HYDRODYNAMICS, MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS, AND

ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS
E. N. Parker, Department of Physics, University of Chicago
I Introduction
Not infrequently one encounters in the literature the assertion that hydrodynamics
(HD) does not describe the large-scale bulk motion of a collisionless gas. Then for an
ionized gas containing a magnetic field there is the widely held notion that electric
current j is the cause of the magnetic field, and hence is the fundamental field variable
rather than the magnetic field B itself. This point of view rejects magnetohydrodynamics
(MHD) and attempts to work with the current density j and electric field E in treating the
dynamics of the field and plasma. But the equations of Newton and Maxwell form the
theoretical basis for the dynamics and cannot be expressed in terms of j and E in any
tractable form. The equations become nonlinear global integro-differential equations and
can be used only in special cases where symmetries suitably constrain the form of the
fields. So lacking workable field equations the j,E enthusiasts turn to fantasy, e.g. the
idea of an electric circuit analog, and the remarkable idea that the electric field E drives
the bulk flow.
The standard textbooks on MHD and plasma physics generally provide correct
derivations of MHD from Newton and Maxwell in terms of the magnetic field B and the
bulk fluid velocity v, but do not directly address the confusion that exists concerning j
and E. The purpose of the present writing is to confront those issues, showing that HD
follows from conservation of particles, momentum, and kinetic energy regardless of the
presence or absence of collisions, and MHD applies to any gas that has no significant
electrical insulating properties.
II Hydrodynamics
Consider the large-scale bulk motion v of a freely moving collisionless gas with
number density N. It is not intuitively obvious that the bulk motion is HD in character
when one reflects that every particle is moving with constant velocity u in a straight line,
completely unaffected by the presence of the other particles. How can there be the
familiar HD pushing and shoving of one region of fluid by another? The answer lies in
understanding the concept of pressure, representing the momentum density of the thermal
motions transported by the thermal motions, regardless of the presence or absence of
collisions.
An obvious necessary condition for application of HD is that there be enough particles
for the local mean particle density N to be statistically well defined. The essential point
is that with N statistically well defined, the other mean quantities, e.g. v, Nv, Nv2 , etc. are
also statistically well defined. To show the implications of this statistical requirement,
treat a bulk flow v with characteristic dynamical scale L. In order that the spatial partial
derivatives be well defined, consider differencing the field variables on some small-scale

l (<< L), as is done in numerical integration of the field equations. Experience with
numerical computation suggests that 103 grid points over the scale L does quite well for
most purposes. So put l = 10-3 L for the discussion. We require, then, that Nl3 >> 1 in
order that N be statistically well defined. The statistical fluctuations are of the order of
where
N
1

.
N ( Nl 3 ) 1/ 2

Suppose, then, that we require

to be at least as small as l/L, requiring that

.
With l = 10-3 L the requirement becomes
> 1015. More sophisticated estimates can be
constructed, but the present order of magnitude is sufficient to show that, except in the
extreme circumstances of shock front structure, the structure of the terrestrial
magnetopause, or the structure of the current sheets arising in rapid reconnection, the
statistical requirement is amply fulfilled. For instance, in the flow of solar wind around
the terrestrial magnetosphere the dynamical scale is in excess of 103 km and the number
density is greater than one ion/cm3, yielding
>> 1015.
Consider, then, the dynamics of the large-scale bulk flow. Summing over all the
particles in the elemental volume V = l3, indicated by the symbol
N=

, we have

with
,
where is the velocity of an individual particle. Decompose into the mean bulk
velocity vi and the thermal velocity relative to the bulk motion, so that
.
Obviously
.

Consider, then, conservation of particles, momentum, and kinetic energy. It is readily

shown from Gausss theorem that the time rate of change of the density F of a conserved
quantity is equal to the negative divergence of the flux of F. Begin with the fact that the
time rate of change of F within a fixed volume W enclosed by the surface S is given by
the inflow of F across S. Thus, with the aid of Gausss theorem

d rF (r) = dS ( flux of F ) ,
3

= dr 3 ( flux of F ) .
V

This relation applies to all arbitrary V. Hence the integrands must be equal at every point
in space, and it follows that

F
= ( flux of F ) .
t

Note that the flux of particles is

providing the familiar equation

.
For conservation of particles,
The momentum density is
,
where M is the mass of an individual particle. The flux of momentum density is
,
where the pressure tensor

is defined as
,

representing the flux of the momentum transported by the thermal motions. This is the
pressure, of course, regardless of whether there are, or are not, collisions.
Conservation of momentum requires that the time rate of change of the momentum
density is equal to the negative divergence of the flux of momentum density, so

Using the equation for conservation of particles, this reduces to the familiar Euler
equation,
,
i.e Newtons equation of motion, recognizing that the momentum flux
to a force. If an external force
becomes

is equivalent

3)

(dynes/cm is introduced, the momentum equation

.
The diagonal terms of

represent kinetic energy in each of the three directions, each

a conserved quantity. So the tensor equation for

represents energy conservation. As

already noted, the flux of momentum density is

,
and the flux of this is

The heat flow tensor is

,
representing the flux of pij transported by the thermal motions. The time rate of change
of the momentum flux density is the negative divergence of the total flux of momentum
flux density, which can be reduced to

To explore this relation, consider a freely moving gas and neglect temperature variations,
so that

One dimensional adiabatic compression is described by

where

is taken to be a constant. For two dimensional compression,

For isotropic three dimensional compression,

The effective viscosity of a collisionless gas, represented by the off diagonal terms of pij.
initially grows linearly with time as particles from more distant regions pass across the
velocity gradients. These effects follow directly from terms in
with
. So
the dynamics is HD, with some special features as a consequence of the unlimited motion
of the individual particles across the gradients in the bulk velocity.
It is a simple matter to include the effects of interparticle collisions by introducing
linear scattering terms. Thus, in the simplest case, evolution of the thermal anisotropy
can be described by equations of the form

where h represents the mean scattering time. The off diagonal terms, representing
viscosity, can also be constructed, showing that the effective viscosity is steady in time
when the excursions of the individual particles are limited by the collisions.
For collision dominated gas we have
, and the equation for
pressure variation reduces to the familiar
,
where represents the ratio of specific heats and K is the thermal conductivity.
In summary, the large-scale bulk motion of a collisionless gas satisfies dynamical
equations of the same form as the classical fluid, except that the classical scalar pressure
p must be represented by a tensor
because the thermal motions need not be isotropic.
This general conclusion is hardly surprising because matter, momentum, and kinetic
energy are conserved by the moving gas, regardless of the presence or absence of
collisions, which themselves conserve matter, momentum, and energy.
Going back to the question as to how the net effect of particles moving in straight
lines with constant speed can provide HD motions, consider the situation in which a

moving region of gas bumps into a stationary region. In the presence of collisions the
momentum of the moving region is transferred to the particles in the stationary region,
setting that region in motion. In the absence of collisions the moving gas penetrates freely
into the region of stationary gas, thereby increasing the net momentum in the initially
stationary region, just as if there had been collisions. The differences come out in the
equation for
, where the interpenetration in the absence of collisions appears as a free
diffusion effect somewhat of the nature of viscosity.
III Magnetohydrodynamics
The concept of MHD is that the magnetic field is transported bodily with the bulk
motion v of the fluid, so that
.
Consider a gas with enough free electrons and ions that it cannot support any significant
electric field
in its own frame of reference, where
in the moving frame is related
to the electric field E and magnetic field B in the laboratory frame by the nonrelativistic
Lorentz transformation
.
If

does not differ significantly from zero, it follows that

.

Substituting this into the Faraday induction equation gives the familiar MHD equation
.
Only if the gas has significant electrical insulating properties can MHD be avoided.
Note that E plays no significant dynamical role, because
.
That is to say, the electric stresses are negligible compared to the magnetic stresses to
second order in v/c. They do not drive the fluid motions as is sometimes imagined. [For
further explorations of the role of E see V. M. Vasyliunas, Geophys. Res. Letters, 28,
2177-2180 (2001); Ann. Geophys. 23, 1347-1354 (2005)] Note, too, that E depends upon
the frame of reference in which the calculation is executed. It would be a curious world
indeed if fluid accelerations depended on the frame of reference chosen for the

calculation. It should be mentioned in passing that j also plays no dynamical role because
the moving conduction electrons have no significant momentum or kinetic energy.
The condition that
is the basis for the MHD condition of transport of the
magnetic field B with the bulk motion v of the fluid. The Poynting vector

represents the flux of electromagnetic energy. With the electric field

readily shown that

it is

,
where

is the fluid velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field. The quantity

represents the magnetic enthalpy density, from which it follows that the physical
energy of the magnetic field is transported bodily with the fluid velocity. It is on this
basis that the field lines are said to be transported bodily with the fluid motion.
Consider the not uncommon belief that the electric current j is the cause of the
magnetic field B. In any gas in the real physical world, the gas or plasma has at least
some slight resistivity, so j is continually driven by a weak
, pulling energy out of the
magnetic field. Thus, if there were no significant fluid motion, the field would slowly die
away because of the necessity to maintain the currents required by Amperes law. Now
the concept of cause and effect is well defined in physics, with the cause supplying the
energy and momentum responsible for the effect. Therefore B causes j, and not vice
versa.
Then consider the role of the neglected E , arising from the small resistivity of the
highly conducting gas. The Faraday induction equation becomes
.
For a collision dominated plasma write j= E. It follows from Amperes law that
,
so that
,
with
cm2/sec.
The ratio of the first term to the second term on the right hand side of the induction
equation is given by the well known magnetic Reynolds number,
8

in terms of the characteristic dynamical scale L and velocity v. In the modest dimensions
of the terrestrial laboratory it is not easy to make NR large compared to one, whereas in
astrophysical plasmas NR is general 106 or more as a consequence of large L and v. Cold
planetary atmospheres and interstellar clouds are exceptions, of course.
For large NR the principal effect is the bulk transport of B with the fluid motion v, i.e.
simple MHD.
IV Partially Ionized Gases
Consider briefly the partially ionized gas, reputed to lie outside MHD because it does
not include the Hall effect. We treat the problem here in terms of the electron fluid, the
ion fluid, and the neutral gas fluid, assuming the ions to be singly ionized. Denote the
number density of the neutral gas by N and the number density of the ions and of the
electrons by n. Then let
v = mean bulk velocity of neutral gas
w = mean bulk velocity of ions
u = mean bulk velocity of electrons
i = ion-neutral collision time
e= electron-neutral collision time
= ion-electron collision time
p = pressure of neutral gas
The equation of motion for the neutral gas is
,
where we use a simple frictional drag to represent the effects of collisions between the
electron, ion, and neutral fluids.
Consider a slightly ionized gas, n<<N. Neglect ion and electron pressures, i.e. cold
electrons and ions, for this first exploratory example. The equations of motion for the
electrons and ions are

The algebraic task is to eliminate u and w from these equations so as to obtain E and the
induction equation for B. The current density is given by
j=ne(w-u)
so that Amperes law provides the relation
.
At this point we neglect the electron and ion inertia and sum the two eqns. of motion,
yielding

Hence, for the neutral atoms

,
which is the usual MHD momentum equation. It also follows that

where

It follows that

10

E =-

v B [( B) B] B M/ i m / e

+
( B) B
c
4 nc Q
4 neQ
c (M/?i )(m/?e ) m
+
+ B

4 ne 2
Q

Define
Hall coefficient,

Pedersen coefficient,

Ohms coefficient,

Write b = B/B, where B is some characteristic magnetic field strength, so that

The Faraday induction equation

becomes
.
This is the usual resistive MHD eqn. with the two extra terms in the curly brackets,
representing the Pedersen resistivity and the Hall effect, respectively. In terms of the
non-dimensional Lorentz force
,

the induction equation can be written

11

.
The magnetic energy equation, formed from the scalar product of the induction equation
with b, can be written

The right hand side represents the dissipation of magnetic energy. The term in square
brackets on the left hand side represents the circulation of magnetic energy.
The essential point for the present discussion is that the terms in
in the
induction equation all involve second derivatives over space, i.e.
, whereas the
MHD term for bulk transport of the field involves only first order derivatives,
.
Hence, for large-scale dynamics the Hall, Pedersen, and Ohmic terms are only small
corrections
to the basic MHD bulk transport term. We emphasize again that
MHD does not treat the structure of shock fronts, thin current sheets, and magnetopauses,
but it universally applies to the large-scale hydrodynamic flow of a partially ionized gas
provided only that there are enough electrons and ions that the gas is a good conductor of
electricity, i.e. has no significant electrical insulating properties, so that the electric field
in the moving frame of the gas can be neglected to a first approximation. [For further
discussion, see E. N. Parker, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 10587-10625, (1996), and
Conversations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos. pp 102-107, Princeton
University Press, Princeton, (2007)]
The foregoing calculation can be carried through including the ion and electron
pressures and inertias, along with applied forces Li, Le per unit mass. The result is

The additional three bracketed terms on the right hand side of the induction equation
represent such things as the thermoelectric effect, the Biermann battery effect, the

12

Eddington-Sweet effect, etc. which are negligible under ordinary large-scale

circumstances in astrophysical settings.
V Compatibility of Newton and Ampere
Another concern expressed by the proponents of j and E has been whether Amperes
law is properly satisfied by the electric currents required for MHD and produced by the
Newtonian motions of the electrons and ions. This is a nonproblem, of course, because
Amperes law and Newtons equations of motion are both fundamental laws of nature. If
they were incompatible in some way, then one or both of them would not be a
fundamental law of nature.
However, it is instructive to see how Newton and Ampere fit together. So consider a
collisionless plasma, made up of equal numbers of electrons and singly charged ions.
Calculate the electron and ion motions using the guiding center approximation, and sum
over the particle motions to obtain the electric current. Then substitute the current into
Amperes law and see what it tells us. As a matter of definition write
,
where u is the electric drift velocity of a particle subjected to the mutually perpendicular
electric field E and magnetic field B. We assume that any initial electric field parallel to
B is not long lived in large-scale astrophysical plasmas, even if it is sometimes interesting
in the laboratory. It is readily shown that the perpendicular E is equal to
, for
which the Faraday induction equation yields
,
and the Poynting vector is
.
So we are dealing with MHD. The magnetic field moves bodily with the velocity u.
Consider a particle of mass M and charge e with velocity w. The velocity along the
magnetic field B is denoted by wpara and the perpendicular component by wperp. The
motion of the guiding center is readily shown to be

Note that the motion of the guiding center along the field is described by

13

w
dv
= perp4 B{ B [(B ) B] }

dt para
2B
in the absence of any significant electric field parallel to B. Define the pressures
perpendicular and parallel to the magnetic field in terms of the sum over unit volume of

the particle kinetic

energies,
.
Summing over the individual particle trajectories of the electrons and the ions [See E. N.
Parker, Phys. Rev. 107, 924 (1957)] it can be shown that the current density is
.
Substituting this result for j into Amperes law leads to
NM

du
B 2 [(B )B] perp p perp p para
= p + +
1+

dt
8?
4
? 2 /4

This is the Newtonian momentum equation for the overall electric drift velocity u
perpendicular to the magnetic field. The term
represents the transverse
force
exerted by the tension
additional term involving
motions

as a consequence of the curvature of the field. The

represents the net centrifugal force of the thermal

along those curved field lines. So our calculation shows that Amperes

law is automatically satisfied if the bulk velocity u is described by Newtons equation of

motion. The fundamental laws are mutually compatible, and we need never worry
whether Amperes law is properly satisfied by the Newtonian motion of the individual
particles.
VI Equivalent Electric Circuits
It was proposed many years ago [See H. Alfven and P. Carlquist, Solar Physics, 1, 220
228 (1967)] that the flow of electric currents in an MHD system can be described by the
familiar laws of electric circuits, with the magnetic field energy represented by an
equivalent inductance. This reduces the mathematical problem from the solution of
partial differential equations to the much simpler solution of ordinary differential
equations. This enormous simplification has been seized upon to offer solutions to a
variety of magnetospheric and solar dynamical phenomena, e.g. flares, eruptive
prominences, etc. No derivation of the electric circuit analog from basic principles has
been presented, the seductive powers of the idea are evidently sufficient for their

14

acceptance. Unfortunately there are two fundamental differences between MHD and the
electric circuit analog. First, the electric circuit has a fixed connectivity or pattern. The
current is confined to wires and the interconnections of the wires are fixed. Second, the
wires are fixed in the laboratory reference frame so that the wires experience the electric
fields in that frame. In contrast, in the swirling plasma it is Amperes law that dictates
the current flow patterns and interconnections, which may vary with time as the field is
deformed in the plasma flow. Equally important is the fact that the electric currents flow
in the frame of reference of the moving plasma, in which reference frame there is nothing
more than the insignificant electric field
. So there are none of the interesting
inductive effects that arise in the electric circuit analog. For instance, sudden blocking
of the current produces no immense electromotive forces and charged particle
acceleration, contrary to what has been claimed. In fact the sudden blocking of the
current path causes the current to reroute or reconnect itself so as to avoid the blockage.
This is accompanied by a sudden freeing of the magnetic field at the blockage, upsetting
the magnetic stress balance and initiating Alfven waves that set the fluid in motion,
thereby converting the free magnetic energy into kinetic energy of fluid motion rather
than into powerful electric fields.
An isolated twisted flux tube affords a convenient example. The twisted tube consists
of a longitudinal field B0 in the z-direction filling the entire space and an azimuthal field
Baz circling the z-axis and vanishing beyond some finite radius R. This isolated twisted
flux bundle carries no net current, but there is a current flowing one way along the axis
and a return current flowing back at a larger radius where the field cuts off. Imagine that
the electric circuit closes across end plates at each distant end of the twisted tube. The
electric circuit analog would be a closed circuit with a net current I flowing in one
direction along a distributed inductance L per unit length such that LI2 /2 is equal to the
magnetic energy per unit length. Suppose then, that the twisted tube is suddenly chopped
through with a sheet of electrical insulation of small thickness D (<<R), say, completely
blocking the flow of I. Within the thickness D of the nonconducting sheet Baz is
uncoupled from the fluid and immediately converts to a radiation field, with Amperes
law suddenly replaced by Maxwells equation
.
So Baz departs at the speed of light in the insulating material, leaving the longitudinal field
B0 unchanged. That means that the segment of the flux bundle of length D has no twisting
and connects into the twisted field Baz at each end of D. The Baz at each end of D pulls
on the fluid and sets up rotational (torsional) motion. These torsional Alfven waves
propagate away in both directions from D, converting the magnetic energy of Baz into the
rotational kinetic energy of the fluid. At each radius, the rotational velocity vaz is given by
,
and it is easy to show that this as a direct consequence of the MHD equations for a
torsional wave. So the inductive effects of the circuit analog are to be replaced by wave
15

motion. The magnetic energy is quickly transformed into fluid motion by the passage of
the torsional wave fronts, whose passing unwinds the initial twist in the flux bundle,
leaving behind a rotating fluid in which Baz = 0. The electric current flow I is closed on
each side of D by the radial currents in the departing waves.
VII Conclusion
The foregoing demonstrations of the hydrodynamic behavior of collisionless fluids
and the magnetohydrodynamic behavior of any and all fluids lacking electrical insulating
properties shows that the large-scale dynamics of a conducting fluid, derived from
Newton and Maxwell, reduces quite generally to MHD. The large-scale dynamics of a
magnetized plasma is described in terms of the magnetic field B transported with the
velocity v the plasma. The electric current j and the electric field E are related to B and v,
of course, and easily calculated once B and v are known. Unfortunately j and E, playing
no direct role in the dynamics, are too distant from B and v to serve as useful general
proxies for pursuing MHD.

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