Dynamic constraint enforcement in plasma environments

• Main Author: Barriault, Michael
• Other Authors: Lehner, Luis
• Language: en
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: electromagnetism; astrophysics; numerical analysis; computer science; differential equations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/2845

In certain plasma environments, such as that surrounding a pulsar, the electric and magnetic fields align orthogonally. In this document we discuss and derive several constraints, of particular importance the force free constraint found in certain plasma environments. We introduce Maxwell’s equations in a covariant, coordinate-free form. We showcase methods to enforce this constraint, first with a straightforward method then by a new, dynamical method. Finally we compare and contrast the two methods in an approximation of a small region above a pulsar. === Thesis to fulfill requirements for the Master of Science degree.