On the Fragility of Alfv\'en waves in a Stratified Atmosphere

TL;DR

This paper develops asymptotic solutions for MHD waves in a stratified atmosphere, revealing how Alfvén waves can propagate to the upper atmosphere and their coupling with slow waves, impacting solar and stellar wind models.

Contribution

It introduces new asymptotic expansions and numerical matchings for Alfvén, slow, and fast waves in 3D stratified atmospheres, highlighting the conditions for wave transmission.

Findings

Approximately 50-80% of Alfvén wave flux can reach the upper atmosphere depending on magnetic inclination.

Strong slow-Alfvén coupling occurs in 3D models, affecting wave energy transfer.

Efficiency of wave conversion varies with wave frequency and magnetic field inclination.

Abstract

Complete asymptotic expansions are developed for slow, Alfv\'en and fast magnetohydrodynamic waves at the base of an isothermal three-dimensional (3D) plane stratified atmosphere. Together with existing convergent Frobenius series solutions about $z=\infty$, matchings are numerically calculated that illuminate the fates of slow and Alfv\'en waves injected from below. An Alfv\'en wave in a two-dimensional model is 2.5D in the sense that the wave propagates in the plane of the magnetic field but its polarization is normal to it in an ignorable horizontal direction, and the wave remains an Alfv\'en wave throughout. The rotation of the plane of wave propagation away from the vertical plane of the magnetic field pushes the plasma displacement vector away from horizontal, thereby coupling it to stratification. It is shown that potent slow-Alfv\'en coupling occurs in such 3D models. It is found that about 50% of direction-averaged Alfv\'en wave flux generated in the low atmosphere at frequencies comparable to or greater than the acoustic cutoff can reach the top as Alfv\'en flux for small magnetic field inclinations $\theta$, and this increases to 80% or more with increasing $\theta$. On the other hand, direction-averaged slow waves can be 40% effective in converting to Alfv\'en waves at small inclination, but this reduces sharply with increasing $\theta$ and wave frequency. Together with previously explored fast-slow and fast-Alfv\'en couplings, this provides valuable insights into which injected transverse waves can reach the upper atmosphere as Alfv\'en waves, with implications for solar and stellar coronal heating and solar/stellar wind acceleration.