Topological invariants of field lines rooted to planes

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Abstract
Two open curves with fixed endpoints on a boundary surface can be topologically linked. However, the Gauss linkage integral applies only to closed curves and cannot measure their linkage. Here we employ the concept of relative helicity in order to define a linkage for open curves. For a magnetic field consisting of closed field lines, the magnetic helicity integral can be expressed as the sum of Gauss linkage integrals over pairs of lines. Relative helicity extends the helicity integral to volumes where field lines may cross the boundary surface. By analogy, linkages can be defined for open lines by requiring that their sum equal the relative helicity. With this definition, the linkage of two lines which extend between two parallel planes simply equals the number of turns the lines take about each other. We obtain this result by first defining a gauge-invariant, one-dimensional helicity density, i.e. the relative helicity of an infinitesimally thin plane slab. This quantity has a physical interpretation in terms of the rate at which field lines lines wind about each other in the direction normal to the plane. A different method is employed for lines with both endpoints on one plane; this method expresses linkages in terms of a certain Gauss linkage integral plus a correction term. In general, the linkage number of two curves can be put in the form L=r + n, |r|≦1J2, where r depends only on the positions of the endpoints, and n is an integer which reflects the order of braiding of the curves. Given fixed endpoints, the linkage numbers of a magnetic field are ideal magneto-hydrodynamic invariants. These numbers may be useful in the analysis of magnetic structures not bounded by magnetic surfaces, for example solar coronal fields rooted in the photosphere. Unfortunately, the set of linkage numbers for a field does not uniquely determine the field line topology. We briefly discuss the problem of providing a complete and economical classification of field topologies, using concepts from the theory of braid equivalence classes.

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