Analytical and numerical investigations of linear and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic wave propagation

This thesis contains investigations on four relatively independent, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave problems and their relevance to astrophysical processes. The introduction to these four wave problems is outlined in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, the damping of the Alfven mode in stochastic astrophysical fluids is considered. The properties of coherent small-amplitude Alfvenwaves propagating along a strong mean background magnetic field in a turbulent plasma is investigated by applying the projection operator technique. In Chapter 3, numerical simulation of two-dimensional, unsteady, ideal MHD equations by the method of characteristics is presented. The numerical scheme is described in detail and the numerical results are compared with analytic solutions. Chapter 4 treats two-dimensional, global, nonlinear MHD waves of large scales in a zonal magnetic field on the surface of a rotating sphere. Chapter 5 investigates standing MHD wave modes for a perfectly conducting but viscid magnetofluid in a gravitationally stratified magnetic flux tube