Turbulence in the magnetized plasma is well understood to be the consequence of wave interactions. When the Hall effect is added to the minimum magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the MHD waves become dispersive and different nonlinear interactions are expected. The emergent turbulent state will thus be expected to be different. For incompressible Hall MHD we develop a reduced model for wave-wave interactions concentrating on those processes that will lead to phase coherent modifications to the linear dispersion of a given wave. We show that these special interactions provide an amplitude-dependent contribution to the linear dispersion relation, which yields nonlinear frequency shifts. The resonance-driven frequency shifts are dominant and add damping or growth to the linear dispersion. The damping/growth rates represent the nonlinear time scales for energy redistribution and can be used in conjunction with a conjecture like the "critical balance" to estimate the energy spectral content.
We identify and discuss a family of azimuthally symmetric, incompressible, magnetohydrodynamic plasma equilibria with poloidal and toroidal flows in terms of solutions of the Generalized Grad Shafranov (GGS) equation. These solutions are derived by exploiting the incompressibility assumption, in order to rewrite the GGS equation in terms of a different dependent variable, and the continuous Lie symmetry properties of the resulting equation and in particular a special type of "weak" symmetries.
In ideal MHD, the magnetic flux is advected by the plasma motion, freezing flux-surfaces into the flow. An MHD equilibrium is reached when the flow relaxes and force balance is achieved. We ask what classes of MHD equilibria can be accessed from a given initial state via smooth incompressible ideal motion. It is found that certain boundary displacements are formally not supported. This follows from yet another investigation of the Hahm--Kulsrud--Taylor (HKT) problem, which highlights the resonant behaviour near a rational layer formed by a set of degenerate critical points in the flux-function…
The objective of this work is to understand how the characteristics of relativistic MHD turbulence may differ from those of nonrelativistic MHD turbulence. We accomplish this by studying the ideal invariants in the relativistic case and comparing them to what we know of nonrelativistic turbulence. Although much work has been done to understand the dynamics of nonrelativistic systems (mostly for ideal incompressible fluids), there is minimal literature explicitly describing the dynamics of relativistic MHD turbulence using numerical simulations. Many researchers simply assume that relativistic …
Axisymmetric equilibria with incompressible flows of arbitrary direction are studied in the framework of magnetohydrodynamics under a variety of physically relevant side conditions. To this end a set of pertinent non-linear ODEs are transformed to quasilinear ones and the respective initial value problem is solved numerically with appropriately determined initial values near the magnetic axis. Several equilibria are then constructed surface by surface. The non field aligned flow results in novel configurations with a single magnetic axis, toroidal shell configurations in which the plasma is co…
A comparison of turbulent diffusion and pair-dispersion in homogeneous, macroscopically isotropic Navier-Stokes (NS) and nonhelical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence based on high-resolution direct numerical simulations is presented. Significant differences between MHD and NS systems are observed in the pair-dispersion properties, in particular a strong reduction of the separation velocity in MHD turbulence as compared to the NS case. It is shown that in MHD turbulence the average pair-dispersion is slowed down for $τ_\mathrm{d}\lesssim t\lesssim 10 τ_\mathrm{d}$, $τ_\mathrm{d}$ being the K…
A comprehensive study of a reduced version of Lust's equations, the extended magnetohydrodynamic (XMHD) model obtained from the two-fluid theory for electrons and ions with the enforcement of quasineutrality, is given. Starting from the Hamiltonian structure of the fully three-dimensional theory, a Hamiltonian two-dimensional incompressible four-field model is derived. In this way energy conservation along with four families of Casimir invariants are naturally obtained. The construction facilitates various limits leading to the Hamiltonian forms of Hall, inertial, and ideal MHD, with their con…
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.
It is demonstrated that the deformation of magnetic field lines in incompressible magnetohydrodynamic flows results from a compressible mapping. Appearance of zeroes for the mapping Jacobian correspond to the breaking of magnetic field lines, associated with local blowup of the magnetic field. The possibility of such events is found to be unlikely in two dimensions but not in three dimensions.
The various plasma models - incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, compressible MHD model, incompressible Hall MHD model, compressible Hall MHD model, electron MHD model, compressible Hall MHD with electron inertia model - notwithstanding the diversity of the underlying physics, are shown to exhibit some common features in the Beltrami states like certain robustness with respect to the plasma compressibility effects (albeit in the barotropy assumption) and the {\it Bernoulli} condition. The Beltrami states for these models are deduced by minimizing the appropriate total energy while k…
The aim of this study is to analyze the feedback process between the magnetic turbulence and the pressure gradients in LHD inward-shifted configurations as well as its role in the transition between the soft-hard MHD regimes for instabilities driven by the mode $1/2$ in the middle plasma. In the present paper we summarize the results of two simulations with different Lundquist numbers, $S = 2.5 \times 10^5$ and $10^6$, assuming a plasma in the slow reconnection regime. The results for the high Lundquist number simulation shows that the magnetic turbulence and the pressure gradient in the middl…
We construct finite element methods for the incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) system that precisely preserve magnetic and cross helicity, the energy law and the magnetic Gauss law at the discrete level. The variables are discretized as discrete differential forms in a de Rham complex. We present numerical tests to show the performance of the algorithm.
Astrophysical plasmas are turbulent and magnetized. The interaction between cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a fundamental astrophysical process. Based on the current understanding of MHD turbulence, we revisit the trapping of CRs by magnetic mirrors in the context of MHD turbulence. In compressible MHD turbulence, isotropic fast modes dominate both trapping and gyroresonant scattering of CRs. The presence of trapping significantly suppresses the pitch-angle scattering and the spatial diffusion of CRs along the magnetic field. The resulting parallel diffusion coeff…
We study the damping from neutral-ion collisions of both incompressible and compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in partially ionized medium. We start from the linear analysis of MHD waves applying both single-fluid and two-fluid treatments. The damping rates derived from the linear analysis are then used in determining the damping scales of MHD turbulence. The physical connection between the damping scale of MHD turbulence and cutoff boundary of linear MHD waves is investigated. Our analytical results are shown to be applicable in a variety of partially ionized interstellar mediu…
We review the current status of research in MHD turbulence theory and numerical experiments and their applications to astrophysics and solar science. We introduce general tools for studying turbulence, basic turbulence models, MHD equations and their wave modes. Subsequently, we cover the theories and numerics of Alfvenic turbulence, imbalanced turbulence, small-scale dynamos and models and numerics for supersonic MHD turbulence.
Pitch-angle scattering rates for cosmic-ray particles in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations with imbalanced turbulence are calculated for fully evolving electromagnetic turbulence. We compare with theoretical predictions derived from the quasilinear theory of cosmic-ray diffusion for an idealized slab spectrum and demonstrate how cross helicity affects the shape of the pitch-angle diffusion coefficient. Additional simulations in evolving magnetic fields or static field configurations provide evidence that the scattering anisotropy in imbalanced turbulence is not primarily due to coherence w…
It is shown, using results of recent direct numerical simulations, that spectral properties of distributed chaos in MHD turbulence with zero mean magnetic field are similar to those of hydrodynamic turbulence. An exception is MHD spontaneous breaking of space translational symmetry, when the stretched exponential spectrum $\exp(-k/k_β)^β$ has $β=4/7$.
MHD Turbulence is common in many space physics and astrophysics environments. We first discuss the properties of incompressible MHD turbulence. A well-conductive fluid amplifies initial magnetic fields in a process called small-scale dynamo. Below equipartition scale for kinetic and magnetic energies the spectrum is steep (Kolmogorov -5/3) and is represented by critically balanced strong MHD turbulence. In this paper we report the basic reasoning behind universal nonlinear small-scale dynamo and the inertial range of MHD turbulence. We measured the efficiency of the small-scale dynamo $C_E=0.0…
A discussion of the advantages and limitations of the concept of critical balance, as employed in turbulence phenomenologies, is presented. The incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) case is a particular focus. The discussion emphasizes the status of the original Goldreich & Sridhar (1995) critical balance conjecture relative to related theoretical issues and models in an MHD description of plasma turbulence. Issues examined include variance and spectral anisotropy, influence of a mean magnetic field, local and nonlocal effects, and the potential for effects of external driving. Related mode…
We investigate the influence of a uniform magnetic field ${\bf B_0}=B_0 e//$ on energy decay laws in incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The nonlinear transfer reduction along $B_0$ is included in a model that distinguishes parallel and perpendicular directions, following a phenomenology {\it à la} Kraichnan. We predict a slowing down of the energy decay due to anisotropy in the limit of strong $B_0$, with distinct power laws for energy decay of shear- and pseudo-Alfvén waves. Numerical results from the kinetic equations of Alfvén wave turbulence recover these predictions, and…
The ideal invariants present in the formalism of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), i.e. global quantities that are conserved in the absence of sources and dissipative effects, play an important role in various theoretical and numerical studies of MHD turbulence. The fluxes of these ideal invariants represent separate channels that transfer the information across different scales in a turbulent system. Once a statistically stationary state of turbulence is reached, the amount of any ideal invariant quantity introduced in the system by a forcing mechanism equals the amount of the same quantity removed…
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is pervasive in astrophysical systems. Recent high-resolution numerical simulations suggest that the energy spectrum of strong incompressible MHD turbulence is $E(k_{\perp})\propto k_{\perp}^{-3/2}$. So far, there has been no phenomenological theory that simultaneously explains this spectrum and satisfies the exact analytic relations for MHD turbulence due to Politano & Pouquet. Indeed, the Politano-Pouquet relations are often invoked to suggest that the spectrum of MHD turbulence instead has the Kolmogorov scaling -5/3. Using geometrical arguments and nume…
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…
In this paper we describe the mode-to-mode energy transfers and energy fluxes of MHD turbulence. These energy transfers are very useful for understanding the turbulence dynamics, as well as for applications such as dynamo. We illustrate how the energy fluxes provide valuable insights into the mechanism of growth of the large-scale magnetic energy in dynamo.
We revisit the issue of spectral slope of MHD turbulence in the inertial range and argue that numerics favor Goldreich-Sridhar -5/3 slope rather than -3/2 slope. We also did precision measurements of anisotropy of MHD turbulence and determined the anisotropy constant C_A=0.34 of Alfvenic turbulence. Together with previously measured Kolmogorov constant C_K=4.2, or 3.3 for purely Alfvenic case, it constitutes a full description of MHD cascade in terms of spectral quantities, which is of high practical value for astrophysics.
Context. Observations have shown that twisted magnetic fields naturally occur, and indeed are omnipresent in the Sun's atmosphere. It is therefore of great theoretical interest in solar atmospheric waves research to investigate the types of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave modes that can propagate along twisted magnetic flux tubes. Aims. Within the framework of ideal MHD, the main aim of this work is to investigate small amplitude incompressible wave modes of twisted magnetic flux tubes with m more or equal 1. The axial magnetic field strength inside and outside the tube will be allowed to vary,…
The purpose of this work is to investigate the spectral properties of the developed isotropic (non-Alfven) MHD turbulence stationary excited by an external force, which injects the cross helicity into the flow simultaneously with the energy. It is shown that the cross helicity blocks the spectral energy transfer in MHD turbulence and results in energy accumulation in the system. This accumulation proceeds until the vortex intensification compensates the decreasing efficiency of nonlinear interactions. The formula for estimating the average turbulence energy is obtained for the set ratio betwee…
We investigate the steepening of the magnetic fluctuation power law spectra observed in the inner solar wind for frequencies higher than 0.5 Hz. This high frequency part of the spectrum may be attributed to dispersive nonlinear processes. In that context, the long-time behavior of weakly interacting waves is examined in the framework of 3D incompressible Hall MHD turbulence. The Hall term added to the standard MHD equations makes the Alfvén waves dispersive and circularly polarized. We introduce the generalized Elsässer variables and, using a complex helicity decomposition, we derive for three…
We report on a comparison of high-resolution numerical simulations of Lagrangian particles advected by incompressible turbulent hydro- and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. Numerical simulations were performed with up to $1024^3$ collocation points and 10 million particles in the Navier-Stokes case and $512^3$ collocation points and 1 million particles in the MHD case. In the hydrodynamics case our findings compare with recent experiments from Mordant et al. [1] and Xu et al. [2]. They differ from the simulations of Biferale et al. [3] due to differences of the ranges choosen for evaluating the…
Incompressible MHD turbulence is investigated under the presence of a uniform magnetic field $\bb0$. Such a situation is described in the correlation space by a divergence relation which expresses the statistical conservation of the Elsässer energy flux through the inertial range. The ansatz is made that the development of anisotropy, observed when $B_0$ is strong enough, implies a foliation of space correlation. A direct consequence is the possibility to derive a vectorial law for third-order Elsässer moments which is parametrized by the intensity of anisotropy. We use the so-called critical …
The scale locality of energy fluxes for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is investigated numerically for stationary states of turbulence. Two types of forces are used to drive turbulence, a kinetic force that acts only on the velocity field and a kinetic-inductive forcing mechanism, which acts on the velocity and magnetic fields alike. The analysis is performed in spectral space, which is decomposed into a series of shells following a power law for the boundaries. The triadic transfers occurring among these shells are computed and the fluxes and locality functions are recovered by partial summation …
We propose a phenomenological theory of incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the presence of a strong large-scale magnetic field, which establishes a link between the known anisotropic models of strong and weak MHD turbulence We argue that the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan isotropic cascade develops naturally within the plane perpendicular to the mean field, while oblique-parallel cascades with weaker amplitudes can develop, triggered by the perpendicular cascade, with a reduced flux resulting from a quasi-resonance condition. The resulting energy spectrum $E(k_\parallel,k_\bot)$ has the sa…
We investigate the transfer of energy from large scales to small scales in fully developed forced three-dimensional MHD-turbulence by analyzing the results of direct numerical simulations in the absence of an externally imposed uniform magnetic field. Our results show that the transfer of kinetic energy from the large scales to kinetic energy at smaller scales, and the transfer of magnetic energy from the large scales to magnetic energy at smaller scales, are local, as is also found in the case of neutral fluids, and in a way that is compatible with Kolmogorov (1941) theory of turbulence. Howe…
We unite the one-flow-dominated-state (OFDS) argument of \citet{MeyrandGaltierPRL12} with the one-chiral-sector-dominated-state (OCSCS) one \citep[][]{hydrochirality} to form a nonlinear extended-magnetohydrodynamics (XMHD) theory for the solar wind turbulence (SWT), \textbf{ranging from the MHD- to subproton-, and even to subelectron-scale regimes} \citep[modifying the theory of][]{AbdelhamidLingamMahajanAPJ16}. Degenerate chiral states in \citet{MiloshevichLingamMorrisonNJP17}'s XMHD absolute equilibria are exposed with helical representation, to offer the basis of replacing the linear wave …
Magnetized turbulence is ubiquitous in many astrophysical and terrestrial systems but no complete, uncontested theory even in the simplest form, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), exists. Many theories and phenomenologies focus on the joint (kinetic and magnetic) energy fluxes and spectra. We highlight the importance of treating kinetic and magnetic energies separately to shed light on MHD turbulence dynamics. We conduct an implicit large eddy simulation of subsonic, super-Alfvénic MHD turbulence and analyze the scale-wise energy transfer over time. Our key finding is that the kinetic energy spectrum…
The free decay of MHD turbulence at large Reynolds numbers is studied numerically using a shell model. We study the statistical properties based on representative sample of realisations (128 realisations for each type of initial conditions) over the period of $10^5$ large-scale turnover times. The performed simulations show that the force-free non-helical MHD turbulence can demonstrate two different scenarios of evolution in spite of similar initial conditions. Within the first scenario, the cross-helicity accumulation is so fast that the energy cascade vanishes before significant magnetic ene…
Turbulence in the interstellar medium has been an active field of research in the last decade. Numerical simulations are the tool of choice in most cases. But while there are a number of simulations on the market some questions have not been answered finally. In this paper we are going to examine the influence of compressible and incompressible driving on the evolution of turbulent spectra in a number of possible interstellar medium scenarios. We conclude that the driving not only has an influence on the ratio of compressible to incompressible component but also on the anisotropy of turbulence…
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 …
A dynamical vectorial equation for homogeneous incompressible Hall-MHD turbulence together with the exact scaling law for third-order correlation tensors, analogous to that for the incompressible MHD, is rederived and applied to the results of two-dimensional hybrid simulations of plasma turbulence. At large (MHD) scales the simulations exhibits a clear inertial range where the MHD dynamic law is valid. In the sub-ion range the cascade continues via the Hall term but the dynamic law derived in the framework of incompressible Hall MHD equations is obtained only in a low plasma beta simulation. …
We present a model for compressible sub-Alfvenic isothermal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in low-beta plasmas and numerically test it. We separate MHD fluctuations into 3 distinct families - Alfven, slow, and fast modes. We find that, production of slow and fast modes by Alfvenic turbulence is suppressed. As a result, Alfven modes in compressible regime exhibit scalings and anisotropy similar to those in incompressible regime. Slow modes passively mimic Alfven modes. However, fast modes show isotropy and a scaling similar to acoustic turbulence.
Recent numerical and observational studies revealed that spectra of magnetic and velocity fluctuations in MHD turbulence have different scaling indexes. This intriguing feature has been recently explained in the case of weak MHD turbulence, that is, turbulence consisting of weakly interacting Alfven waves. However, astrophysical turbulence is strong in majority of cases. In the present work, we propose a unifying picture that allows one to address weak and strong MHD turbulence on the same footing. We argue that magnetic and kinetic energies are different in both weak and strong MHD turbulence…
A weakly dispersive sub-range (WDR) of kinetic Alfvén turbulence is distinguished and investigated for the first time in the context of MHD/kinetic turbulence transition. We found perpendicular wavenumber spectra ~ k^{-3} and ~ k^{-4} formed in WDR by strong and weak turbulence of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs), respectively. These steep WDR spectra connect shallower spectra in the MHD and strongly dispersive KAW sub-ranges, which results in a specific double-kink (2-k) pattern often seen in observed turbulent spectra. The first kink occurs where MHD turbulence transforms into weakly dispersive K…
Leveling of MHD turbulence imbalance in shear flows
Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory（阿巴斯图马尼天体物理观测站）；Department of Physics, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Tbilisi State University（第比利斯国立大学精确与自然科学学院物理系）；Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf（德累斯顿-罗斯多夫亥姆霍兹中心）；M. Nodia Institute of Geophysics（M.诺迪亚地球物理研究所）
As the fundamental physical process with many astrophysical implications, the diffusion of cosmic rays (CRs) is determined by their interaction with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We consider the magnetic mirroring effect arising from MHD turbulence on the diffusion of CRs. Due to the intrinsic superdiffusion of turbulent magnetic fields, CRs with large pitch angles that undergo mirror reflection, i.e., bouncing CRs, are not trapped between magnetic mirrors, but move diffusively along the turbulent magnetic field, leading to a new type of parallel diffusion, i.e., mirror diffusion. This…
We present the results of three-dimensional (3D) ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations on the dynamics of a perpendicularly inhomogeneous plasma disturbed by propagating Alfvénic waves. Simpler versions of this scenario have been extensively studied as the phenomenon of phase mixing. We show that, by generalizing the textbook version of phase mixing, interesting phenomena are obtained, such as turbulence-like behavior and complex current-sheet structure, a novelty in longitudinally homogeneous plasma excited by unidirectionally propagating waves. This constitutes an important finding fo…
A phenomenology of isotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence subject to both rotation and applied magnetic field is presented. It is assumed that the triple correlations decay-time is the shortest between the eddy turn-over time and the ones associated to the rotating frequency and Alfvén wave period. For $Pm=1$ it leads to four kinds of piecewise spectra, depending on the four parameters, injection rate of energy, magnetic diffusivity, rotation rate and applied field. With a shell model of MHD turbulence (including rotation and applied magnetic field), spectra for $Pm \le 1$ are presented, tog…
Magnetized turbulence is ubiquitous in many astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas but no universal theory exists. Even the detailed energy dynamics in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are still not well understood. We present a suite of subsonic, super-Alfvénic, high plasma-beta MHD turbulence simulations that only vary in their dynamical range, i.e., in their separation between the large-scale forcing and dissipation scales, and their dissipation mechanism (implicit large eddy simulation, ILES, versus and direct numerical simulation, DNS). Using an energy transfer analysis framework we ca…
As a fundamental astrophysical process, the scattering of particles by turbulent magnetic fields has its physical foundation laid by the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence theory. In the framework of the modern theory of MHD turbulence, we derive a generalized broadened resonance function by taking into account both the magnetic fluctuations and nonlinear decorrelation of turbulent magnetic fields arising in MHD turbulence, and we specify the energy range of particles for the dominance of different broadening mechanisms. The broadened resonance allows for scattering of particles beyond the e…
A review of some of the issues that have arisen over the years concerning the energy distribution among scales for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence is given here. A variety of tools are employed to that effect, and a central role is played by taking into consideration the ideal (non-dissipative) invariants, namely the total energy, the magnetic helicity and the cross-correlations between the velocity and the magnetic field (concentrating on the three-dimensional case). These concepts, based mostly on theory, models and direct numerical simulations, are briefly put in the context of observ…
Wavelet analysis and compression tools are reviewed and different applications to study MHD and plasma turbulence are presented. We introduce the continuous and the orthogonal wavelet transform and detail several statistical diagnostics based on the wavelet coefficients. We then show how to extract coherent structures out of fully developed turbulent flows using wavelet-based denoising. Finally some multiscale numerical simulation schemes using wavelets are described. Several examples for analyzing, compressing and computing one, two and three dimensional turbulent MHD or plasma flows are pres…
Magnetised turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysical systems, where it notoriously spans a broad range of spatial scales. Phenomenological theories of MHD turbulence describe the self-similar dynamics of turbulent fluctuations in the inertial range of scales. Numerical simulations serve to guide and test these theories. However, the computational power that is currently available restricts the simulations to Reynolds numbers that are significantly smaller than those in astrophysical settings. In order to increase computational efficiency and, therefore, probe a larger range of scales, one ofte…
Anisotropy of MHD turbulence has been studied extensively for many years, most prominently by measurements in the solar wind and high resolution simulations. The spectrum parallel to the local magnetic field was observed to be steeper than perpendicular spectrum, typically $k^{-2}$, consistent with the widely accepted Goldreich-Sridhar (1995) model. In this Letter I looked deeper into the nature of the relation between parallel and perpendicular spectra and argue that this $k^{-2}$ scaling has the same origin as the $ω^{-2}$ scaling of Lagrangian frequency spectrum in strong hydrodynamic turbu…
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…
Turbulence is the most common state of astrophysical flows. In typical astrophysical fluids, turbulence is accompanied by strong magnetic fields, which has a large impact on the dynamics of the turbulent cascade. Recently, there has been a significant breakthrough on the theory of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. For the first time we have a scaling model that is supported by both observations and numerical simulations. We review recent progress in studies of both incompressible and compressible turbulence. We compare Iroshnikov-Kraichnan and Goldreich-Sridhar models, and discuss scalings…
Measurements of intensity and polarization of diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission as well as starlight polarization reveal power law spectra of fluctuations. We show that these fluctuations can arise from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the Galactic disk and halo. To do so we take into account the converging geometry of lines of sight for the observations when the observer is within the turbulent volume. Assuming that the intensity of turbulence changes along the line of sight, we get a reasonable fit to the observed synchrotron data. As for the spectra of polarized starlight we get …
