Global Regularity for the 2D MHD Equations with Partial Hyper-resistivity

This article establishes the global existence and regularity for a system of the two-dimensional (2D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with only directional hyper-resistivity. More precisely, the equation of b(1) (the horizontal component of the magnetic field) involves only vertical hyperdiffusion (given by Lambda(2 beta)(2) b(1)) while the equation of b(2) (the vertical component) has only horizontal hyperdiffusion (given by Lambda(2 beta)(1) b(2)), where Lambda(1) and Lambda(2) are directional Fourier multiplier operators with the symbols being vertical bar xi(1)vertical bar and vertical bar xi(2)vertical bar, respectively. We prove that, for beta > 1, this system always possesses a unique global-in-time classical solution when the initial data is sufficiently smooth. The model concerned here is rooted in the MHD equations with only magnetic diffusion, which play a significant role in the study of magnetic reconnection and magnetic turbulence. In certain physical regimes and under suitable scaling, the magnetic diffusion becomes partial (given by part of the Laplacian operator). There have been considerable recent developments on the fundamental issue of whether classical solutions of these equations remain smooth for all time. The papers of Cao-Wu-Yuan [8] and of Jiu-Zhao [26] obtained the global regularity when the magnetic diffusion is given by the full fractional Laplacian (-Delta)(beta) with beta > 1. The main result presented in this article requires only directional fractional diffusion and yet we prove the regularization in all directions. The proof makes use of a key observation on the structure of the nonlinearity in the MHD equations and technical tools on Fourier multiplier operators such as the Hormander-Mikhlin multiplier theorem. The result presented here appears to be the sharpest for the 2D MHD equations with partial magnetic diffusion.