154 research outputs found
New Regime of MHD Turbulence: Cascade Below Viscous Cutoff
In astrophysical situations, e.g. in the interstellar medium (ISM), neutrals
can provide viscous damping on scales much larger than the magnetic diffusion
scale. Through numerical simulations, we have found that the magnetic field can
have a rich structure below the dissipation cutoff scale. This implies that
magnetic fields in the ISM can have structures on scales much smaller than
parsec scales. Our results show that the magnetic energy contained in a
wavenumber band is independent of the wavenumber and magnetic structures are
intermittent and extremely anisotropic. We discuss the relation between our
results and the formation of the tiny-scale atomic structure (TSAS).Comment: ApJ Letters, accepted (Feb. 10, 2002; ApJ, 566, L...); 10 pages, 3
figure
The Anisotropy of MHD Alfv\'{e}nic Turbulence
We perform direct 3-dimensional numerical simulations for magnetohydrodynamic
(MHD) turbulence in a periodic box of size threaded by strong uniform
magnetic fields. We use a pseudo-spectral code with hyperviscosity and
hyperdiffusivity to solve the incompressible MHD equations. We analyze the
structure of the eddies as a function of scale. A straightforward calculation
of anisotropy in wavevector space shows that the anisotropy is scale-{\it
independent}. We discuss why this is {\it not} the true scaling law and how the
curvature of large-scale magnetic fields affects the power spectrum and leads
to the wrong conclusion. When we correct for this effect, we find that the
anisotropy of eddies depends on their size: smaller eddies are more elongated
than larger ones along {\it local} magnetic field lines. The results are
consistent with the scaling law proposed by Goldreich and Sridhar (1995, 1997). Here
(and ) are wavenumbers measured relative to
the local magnetic field direction. However, we see some systematic deviations
which may be a sign of limitations to the model, or our inability to fully
resolve the inertial range of turbulence in our simulations.Comment: 13 pages (11 NEW figures), ApJ, in press (Aug 10, 2000?
Magnetic Field Structure and Stochastic Reconnection in a Partially Ionized Gas
We consider stochastic reconnection in a magnetized, partially ionized
medium. Stochastic reconnection is a generic effect, due to field line
wandering, in which the speed of reconnection is determined by the ability of
ejected plasma to diffuse away from the current sheet along magnetic field
lines, rather than by the details of current sheet structure. We consider the
limit of weak stochasticity, so that the mean magnetic field energy density is
greater than either the turbulent kinetic energy density or the energy density
associated with the fluctuating component of the field. We consider field line
stochasticity generated through a turbulent cascade, which leads us to consider
the effect of neutral drag on the turbulent cascade of energy. In a
collisionless plasma, neutral particle viscosity and ion-neutral drag will damp
mid-scale turbulent motions, but the power spectrum of the magnetic
perturbations extends below the viscous cutoff scale. We give a simple physical
picture of the magnetic field structure below this cutoff, consistent with
numerical experiments. We provide arguments for the reemergence of the
turbulent cascade well below the viscous cut-off scale and derive estimates for
field line diffusion on all scales. We note that this explains the persistence
of a single power law form for the turbulent power spectrum of the interstellar
medium, from scales of tens of parsecs down to thousands of kilometers. We find
that under typical conditions in the ISM stochastic reconnection speeds are
reduced by the presence of neutrals, but by no more than an order of magnitude.Comment: Astrophysical Journal in pres
The Generation of Magnetic Fields Through Driven Turbulence
We have tested the ability of driven turbulence to generate magnetic field
structure from a weak uniform field using three dimensional numerical
simulations of incompressible turbulence. We used a pseudo-spectral code with a
numerical resolution of up to collocation points. We find that the
magnetic fields are amplified through field line stretching at a rate
proportional to the difference between the velocity and the magnetic field
strength times a constant. Equipartition between the kinetic and magnetic
energy densities occurs at a scale somewhat smaller than the kinetic energy
peak. Above the equipartition scale the velocity structure is, as expected,
nearly isotropic. The magnetic field structure at these scales is uncertain,
but the field correlation function is very weak. At the equipartition scale the
magnetic fields show only a moderate degree of anisotropy, so that the typical
radius of curvature of field lines is comparable to the typical perpendicular
scale for field reversal. In other words, there are few field reversals within
eddies at the equipartition scale, and no fine-grained series of reversals at
smaller scales. At scales below the equipartition scale, both velocity and
magnetic structures are anisotropic; the eddies are stretched along the local
magnetic field lines, and the magnetic energy dominates the kinetic energy on
the same scale by a factor which increases at higher wavenumbers. We do not
show a scale-free inertial range, but the power spectra are a function of
resolution and/or the imposed viscosity and resistivity. Our results are
consistent with the emergence of a scale-free inertial range at higher Reynolds
numbers.Comment: 14 pages (8 NEW figures), ApJ, in press (July 20, 2000?
Magnetic Helicity Conservation and Astrophysical Dynamos
We construct a magnetic helicity conserving dynamo theory which incorporates
a calculated magnetic helicity current. In this model the fluid helicity plays
a small role in large scale magnetic field generation. Instead, the dynamo
process is dominated by a new quantity, derived from asymmetries in the second
derivative of the velocity correlation function, closely related to the `twist
and fold' dynamo model. The turbulent damping term is, as expected, almost
unchanged. Numerical simulations with a spatially constant fluid helicity and
vanishing resistivity are not expected to generate large scale fields in
equipartition with the turbulent energy density. The prospects for driving a
fast dynamo under these circumstances are uncertain, but if it is possible,
then the field must be largely force-free. On the other hand, there is an
efficient analog to the dynamo. Systems whose turbulence is
driven by some anisotropic local instability in a shearing flow, like real
stars and accretion disks, and some computer simulations, may successfully
drive the generation of strong large scale magnetic fields, provided that
. We show that this
criterion is usually satisfied. Such dynamos will include a persistent,
spatially coherent vertical magnetic helicity current with the same sign as
, that is, positive for an accretion disk and negative for
the Sun. We comment on the role of random magnetic helicity currents in storing
turbulent energy in a disordered magnetic field, which will generate an
equipartition, disordered field in a turbulent medium, and also a declining
long wavelength tail to the power spectrum. As a result, calculations of the
galactic `seed' field are largely irrelevant.Comment: 28 pages, accepted by The Astrophysical Journa
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