SHOCK-WAVE PROPAGATION IN A MAGNETIC-FLUX TUBE

The propagation of a shock wave in a magnetic flux tube is studied within the framework of the Brinkley-Kirkwood theory adapted to a radiating gas. Simplified thermodynamic paths along which the compressed plasma returns to its initial state are considered. It is assumed that the undisturbed medium is uniform and that the flux tube is optically thin. The shock waves investigated, which are described with the aid of the thin flux-tube approximation, are essentially slow magnetohydrodynamic shocks modified by the constraint of lateral pressure balance between the flux tube and the surrounding field-free fluid; the confining external pressure must be balanced by the internal gas plus magnetic pressures. Exact analytical solutions giving the evolution of the shock wave are obtained for the case of weak shocks.