On the behavior of hyperbolic neutral points in two-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamics

Abstract

We study ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics in two dimensions. We obtain an exponential estimate on the closing of the angle at hyperbolic saddle points of the magnetic stream function under the assumption that the velocity remains bounded. The analytic results are supported by numerical simulations. These results give evidence against a standard scenario for singularity formation for these equations.