Plane one-dimensional MHD flows: Symmetries and conservation laws

The paper considers the plane one-dimensional flows for magnetohydrodynamics in the mass Lagrangian coordinates. The inviscid, thermally non-conducting medium is modeled by a polytropic gas. The equations are examined for symmetries and conservation laws. For the case of finite electric conductivity we establish Lie group classification, i.e. we describe all cases of the conductivity σ(ρ,p) for which there are symmetry extensions. The conservation laws are derived by direct computation. For the case of infinite electrical conductivity the equations can be brought into a variational form in the Lagrangian coordinates. Lie group classification is performed for the entropy function as an arbitrary element. Using the variational structure, we employ the Noether theorem for obtaining conservation laws. The conservation laws are also given in the physical variables. •Mass Lagrangian coordinates for MHD equations describing plane one-dimensional flows.•Lie group classifications of MHD equations describing plane one-dimensional flows.•Conservation laws of MHD equations describing plane one-dimensional flows.•Variational formulation of MHD equations describing plane one-dimensional flows.