Browsing by Author "Morris, Clifford Dean"

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    Rotating magnetospheres: a three dimensional approach
    (1973) Morris, Clifford Dean; Michel, F. Curtis
    Several authors have calculated the torque due to a stellar wind on a rotating body with an axisymmetric magnetic field. These discussions are restricted to the equatorial plane because the magnetic field structure is unknown elsewhere. Their treatment is here extended to the non-equatorial case. The axisymmetric magnetic field is described by a scalar function f. The various conservation equations allow the plasma flow to be described in terms of f. Although f has not been determined in the general case, it can be obtained in two special cases when the particle inertia is neglected. In the general case the Alfven critical points are obtained in terms of f, and with an assumption of a "minimum torque" solution, conditions on the angular momentum flow are found.