, J. Bibcode: 1986ppm..conf..125A Altcode: The author reviews some of the work which has been recently done to try to understand the interaction between the magnetic field of a strongly magnetized compact object and either a thin keplerian accretion disk, or a spherically symmetric accretion flow. In each case, he pays particular attention to the following problems: (1) how the external plasma interacting with the magnetosphere can get mixed with the field; (2) by which mechanism does the magnetic field control the transfer of mass-momentum-energy to the compact object. In conclusion, the author compares the magnetosphere of an accreting compact object with that one of a planet. Title: Some New Results in the Theory of Two-Dimensional Magnetostatic Equilibria Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 1985tphr.conf..319A Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: Quasi-static evolution of sheared force-free fields and the solar flare problem. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1985A&A...143...19A Altcode: The author reports some new results showing the possible evolution of a two-dimensional force-free field in the half-space {z > 0} toward an open field. This evolution is driven by shearing motions applied to the feet of the field lines on the boundary {z = 0}. The author discusses the consequences of his results for a model of the two-ribbon solar flare. Title: Synchronization of Magnetic White Dwarfs in Close Binary Systems Authors: Lamb, F. K.; Aly, J. -J.; Cook, M. C.; Lamb, D. Q. Bibcode: 1985ASSL..113..237L Altcode: 1985cvlm.proc..237L Asynchronous rotation of strongly magnetic white dwarfs in close binary systems drives substantial field-aligned electrical currents between the magnetic star and its companion. The resulting magnetohydrodynamic torque is able to account for the heretofore unexplained synchronous rotation of the strongly magnetic degenerate dwarf component in systems like AM Her, VV Pup, AN UMa, and EF Eri. The electric fields produced by even a small asynchronism are large enough to accelerate electrons to high energies, and may lead to radio emission. The total energy dissipation rate in systems with white dwarf spin periods as short as 1m may reach 1033ergs s-1. Total luminosities of this order may be a characteristic feature of such systems. Title: Opening of the magnetic field lines in a fast rotating magnetosphere, with an application to Jupiter Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1985IAUS..107..217A Altcode: A simple model of a magnetosphere rotating around a rotating Jupiter-like object with a spin-aligned dipolar moment mu is considered. A low-energy plasma is released by inner sources located beyond the corotation radius and is diffused outward through closed lines. The lines form a closed thin equatorial disk, maintaining a quasi-static balance between the centrifugal force and the magnetic tension. Solutions are obtained for the analytical equations characterizing the plasma in the closed region; the structure of the magnetic field outside the disk; and the self-consistent value of the critical radius rzero. The analytical solutions are compared to the observed properties of the Jovian magnetosphere, and the results are discussed in detail. Title: Some new results in the theory of two-dimensional magnetostatic equilibria. Authors: Aly, J. J.; Amari, T. Bibcode: 1985MPARp.212..319A Altcode: X-invariant magnetostatic equilibria in the half-space {z > 0} have been very often considered in theoretical models for prominences or two-ribbon flares. In this paper, the authors report some new results on the structure and quasi-static evolution of such equilibria. These results concern the two following limiting situations: (1) the field is force-free and the value of Bz as well as the positions of the feet of the lines are given on {z = 0}; (2) plasma pressure p and gravity are taken into account, but the field is shearless (Bx = 0); the values of Bz and of p are given on {z = 0}. Title: Quasi-static evolution of force-free magnetic fields and a model for two-ribbon solar flares Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1985IAUS..107..221A Altcode: It is shown that a two-dimensional force-free field in the solar corona can evolve in a quasi-static manner toward an open configuration, assuming the coronal field is invariant with respect to translations parallel to the x-axis. The theoretical result is applied to the quantitative theory of the evolution of two-ribbon solar flares of Kopp and Pneuman (1976), and the results are discussed. It is concluded that the two-dimensional force is the principal mechanism for the opening of the coronal magnetic field prior to reconnection during a solar flare. Title: Disk Accretion by Magnetic Stars Authors: Zylstra, G. J.; Lamb, F. K.; Aly, J. J.; Cohn, H. Bibcode: 1984BAAS...16..944Z Altcode: No abstract at ADS Title: On some properties of force-free magnetic fields in infinite regions of space Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1984ApJ...283..349A Altcode: Techniques for solving boundary value problems (BVP) for a force free magnetic field (FFF) in infinite space are presented. A priori inequalities are defined which must be satisfied by the force-free equations. It is shown that upper bounds may be calculated for the magnetic energy of the region provided the value of the magnetic normal component at the boundary of the region can be shown to decay sufficiently fast at infinity. The results are employed to prove a nonexistence theorem for the BVP for the FFF in the spatial region. The implications of the theory for modeling the origins of solar flares are discussed. Title: Synchronization of magnetic stars in binary systems. Authors: Lamb, F. K.; Aly, J. -J.; Cook, M. C.; Lamb, D. Q. Bibcode: 1983ApJ...274L..71L Altcode: Asynchronous rotation of magnetic stars in close binary systems drives substantial field-aligned electrical currents between the magnetic star and its companion. The resulting magnetohydrodynamic torque is able to account for the heretofore unexplained synchronous rotation of the strongly magnetic degenerate dwarf component in systems like AM Her, VV Pup, AN UMa, and EF Eri as well as the magnetic A type component in systems like HD 98088 and 41 Tauri. The electric fields produced by even a small asynchronism are large and may accelerate some electrons to high energies, producing radio emission. The total energy dissipation rate in systems with degenerate dwarf spin periods as short as 1 minute may reach 10 to the 33rd ergs/s. Total luminosities of this order may be a characteristic feature of such systems. Title: Creation of current sheets in sheared force-free fields and two-ribbon solar flares Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1983ICRC....4....2A Altcode: 1983ICRC...18d...2A It is shown that a two-dimensional force-free field in the half-space (Z greater than 0) approaches asymptotically an open structure, with all the current concentrated in an infinitesimally thin sheet, when the feet of its lines on (Z = 0) are idenfinitely sheared and perfect conductivity of the plasma is assumed. The result is used to suggest a model for a two-ribbon flare. In this model, the coronal force-free field is brought by the photospheric motions into a quasi-open configuration, which then becomes unstable to the development of a tearing mode. A large scale reconnection process is then initiated, during which the stored magnetic free energy is released and converted into other forms. Title: Electrodynamics of disk accretion onto magnetic neutron star. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1980A&A....86..192A Altcode: The problem of the structure of the magnetic field in a system constituted of a magnetic neutron star and a disk of perfectly conducting plasma orbiting around is considered. The location of the magnetopause and the effect of the non-radial magnetic forces acting upon the disk are discussed. Title: Has the Universe always been very regular? Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1979MNRAS.189..479A Altcode: The argument of Barrow and Matzner (1977) that the finite value of the entropy per baryon in the universe today is not compatible with an arbitrarily high amount of initial chaos is considered. This conclusion is shown to depend crucially on the implicit assumption that the baryon number in a comoving volume is conserved during the expansion of the universe. It is suggested that some matter-antimatter symmetry breaking in the hot primordial radiation would render the finite value of the entropy per baryon in the universe today very compatible with an arbitrarily high amount of chaos at the time of dissipation of initial anisotropy by particle-antiparticle pair creation. The possible nature of the symmetry-breaking mechanism is briefly discussed. Title: Matter-antimatter hydrodynamics: computation of the annihilation rate. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1978A&A....67..199A Altcode: This paper is devoted to the computation of the particle-antiparticle annihilation rate at the boundary between two regions of space filled, respectively, by matter and antimatter. A general analysis of the problem is done, and a simple model useful for computing this important quantity in all situations encountered in cosmological studies is established. The annihilation rate is computed analytically in three specific situations: (1) in a matter-antimatter emulsion filling the universe in the radiative and plasma eras of the big bang; (2) in a situation where there is a strong magnetic field; and (3) at the boundary between a hot intergalactic medium and an antimedium. Title: Light element abundances in a matter-antimatter model of the universe. Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1978A&A....64..273A Altcode: A baryon symmetric big bang cosmology is considered in which at the end of the leptonic era the universe is filled with a matter-antimatter emulsion characterized by an entropy per baryon already of the order of the presently observed value, so that no catastropic annihilation can take place at a later time. Two mechanisms for deuterium production are examined: (1) the nucleodisruption process, which can lead to an appreciable amount of deuterium as soon as the temperature is smaller than 0.07 MeV, and (2) disintegration by gamma rays produced in proton-antiproton annihilation. These mechanisms are considered in connection with an evolution according to the scenario of Omnes (1972), and they are shown to lead to greater abundances in He-3 and D than those computed in normal big-bang cosmology if He-4 has been normally produced. The present calculations provide a test for a large class of matter-antimatter models. Title: Contribution to the study of matter-antimatter cosmological models Authors: Aly, J. -J. Bibcode: 1977PhDT.........1A Altcode: The hypothesis of matter-antimatter symmetry in the universe is examined, and it is concluded that the mechanisms proposed so far for the formation of such a universe are excluded by constraints associated with limits on black hole distortion, deuterium abundance, helium-3 abundance, and cosmic ray flux. The possibility is considered that more efficient mechanisms such as coalescence might satisfy the stringent conditions; the conditions might also be satisfied if the annihilation energy were utilized in an efficient manner. The analysis is concerned with mechanisms for separating nucleons and antinucleons by thermal radiation and with the hydrodynamics of a matter-antimatter emulsion. Other topics briefly discussed include radiative and plasma eras, the quantity of matter in the universe, and the abundance of light elements. Title: Matter-antimatter Separation Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1974A&A....35..311A Altcode: Summary. In this note we give an estimate of the characteristic scale of the separation of matter and antimatter in the first stage of the symmetric cosmology proposed by Omnes. It is found that this scale is determined by a hydrodynamical process due to the existence of a sur face tension, rather than by a diffusion process. Its value at the end of the separation period is of the order of 7.l0- cm. Key words: cosmology antimatter. Title: The amount of matter in a matter-antimatter model of the universe. Authors: Aly, J. J.; Caser, S.; Omnes, R.; Puget, J. L.; Valladas, G. Bibcode: 1974A&A....35..271A Altcode: The calculation of the amount of matter in a matter-antimatter symmetric universe is reconsidered, assuming some symmetry breaking due to a phase separation of matter from antimatter at high temperatures. The original calculation by Omnes has been subjected to two main criticisms: Zeldovich (1970) has called attention to the importance of initial correlations, while Steigman (1973) has pointed out the determinant role of neutron diffusion in annihilation. These two effects and several others are included here and further analyzed. It turns out that the final amount of matter that is found is lower than observed in a perfectly quiet universe, as noticed by Zeldovich. Title: Generation of Magnetic Fields in a Matter-antimatter Universe Authors: Aly, J. J. Bibcode: 1973A&A....26..457A Altcode: Summary. In this paper, we study a mechanism capable of producing magnetic fields in the early stages of Omnes' bary6n-symmetric universe. We show that the Compton effect of high energy photons produced during matter-antimatter annihilation generates electric currents in the cosmic plasma and therefore magnetic fields. Plasma effects, such as the excitation of a reverse current which tends to cancel the original one and consequently to decrease the field, are taken into account. The seed field generated by this process is found to be of the order of 10 "G for a redshift z=103 (just before the re- combination period); it can be subsequently amplified by the annihilation generated turbulence. Key words: magnetic fields - antimatter - cosmology