Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence (magnetohydrodynamic + turbulence)
Selected AbstractsMagnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a strongly magnetised plasmaASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2010S. Sridhar Abstract I present a review of incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in a strongly magnetised plasma. The approach is phenomenological even where a more rigorous theory is available, so that a reader armed with paper, pencil and some determination may be able to work through most of the physics. The focus is on the inertial-range spectra for very large (fluid and magnetic) Reynolds numbers. These theories of the inertial-range are built on two important facts: (i) Kraichnan's insight that the turbulent cascades are a result of nonlinear interactions between oppositely directed wavepackets of Elsasser fields; (ii) these oppositely directed wavepackets do not exchange energy, but contribute only to changing each other's spatial structures. I begin with a description and critique of the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan theory, and explore the fundamental departures necessitated by the anisotropic nature of the turbulence. Derivations of the inertial-range spectra of four regimes of MHD turbulence , the balanced weak, balanced strong, imbalanced weak and the imbalanced strong cascades , are then presented. The need for studying the spectra of imbalanced turbulence when the waves on the outer scale have a short correlation time is briefly discussed (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Comparisons and connections between mean field dynamo theory and accretion disc theoryASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2010E.G. Blackman Abstract The origin of large scale magnetic fields in astrophysical rotators, and the conversion of gravitational energy into radiation near stars and compact objects via accretion have been subjects of active research for a half century. Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence makes both problems highly nonlinear, so both subjects have benefitted from numerical simulations.However, understanding the key principles and practical modeling of observations warrants testable semi-analytic mean field theories that distill the essential physics. Mean field dynamo (MFD) theory and alpha-viscosity accretion disc theory exemplify this pursuit. That the latter is a mean field theory is not always made explicit but the combination of turbulence and global symmetry imply such. The more commonly explicit presentation of assumptions in 20th century textbook MFDT has exposed it to arguably more widespread criticism than incurred by 20th century alpha-accretion theory despite complementary weaknesses. In the 21st century however, MFDT has experienced a breakthrough with a dynamical saturation theory that consistently agrees with simulations. Such has not yet occurred in accretion disc theory, though progress is emerging. Ironically however, for accretion engines, MFDT and accretion theory are presently two artificially uncoupled pieces of what should be a single coupled theory. Large scale fields and accretion flows are dynamically intertwined because large scale fields likely play a key role in angular momentum transport. I discuss and synthesize aspects of recent progress in MFDT and accretion disc theory to suggest why the two likely conspire in a unified theory (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] A method for reconstructing the variance of a 3D physical field from 2D observations: application to turbulence in the interstellar mediumMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2010C. M. Brunt ABSTRACT We introduce and test an expression for calculating the variance of a physical field in three dimensions using only information contained in the two-dimensional projection of the field. The method is general but assumes statistical isotropy. To test the method we apply it to numerical simulations of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in molecular clouds, and demonstrate that it can recover the three-dimensional (3D) normalized density variance with ,10 per cent accuracy if the assumption of isotropy is valid. We show that the assumption of isotropy breaks down at low sonic Mach number if the turbulence is sub-Alfvénic. Theoretical predictions suggest that the 3D density variance should increase proportionally to the square of the Mach number of the turbulence. Application of our method will allow this prediction to be tested observationally and therefore constrain a large body of analytic models of star formation that rely on it. [source] A novel type of intermittency in a non-linear dynamo in a compressible flowMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2009Erico L. Rempel ABSTRACT The transition to an intermittent mean-field dynamo is studied using numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by a helical forcing. The low-Prandtl number regime is investigated by keeping the kinematic viscosity fixed while the magnetic diffusivity is varied. Just below the critical parameter for the onset of dynamo action, a transient mean field with low magnetic energy is observed. After the transition to a sustained dynamo, the system is shown to evolve through different types of intermittency until a large-scale coherent field with small-scale turbulent fluctuations is formed. Prior to this coherent field stage, a new type of intermittency is detected, where the magnetic field randomly alternates between phases of coherent and incoherent large-scale spatial structures. The relevance of these findings to the understanding of the physics of mean-field dynamo and the physical mechanisms behind intermittent behaviour observed in stellar magnetic field variability are discussed. [source] | ||||||||||