Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

A Three‐Dimensional Numerical Method For Modelling Weakly Ionized Plasmas, Stephen O'Sullivan, Turlough Downes

Articles

Astrophysical fluids under the influence of magnetic fields are often subjected to single- or two-fluid approximations. In the case of weakly ionized plasmas, however, this can be inappropriate due to distinct responses from the multiple constituent species to both collisional and non-collisional forces. As a result, in dense molecular clouds and protostellar accretion discs, for instance, the conductivity of the plasma may be highly anisotropic leading to phenomena such as Hall and ambipolar diffusion strongly influencing the dynamics.