Abstract Details


Name: Aayusha Singh
Affiliation: NIT Srinagar
Conference ID: TVS202510226
Title: Analytical Solutions for MHD Wave Propagation in an Exponentially Stratified Solar Atmosphere
Authors and Co-Authors: Amrit Roy
Abstract Type: Contributory Presentation
Abstract: Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are important for transporting energy and contributing to heating processes throughout the solar atmosphere. Numerical simulations give detailed insights into wave behavior, whereas analytical solutions provide fundamental understanding of wave propagation and allow rapid exploration of parameter space for interpreting observations. New analytical solutions are presented for MHD wave propagation in exponentially stratified solar atmospheric models, extending earlier studies that focused only on isothermal or simple polytropic cases. The approach uses the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation along with exact solutions in certain parameter ranges to describe slow and fast magnetoacoustic waves traveling through realistic density and temperature profiles. The wave equations are solved using a mix of asymptotic methods and special function techniques. For an exponentially stratified atmosphere where β = p_gas/p_magnetic changes with height, closed-form expressions are derived for wave amplitude evolution, phase relationships, and reflection or transmission at atmospheric boundaries. Solutions are obtained for both vertical and oblique wave propagation, relevant to coronal loops and open magnetic field lines. Key findings include: (1) analytical expressions for wave cutoff frequencies as functions of stratification parameters and magnetic field geometry, (2) exact solutions for wave amplitude modulation in strongly stratified regions, and (3) transmission coefficients for waves crossing photosphere-chromosphere-corona interfaces. The results show that exponential stratification significantly affects wave propagation compared to isothermal models, with important implications for coronal heating and observable wave signatures. These analytical solutions serve as benchmarks for numerical simulations and allow quick evaluation of wave heating rates in different solar atmospheric models.This work advances the theoretical understanding of MHD wave behavior in structured solar atmospheres and provides tools for interpreting high-resolution observations of waves in both active regions and the quiet Sun.