2,052 research outputs found
A numerical study of the alpha model for two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulent flows
We explore some consequences of the ``alpha model,'' also called the
``Lagrangian-averaged'' model, for two-dimensional incompressible
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. This model is an extension of the
smoothing procedure in fluid dynamics which filters velocity fields locally
while leaving their associated vorticities unsmoothed, and has proved useful
for high Reynolds number turbulence computations. We consider several known
effects (selective decay, dynamic alignment, inverse cascades, and the
probability distribution functions of fluctuating turbulent quantities) in
magnetofluid turbulence and compare the results of numerical solutions of the
primitive MHD equations with their alpha-model counterparts' performance for
the same flows, in regimes where available resolution is adequate to explore
both. The hope is to justify the use of the alpha model in regimes that lie
outside currently available resolution, as will be the case in particular in
three-dimensional geometry or for magnetic Prandtl numbers differing
significantly from unity. We focus our investigation, using direct numerical
simulations with a standard and fully parallelized pseudo-spectral method and
periodic boundary conditions in two space dimensions, on the role that such a
modeling of the small scales using the Lagrangian-averaged framework plays in
the large-scale dynamics of MHD turbulence. Several flows are examined, and for
all of them one can conclude that the statistical properties of the large-scale
spectra are recovered, whereas small-scale detailed phase information (such as
e.g. the location of structures) is lost.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figure
Velocity field distributions due to ideal line vortices
We evaluate numerically the velocity field distributions produced by a
bounded, two-dimensional fluid model consisting of a collection of parallel
ideal line vortices. We sample at many spatial points inside a rigid circular
boundary. We focus on ``nearest neighbor'' contributions that result from
vortices that fall (randomly) very close to the spatial points where the
velocity is being sampled. We confirm that these events lead to a non-Gaussian
high-velocity ``tail'' on an otherwise Gaussian distribution function for the
Eulerian velocity field. We also investigate the behavior of distributions that
do not have equilibrium mean-field probability distributions that are uniform
inside the circle, but instead correspond to both higher and lower mean-field
energies than those associated with the uniform vorticity distribution. We find
substantial differences between these and the uniform case.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. To be published in Physical Review E
(http://pre.aps.org/) in May 200
Numerical solutions of the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic alpha-model
We present direct numerical simulations and alpha-model simulations of four
familiar three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence effects:
selective decay, dynamic alignment, inverse cascade of magnetic helicity, and
the helical dynamo effect. The MHD alpha-model is shown to capture the
long-wavelength spectra in all these problems, allowing for a significant
reduction of computer time and memory at the same kinetic and magnetic Reynolds
numbers. In the helical dynamo, not only does the alpha-model correctly
reproduce the growth rate of magnetic energy during the kinematic regime, but
it also captures the nonlinear saturation level and the late generation of a
large scale magnetic field by the helical turbulence.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figure
A Statement on the Appropriate Role for Research and Development in Climate Policy
This statement is issued by a group of economists and scientists which met at Stanford University on October 18, 2008 to discuss the role of research and development (R&D) in developing effective policies for addressing the adverse potential consequences of climate change. We believe that climate change is a serious issue that governments need to address. We also believe that research and development needs to be a central part of governments’ strategies for responding to this challenge. Solutions to manage long-term risks will require the development and global deployment of a range of technologies for energy supply and end-use, land-use, agriculture and adaptation that are not currently commercial. A key potential benefit of focused scientific and technological research and development investment is that it could dramatically reduce the cost of restricting greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging the development of more affordable, better performing technologies.
Linkage and Association Analysis of Radiation Damage Repair Genes XRCC3 and XRCC5 with Nevus Density in Adolescent Twins
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