A Theory of Large-Scale Flows of Rotating Partially Ionized Space and Astrophysical Plasma in the Approximation of Hall Magnetohydrodynamics

Abstract

A theory of large-scale flows of rotating partially ionized space and astrophysical plasma in the approximation of the Hall magnetohydrodynamics is developed. Partially ionized rotating plasma describes large-scale processes in the exoplanetary atmospheres of hot Jupiters, the thermospheric–ionospheric system of planets and the Earth, in the protoplanetary disks, along with many other objects of heliophysics and space physics. The derived equations contain nontrivial terms describing the influence of rotation on the Hall current and ambipolar plasma diffusion in addition to the traditional Coriolis force acting upon momentum of the plasma’s center of mass. Linear flows are analyzed in the simplest case when gravity is neglected. The dispersion relations for modified Alfvén waves, rotating fast and slow acoustic waves, along with modified whistler waves, are obtained. The slow acoustic waves represent a new type of flows driven by the Coriolis force. The fast acoustic waves correspond to conventional acoustic waves in the absence of rotation.