On the Stabilization of a Twisted Magnetic Flux Tube

Abstract

The linear magnetohydrodynamic stability of a shielding magnetic flux rope with a surface current under coronal solar conditions is analyzed in the framework of an energy principle. The equation describing the potential energy change induced by disturbances of the equilibrium was derived. It has been shown that the surface reverse current shielding the azimuthal component of the magnetic field lines outside a flux rope stabilizes the development of kink- and flute-type instabilities in the long-wavelength limit independently of the cross-sectional radial profile of current density. Kink modes are the most unstable ones as their generation requires less energy than other modes. Based on the obtained dispersion relation for kink oscillations, we proposed a new expression for the determination of magnetic field components of the twisted loop.