It is well known that helical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence exhibits an inverse transfer of magnetic energy from small to large scales, which is related to the approximate conservation of magnetic helicity. Recently, several numerical investigations noticed the existence of an inverse energy transfer also in nonhelical MHD flows. We run a set of fully resolved direct numerical simulations and perform a wide parameter study of the inverse energy transfer and the decaying laws of helical and nonhelical MHD. Our numerical results show only a small inverse transfer of energy that grows as with increasing Prandtl number (Pm). This latter feature may have interesting consequences for cosmic magnetic field evolution. Additionally, we find that the decaying laws $E \sim t^{-p}$ are independent of the scale separation and depend solely on Pm and Re. In the helical case we measure a dependence of the form $p_b \approx 0.6 + 14/Re$. We also make a comparison between our results and previous literature and discuss the possible reason for the observed disagreements
We explore the effect of the magnetic Prandtl number Pm on energy and dissipation in fully resolved direct numerical simulations of steady-state, mechanically forced homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the range Pm = 1/32 to 32. We compare the spectra and show that if the simulations are not fully resolved, the steepness of the scaling of the kinetic-to-magnetic dissipation ratio with Pm is overestimated. We also present results of decaying turbulence with helical and nonhelical magnetic fields, where we find nonhelical reverse spectral transfer for Pm < 1. The results of this system…
A new sub-grid-scale model is developed for studying influences of the Hall term on macroscopic aspects of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Although the Hall term makes numerical simulations extremely expensive by exciting high-wave-number coefficients and makes magnetohydrodynamic equations stiff, studying macroscopic aspects of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence together with the Hall term is meaningful since this term often influences not only sub-ion-scales but also macroscopic scales. A new sub-ion-scale sub-grid-scale model for large eddy simulations of Hall magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is …
Ensemble averaged high resolution direct numerical simulations of reverse spectral transfer are presented, extending on the many single realization numerical studies done up to now. This identifies this type of spectral transfer as a statistical property of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and thus permits reliable numerical exploration of its dynamics. The magnetic energy decay exponent from these ensemble runs has been determined to be $n_E = (0.47 \pm 0.03) + (13.9 \pm 0.8)/R_λ$ for initially helical magnetic fields. We show for the first time that even after removing the Lorentz force term i…
The scaling properties of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence are obtained from direct numerical simulations of decaying turbulence using $512^3$ modes. The results indicate that the turbulence does not follow the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan phenomenology.In the case of hyperresistivity, the structure functions exhibit a clear scaling range yielding absolute values of the scaling exponents $ζ_p$. The scaling exponents agree with a modified She-Leveque model $ζ_p=p/9 + 1 - (1/3)^{p/3}$, corresponding to Kolmogorov scaling but sheet-like geometry of the dissipative structures.
We investigate the origins of $k^{-2}$ spectrum in a decaying Taylor-Green magnetohydrodynamic flow with zero large scale magnetic flux that was reported in Lee et al. (2010). A possible candidate for this scaling exponent has been the weak turbulence phenomenology. From our numerical simulations, we observe that current sheets in the magnetic Taylor-Green flow are formed in regions of magnetic discontinuities. Based on this observation and by studying the influence of the current sheets on the energy spectrum, using a filtering technique, we argue that the discontinuities are responsible for …
In hydrodynamic turbulence, the kinetic energy injected at large scales cascades to the inertial range, leading to a constant kinetic energy flux. In contrast, in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, a fraction of kinetic energy is transferred to the magnetic energy. Consequently, for the same kinetic energy injection rate, the kinetic energy flux in MHD turbulence is reduced compared to its hydrodynamic counterpart. This leads to relative weakening of the nonlinear term ($\la | ({\bf u}\cdot \nabla) {\bf u} | \ra$, where ${\bf u}$ is the velocity field) and turbulent drag, but strengthening …
The problem of the occurrence of an energy cascade for Alfvénic turbulence in solar wind plasmas was hystorically addressed by using phenomenological arguments based to the weakness of nonlinear interactions and the anisotropy of the cascade in wave vectors space. Here, this paradox is reviewed through the formal derivation of a Yaglom relation from anisotropic Magnetohydrodynamic equation. The Yaglom relation involves a third-order moment calculated from velocity and magnetic fields and involving both Elsässer vector fields, and is particularly useful to be used as far as spacecraft observati…
The inverse cascade of magnetic energy occurs when helicity or rotational instability exists in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) system. This well known phenomenon has been considered as a basis for the large scale magnetic field in universe. However nonhelical magnetic energy in a decaying MHD system also migrates toward the large scale, which holds vital clues to the origin of large scale magnetic field in a quiescent astrophysical system. Zeldovich's rope dynamo model is considered as a basic and symbolistic model of magnetic field amplification. However, the rope model assuming specific exter…
We extend the theory for third-order structure functions in homogeneous incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence to the case in which a constant velocity shear is present. A generalization is found of the usual relation [Politano and Pouquet, Phys. Rev. E, 57 21 (1998)] between third-order structure functions and the dissipation rate in steady inertial range turbulence, in which the shear plays a crucial role. In particular, the presence of shear leads to a third-order law which is not simply proportional to the relative separation. Possible implications for laboratory and space pla…
In the period of 1948-1955, Chandrasekhar wrote four papers on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, which are the first set of papers in the area. The field moved on following these pioneering efforts. In this paper, I will briefly describe important works of MHD turbulence, starting from those by Chandrasekhar.
A model equation for the Reynolds number dependence of the dimensionless dissipation rate in freely decaying homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the absence of a mean magnetic field is derived from the real-space energy balance equation, leading to $C_{\varepsilon}=C_{\varepsilon, \infty}+C/R_- +O(1/R_-^2))$, where $R_-$ is a generalized Reynolds number. The constant $C_{\varepsilon, \infty}$ describes the total energy transfer flux. This flux depends on magnetic and cross helicities, because these affect the nonlinear transfer of energy, suggesting that the value of $C_{\varepsilon,…
We simulate forced quasi-static magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and investigate the anisotropy, energy spectrum, and energy flux of the flow, specially for large interaction parameters ($N$). We show that the angular dependence of the energy spectrum is well quantified using Legendre polynomials. For large $N$, the energy spectrum is exponential. Our direct computation of energy flux reveals an inverse cascade of energy at low wavenumbers, similar to that in two-dimensional turbulence. We observe the flow be two-dimensional (2D) for moderate $N$ ($N \sim 20$), and two-dimensional three-componen…
A general framework that incorporates the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan (IK) and Goldreich-Sridhar (GS) phenomenalogies of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is developed. This affords a clarification of the regime of validity of the IK model and hence help resolve some controversies in this problem.
Experiments and numerical simulations show that the energy spectrum of the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the quasi-static limit deviates from Kolmogorov's $k^{-5/3}$ spectrum as the external magnetic field, or equivalently the interaction parameter, is increased. To explain this phenomena, we construct an analytical turbulence model with variable energy flux that arises due to the Lorentz-force induced dissipation. The energy spectra computed using our model for various interaction parameters are in qualitative agreement with earlier experimental and numerical results.
Strong incompressible three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is investigated by means of high resolution direct numerical simulations. The simulations show that the configuration space is characterized by regions of positive and negative cross-helicity, corresponding to highly aligned or anti-aligned velocity and magnetic field fluctuations, even when the average cross-helicity is zero. To elucidate the role of cross-helicity, the spectra and structure of turbulence are obtained in imbalanced regions where cross-helicity is non-zero. When averaged over regions of positive and negativ…
This paper examines the behavior of the dimensionless dissipation rate $C_{\varepsilon}$ for stationary and nonstationary magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in presence of external forces. By combining with previous studies for freely decaying MHD turbulence, we obtain here both the most general model equation for $C_{\varepsilon}$ applicable to homogeneous MHD turbulence and a comprehensive numerical study of the Reynolds number dependence of the dimensionless total energy dissipation rate at unity magnetic Prandtl number. We carry out a series of medium to high resolution direct numerical …
Weak turbulence of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in strongly magnetized plasma is studied when the thermal pressure is less than the magnetic field pressure. In this situation the main nonlinear mechanism is the resonance scattering of fast magneto-acoustic and Alfvenic waves on slow magneto-acoustic waves. As a result, the former waves serve as the high-frequency waves with respect to the latter ones so that the total number of HF waves - an adiabatic invariant - conserves additionally. In the weak turbulence regime this invariant is shown to generate the Kolmogorov type spectrum with a con…
In quasi-static MHD, experiments and numerical simulations reveal that the energy spectrum is steeper than Kolmogorov's $k^{-5/3}$ spectrum. To explain this observation, we construct turbulence models based on variable energy flux, which is caused by the Joule dissipation. In the first model, which is applicable to small interaction parameters, the energy spectrum is a power law, but with a spectral exponent steeper than -5/3. In the other limit of large interaction parameters, the second model predicts an exponential energy spectrum and flux. The model predictions are in good agreement with t…
The topological and dynamical features of small scales are studied in the context of decaying magnetohydrodynamic turbulent flows using direct numerical simulations. Joint probability density functions (PDFs) of the invariants of gradient quantities related to the velocity and the magnetic fields demonstrate that structures and dynamics at the time of maximum dissipation depend on the large scale initial conditions. This is evident in particular from the fact that each flow has a different shape for the joint PDF of the invariants of the velocity gradient in contrast to the universal teardrop …
In this review we summarise the current status of the quasi-static magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The energy spectrum is steeper than Kolmogorov's $k^{-5/3}$ spectrum due to the decrease of the kinetic energy flux with wavenumber $k$ as a result of Joule dissipation. The spectral index decreases with the increase of interaction parameter. The flow is quasi two-dimensional with strong ${\bf U}_\perp$ at small $k$ and weak $U_\parallel$ at large $k$, where ${\bf U}_\perp$ and $U_\parallel$ are the perpendicular and parallel components of velocity relative to the external magnetic field. For sma…
It is shown that in the framework of the weak turbulence theory, the autocorrelation and cascade timescales are always of the same order of magnitude. This means that, contrary to the general belief, any model of turbulence which implies a large number of collisions among wave packets for an efficient energy cascade (such as the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan model) are not compatible with the weak turbulence theory.
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) provides the simplest description of magnetic plasma turbulence in a variety of astrophysical and laboratory systems. MHD turbulence with nonzero cross helicity is often called imbalanced, as it implies that the energies of Alfvén fluctuations propagating parallel and anti-parallel the background field are not equal. Recent analytical and numerical studies have revealed that at every scale, MHD turbulence consists of regions of positive and negative cross helicity, indicating that such turbulence is inherently locally imbalanced. In this paper, results from high reso…
Motivated by recent analytic predictions, we report numerical evidence showing that in driven incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence the magnetic- and velocity-field fluctuations locally tend to align the directions of their polarizations. This dynamic alignment is stronger at smaller scales with the angular mismatch between the polarizations decreasing with the scale λapproximately as θ_λ~ λ^{1/4}. This can naturally lead to a weakening of the nonlinear interactions and provide an explanation for the energy spectrum E(k) ~ k^{-3/2} that is observed in numerical experiments of strongly …
The evolution of the correlation characteristics in three-dimensional isotropic electron magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is investigated. Universal exact relations between the longitudinal and transverse two-point triple correlations of the components of the fluctuational magnetic fields and the rates of dissipation of the magnetic helicity and energy are obtained in the inertial range.
A variety of studies of magnetised plasma turbulence invoke theories for the advection of a passive scalar by turbulent fluctuations. Examples include modelling the electron density fluctuations in the interstellar medium, understanding the chemical composition of galaxy clusters and the intergalactic medium, and testing the prevailing phenomenological theories of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. While passive scalar turbulence has been extensively studied in the hydrodynamic case, its counterpart in MHD turbulence is significantly less well understood. Herein we conduct a series of high-resolu…
We perform direct numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence with kinetic energy and cross helicity injections at large scales. We observe that the cross helicity changes sign as we go from large and intermediate scales to small scales. In addition, the magnetic reconnections are strongest at the regions where the cross helicity changes sign and becomes smallest in magnitude. Thus, our simulations provide an important window to explore the regions of magnetic reconnections in nonlinear MHD.
We investigate using direct numerical simulations with grids up to 1536^3 points, the rate at which small scales develop in a decaying three-dimensional MHD flow both for deterministic and random initial conditions. Parallel current and vorticity sheets form at the same spatial locations, and further destabilize and fold or roll-up after an initial exponential phase. At high Reynolds numbers, a self-similar evolution of the current and vorticity maxima is found, in which they grow as a cubic power of time; the flow then reaches a finite dissipation rate independent of Reynolds number.
It has been proposed recently by Loureiro & Boldyrev [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 245101 (2017)] and Mallet et al. [Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 468, 4862 (2017)] that strongly anisotropic current sheets formed in the inertial range of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence become affected by the tearing instability at scales smaller than a critical scale $λ_\mathrm{c}$, and larger than the dissipation scale of turbulence. If true, this process can modify the nature of energy cascade at smaller scales, leading to a new, tearing-mediated regime of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. In this work we present a …
A weak wave turbulence theory is developed for two-dimensional (2D) magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). We derive and analyze the kinetic equation describing the three-wave interactions of pseudo-Alfvén waves. Our analysis is greatly helped by the fortunate fact that in 2D the wave-kinetic equation is integrable. In contrast with the 3D case, in 2D the wave interactions are nonlocal. Another distinct feature is that strong derivatives of spectra tend to appear in the region of small parallel (i.e. along the uniform magnetic field direction) wavenumbers leading to a breakdown of the weak turbulence des…
We present numerical simulations and explore scalings and anisotropy of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. Our study covers both gas pressure dominated (high beta) and magnetically dominated (low beta) plasmas at different Mach numbers. In addition, we present results for superAlfvenic turbulence and discuss in what way it is similar to the subAlfvenic turbulence. We describe a technique of separating different magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes (slow, fast and Alfven) and apply it to our simulations. We show that, for both high and low beta cases, Alfven and slow modes reveal the…
Direct numerical simulations of decaying and forced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence without and with mean magnetic field are analyzed by higher-order two-point statistics. The turbulence exhibits statistical anisotropy with respect to the direction of the local magnetic field even in the case of global isotropy. A mean magnetic field reduces the parallel-field dynamics while in the perpendicular direction a gradual transition towards two-dimensional MHD turbulence is observed with $k^{-3/2}$ inertial-range scaling of the perpendicular energy spectrum. An intermittency model based on the L…
In an earlier paper (Wan et al. 2012), the authors showed that a similarity solution for anisotropic incompressible 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, in the presence of a uniform mean magnetic field $\vB_0$, exists if the ratio of parallel to perpendicular (with respect to $\vB_0$) similarity length scales remains constant in time. This conjecture appears to be a rather stringent constraint on the dynamics of decay of the energy-containing eddies in MHD turbulence. However, we show here, using direct numerical simulations, that this hypothesis is indeed satisfied in incompressible MHD t…
There is mounting evidence in solar wind observations and in numerical simulations that kinetic and magnetic energies are not in equipartition in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The origin of their mismatch, the residual energy E_r=E_v-E_b, is not well understood. In the present work this effect is studied analytically in the regime of weak magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We find that residual energy is spontaneously generated by turbulent dynamics, and it has a negative sign, in good agreement with the observations. We obtain that the residual energy condenses around k_||=0 with its k_||-spec…
Extended or generalized similarity is a ubiquitous but not well understood feature of turbulence that is realized over a finite range of scales. ULYSSES spacecraft solar polar passes at solar minimum provide \textit{in situ} observations of evolving anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the solar wind under ideal conditions of fast quiet flow. We find a single generalized scaling function characterises this finite range turbulence and is insensitive to plasma conditions. The recent unusually inactive solar minimum -with turbulent fluctuations down by a factor of $\sim 2$ in power- prov…
A signed measure analysis of two-dimensional intermittent magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is presented. This kind of analysis is performed to characterize the scaling behavior of the sign-oscillating flow structures, and their geometrical properties. In particular, it is observed that cancellations between positive and negative contributions of the field inside structures, are inhibited for scales smaller than the Taylor microscale, and stop near the dissipative scale. Moreover, from a simple geometrical argument, the relationship between the cancellation exponent and the typical fractal dimens…
Based on the Langevin equation of Brownian motion, we present a simple model that emulates a typical mode in incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, providing a demonstration of several key properties. The model equation is consistent with von Kármán decay law and Kolmogorov's symmetries. We primarily focus on the behavior of inertial range modes although we also attempt to include some properties of the large scale modes. Dissipation scales are not considered. Results from the model are compared with results from published Direct Numerical Simulations.
Recent numerical and observational studies contain conflicting reports on the spectrum of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. In an attempt to clarify the issue we investigate anisotropic incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with a strong guide field $B_0$. We perform numerical simulations of the reduced MHD equations in a special setting that allows us to elucidate the transition between weak and strong turbulent regimes. Denote $k_{\|}$, $k_\perp$ characteristic field-parallel and field-perpendicular wavenumbers of the fluctuations, and $b_λ$ the fluctuating field at the scale $λ\sim 1/…
Magnetised plasma turbulence pervades the universe and is likely to play an important role in a variety of astrophysical settings. Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) provides the simplest theoretical framework in which phenomenological models for the turbulent dynamics can be built. Numerical simulations of MHD turbulence are widely used to guide and test the theoretical predictions; however, simulating MHD turbulence and accurately measuring its scaling properties is far from straightforward. Computational power limits the calculations to moderate Reynolds numbers and often simplifying assumptions ar…
This article reviews recent studies of scale interactions in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The present day increase of computing power, which allows for the exploration of different configurations of turbulence in conducting flows, and the development of shell-to-shell transfer functions, has led to detailed studies of interactions between the velocity and the magnetic field and between scales. In particular, processes such as induction and dynamo action, the damping of velocity fluctuations by the Lorentz force, or the development of anisotropies, can be characterized at different scales. I…
In situ spacecraft data on the solar wind show events identified as magnetic reconnection with outflows and apparent "`$X$-lines" $10^{3-4}$ times ion scales. To understand the role of turbulence at these scales, we make a case study of an inertial-range reconnection event in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. We observe stochastic wandering of field-lines in space, breakdown of standard magnetic flux-freezing due to Richardson dispersion, and a broadened reconnection zone containing many current sheets. The coarse-grain magnetic geometry is like large-scale reconnection in the solar wind…
We report the results of an extensive set of direct numerical simulations of forced, incompressible, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with a strong guide field. The aim is to resolve the controversy regarding the power law exponent (α, say) of the field perpendicular energy spectrum E(k_\perp) \propto k_\perp ^ α. The two main theoretical predictions, α=-3/2 and α=-5/3, have both received some support from numerical simulations carried out by different groups. Our simulations have a resolution of 512^3 mesh points, a strong guide field, an anisotropic simulation domain, and implement a broad ran…
In this Letter, we report compressible mode effects on relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) turbulence in Poynting-dominated plasmas using 3-dimensional numerical simulations. We decomposed fluctuations in the turbulence into 3 MHD modes (fast, slow, and Alfvén) following the procedure mode decomposition in (Cho & Lazarian 2002), and analyzed their energy spectra and structure functions separately. We also analyzed the ratio of compressible mode to Alfvén mode energy with respect to its Mach number. We found the ratio of compressible mode increases not only with the Alfvén Mach number but w…
Cosmic ray propagation is determined by the properties of interstellar turbulence. The multiphase nature of interstellar medium (ISM) and diversity of driving mechanisms give rise to spatial variation of turbulence properties. Meanwhile, precision astroparticle experiments pose challenges to the conventional picture of homogeneous and isotropic transport of cosmic rays (CRs). We are opening a new horizon for CR propagation research when studies of particle transport and interstellar turbulence confront each other. Here we review our recent developement on understandings of magnetohydrodynamic …
We propose a phenomenological model for incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We argue that nonlinear-wave interaction weakens as the energy cascade proceeds to small scales, however, the anisotropy of fluctuations along the large-scale magnetic field increases, which makes turbulence strong at all scales. To explain the weakening of the interaction, we propose that small-scale fluctuations of the velocity and magnetic fields become increasingly dynamically aligned as their scale decreases, so that turbulent eddies become locally anisotropic in the plane perpendicular to the large-sca…
This article presents a calculation of the mean electromotive force arising from general small-scale magnetohydrodynamical turbulence, within the framework of the second-order correlation approximation. With the goal of improving understanding of the accretion disk dynamo, effects arising through small-scale magnetic fluctuations, velocity gradients, density and turbulence stratification, and rotation, are included. The primary result, which supplements numerical findings, is that an off-diagonal turbulent resistivity due to magnetic fluctuations can produce large-scale dynamo action -- the ma…
The present work investigates the acceleration of test particles in balanced and imbalanced Alfvénic turbulence, relevant to the solar-wind problem. These turbulent states, obtained numerically by prescribing the injection rates for the ideal invariants, are evolved dynamically with the particles. While the energy spectrum for balanced and imbalanced states is known, the impact made on particle heating is a matter of debate, with different considerations giving different results. By performing direct numerical simulations, resonant and non-resonant particle accelerations are automatically cons…
Turbulence of magnetohydrodynamic waves in nature and in the laboratory is generally cross-helical or non-balanced, in that the energies of Afvén waves moving in opposite directions along the guide magnetic field are unequal. Based on high-resolution numerical simulations it is proposed that such turbulence spontaneously generates a condensate of the residual energy $E_v-E_b$ at small field-parallel wave numbers. As a result, the energy spectra of counter-propagating Alfvén waves are not scale-invariant. In the limit of infinite Reynolds number, the universality is asymptotically restored at l…
The transport of waves and turbulence beyond the photosphere is central to the coronal heating problem. Turbulence in the quiet solar corona has been modeled on the basis of the nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (NI MHD) theory to describe the transport of low-frequency turbulence in open magnetic field regions. It describes the evolution of the coupled majority quasi-2D and minority slab component, driven by the magnetic carpet and advected by a subsonic, sub-Alfvenic flow from the lower corona. In this paper, we couple the NI MHD turbulence transport model with an MHD model of the so…
This chapter reviews the recent progress made mainly during the last two decades on wave turbulence in magnetized plasmas (MHD, Hall MHD and electron MHD) in the incompressible and compressible cases. The emphasis is made on homogeneous and anisotropic turbulence which usually provides the best theoretical framework to investigate space and laboratory plasmas. The interplanetary medium and the solar atmosphere are presented as two examples of media where anisotropic wave turbulence is relevant. The most important results of wave turbulence are reported and discussed in the context of space and…
Large eddy simulations (LES) of a lattice Boltzmann magnetohydrodynamic (LB-MHD) model are performed for the unstable magnetized Kelvin-Helmholtz jet instability. This algorithm is an extension of Ansumali et. al. (2004) to MHD in which one performs first an expansion in the filter width on the kinetic equations followed by the usual low Knudsen number expansion. These two perturbation operations do not commute. Closure is achieved by invoking the physical constraint that subgrid effects occur at transport time scales. The simulations are in very good agreement with direct numerical simulation…
It has recently been proposed (Loureiro & Boldyrev 2017; Mallet et al. 2017) that the inertial interval in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is terminated at small scales not by a Kolmogorov-like dissipation region, but rather by a new sub-inertial interval mediated by tearing instability. However, many astrophysical plasmas are nearly collisionless so that the MHD approximation is not applicable to turbulence at small scales. In this Letter, we propose the extension of the theory of reconnection-mediated turbulence to plasmas which are so weakly collisional that the reconnection occurring …
In this review, we describe turbulent drag reduction in a variety of flows using a universal framework of energy flux. In a turbulent flow with dilute polymers and magnetic field, the kinetic energy injected at large scales cascades to the velocity field at intermediate scales, as well as to the polymers and magnetic field at all scales. Consequently, the kinetic energy flux, $ Π_u(k) $, is suppressed in comparison to the pure hydrodynamic turbulence. We argue that the suppression of $Π_u(k)$ is an important factor in the reduction of the inertial force $\langle {\bf u \cdot \nabla u} \rangle$…
The energy cascade of electron magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) turbulence is considered. Fractal and multi-fractal models for the energy dissipation field are used to determine the spatial intermittency corrections to the scaling behavior in the high-wavenumber (electron hydrodynamic limit) and low-wavenumber (magnetization limit) asymptotic regimes of the inertial range. Extrapolation of the multi-fractal scaling down to the dissipative microscales confirms in these asymptotic regimes a dissipative anomaly previously indicated by the numerical simulations of EMHD turbulence. Several basic features…
We derive a first exact law for compressible pressure-anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. For a gyrotropic pressure tensor, we study the double-adiabatic case and show the presence of new flux and source terms in the exact law, reminiscent of the plasma instability conditions due to pressure anisotropy. The Hall term is shown to bring ion-scale corrections to the exact law without affecting explicitly the pressure terms. In the pressure isotropy limit we recover all known results obtained for isothermal and polytropic closures. The incompressible limit of the gyrotropic system leads to…
A higher-order multiscale analysis of spatial anisotropy in inertial range magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is presented using measurements from the STEREO spacecraft in fast ambient solar wind. We show for the first time that, when measuring parallel to the local magnetic field direction, the full statistical signature of the magnetic and Elsässer field fluctuations is that of a non-Gaussian globally scale-invariant process. This is distinct from the classic multi-exponent statistics observed when the local magnetic field is perpendicular to the flow direction. These observations are interprete…
Decaying electron magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) turbulence in three dimensions is studied via high-resolution numerical simulations. The resulting energy spectra asymptotically approach a k^{-2} law with increasing R_B, the ratio of the nonlinear to linear timescales in the governing equation, consistent with theoretical predictions. No evidence is found of a dissipative cutoff, consistent with non-local spectral energy transfer and recent studies of 2D EMHD turbulence. Dissipative cutoffs found in previous studies are explained as artificial effects of hyperdiffusivity. In another similarity to …
