Initial Condition Sensitivity of Global Quantities in Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

Abstract

In this paper we study the effect of subtle changes in initial conditions on the evolution of global quantities in two-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We find that a change in the initial phases of complex Fourier modes of the Els\"{a}sser variables, while keeping the initial values of total energy, cross helicity and Alfv\'{e}n ratio unchanged, has a significant effect on the evolution of cross helicity. On the contrary, the total energy and Alfv\'{e}n ratio are insensitive to the initial phases. Our simulations are based on direct numerical simulation using the pseudo-spectral method.Comment: 12 pages LateX, 11 ps figures. Accepted for publication by Physics of Plasma