Bernoulli invariant 2026-10-14
In a steady adiabatic inviscid fluid with a conservative body force, the Bernoulli invariant is the displayed specific energy, constant along each streamline. Dotting the Euler equations with velocity and using the specific enthalpy identity gives . In ideal magnetohydrodynamics, magnetic work need not vanish; the planar ideal-MHD Bernoulli invariant includes the corresponding electromagnetic correction.
Let . Because the specific entropy is constant along the horizontal flow, the specific enthalpy identity gives . Dotting the ideal magnetohydrodynamic momentum equation with therefore gives
On the field-aligned horizontal branch, . Directly evaluating the horizontal components of the curl gives
The scalar triple-product identity consequently makes the magnetic work . Meanwhile . The previously established field-line constancy of now gives the planar ideal-MHD Bernoulli invariant
This is conservation of total energy transported along a magnetic field line, including electromagnetic work. To see its flux interpretation, the ideal magnetohydrodynamic energy conservation law has flux
The second term is the Poynting vector, since . Substitution of gives
The steady divergence of this horizontal energy flux is zero. Magnetic stress can change the ordinary hydrodynamic quantity in the Bernoulli equation by doing work; the term accounts for the accompanying Poynting flux. When , the velocity is completely field-aligned, , and the usual hydrodynamic Bernoulli quantity is constant. These conclusions require the field-aligned branch and ; the arbitrary constant- flow from the first part is not covered by this particular invariant.