The Evolution of Magnetic Structures Due to ``Magnetosonic Streaming

The Faraday effect in gasdynamics called acoustic streaming and its accompanying nonlinear phenomena have analogies in plasma magnetohydrodynamics. A natural place where these effects may occur is the solar atmosphere with its strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields concentrated in random magnetic flux tubes. Unlike acoustic streaming in the usual gasdynamics, nonlinear phenomena consisting in the generation of plasma flows by an oscillating magnetic flux tube, {open_quote}{open_quote}magnetosonic streaming{close_quote}{close_quote} (Ryutova 1986), is accompanied by a current drive and results in a specific evolution of magnetic structures: depending on the physical parameters of the medium a single magnetic flux tube may be either split into thinner flux tubes or dissolved diffusively into the ambient plasma. The effect of the {open_quote}{open_quote}magnetosonic streaming,{close_quote}{close_quote} on one hand, is an obvious candidate for the generation of mass flows at magnetic flux tubes sites, and on the other hand, it plays an essential role in the evolution of magnetic structures and ultimately may determine their lifetime. The theory of magnetosonic streaming is general and can be applied to other astrophysical objects that maintain oscillatory motions and contain structured magnetic fields or magnetic domains. We review analytical results and describe the origin of the magnetosonic streaming in magnetic flux tubes due to their interaction with acoustic waves. We study numerically the regime of the {open_quote}{open_quote}magnetosonic streaming{close_quote}{close_quote} corresponding to splitting of a magnetic flux tube. Our computer simulation supports and extends the analytical result. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Astronomical Society.}