Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence and the Geodynamo

Science.gov (United States)

Shebalin, John V.

2014-01-01

The ARES Directorate at JSC has researched the physical processes that create planetary magnetic fields through dynamo action since 2007. The "dynamo problem" has existed since 1600, when William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, recognized that the Earth was a giant magnet. In 1919, Joseph Larmor proposed that solar (and by implication, planetary) magnetism was due to magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), but full acceptance did not occur until Glatzmaier and Roberts solved the MHD equations numerically and simulated a geomagnetic reversal in 1995. JSC research produced a unique theoretical model in 2012 that provided a novel explanation of these physical observations and computational results as an essential manifestation of broken ergodicity in MHD turbulence. Research is ongoing, and future work is aimed at understanding quantitative details of magnetic dipole alignment in the Earth as well as in Mercury, Jupiter and its moon Ganymede, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the Sun and other stars.

Magnetohydrodynamic flows and turbulence: a report on the Third Beer-Sheva Seminar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branover, H.; Mestel, A.J.; Moore, D.J.; Shercliff, J.A.

1981-01-01

This paper is a summary of the Third Beer-Sheva Seminar on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows and turbulence, held in Israel in March 1981 with 67 participants from 9 countries. Reviews and research papers were presented on fundamental MHD and turbulence studies, both theoretical and experimental, including two-phase phenomena, and on applications of MHD to electrical generation (especially in two-phase systems), electromagnetic pumps, flow-couplers and flowmeters, thermonuclear fusion and a range of metallurgical problems, many involving free surfaces. (author)

A non-local shell model of hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plunian, F [Laboratoire de Geophysique Interne et Tectonophysique, CNRS, Universite Joseph Fourier, Maison des Geosciences, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Stepanov, R [Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics, Korolyov 1, 614013 Perm (Russian Federation)

2007-08-15

We derive a new shell model of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in which the energy transfers are not necessarily local. Like the original MHD equations, the model conserves the total energy, magnetic helicity, cross-helicity and volume in phase space (Liouville's theorem) apart from the effects of external forcing, viscous dissipation and magnetic diffusion. The model of hydrodynamic (HD) turbulence is derived from the MHD model setting the magnetic field to zero. In that case the conserved quantities are the kinetic energy and the kinetic helicity. In addition to a statistically stationary state with a Kolmogorov spectrum, the HD model exhibits multiscaling. The anomalous scaling exponents are found to depend on a free parameter {alpha} that measures the non-locality degree of the model. In freely decaying turbulence, the infra-red spectrum also depends on {alpha}. Comparison with theory suggests using {alpha} = -5/2. In MHD turbulence, we investigate the fully developed turbulent dynamo for a wide range of magnetic Prandtl numbers in both kinematic and dynamic cases. Both local and non-local energy transfers are clearly identified.

INHOMOGENEOUS NEARLY INCOMPRESSIBLE DESCRIPTION OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunana, P.; Zank, G. P.

2010-01-01

The nearly incompressible theory of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is formulated in the presence of a static large-scale inhomogeneous background. The theory is an inhomogeneous generalization of the homogeneous nearly incompressible MHD description of Zank and Matthaeus and a polytropic equation of state is assumed. The theory is primarily developed to describe solar wind turbulence where the assumption of a composition of two-dimensional (2D) and slab turbulence with the dominance of the 2D component has been used for some time. It was however unclear, if in the presence of a large-scale inhomogeneous background, the dominant component will also be mainly 2D and we consider three distinct MHD regimes for the plasma beta β > 1. For regimes appropriate to the solar wind (β 2 s δp is not valid for the leading-order O(M) density fluctuations, and therefore in observational studies, the density fluctuations should not be analyzed through the pressure fluctuations. The pseudosound relation is valid only for higher order O(M 2 ) density fluctuations, and then only for short-length scales and fast timescales. The spectrum of the leading-order density fluctuations should be modeled as k -5/3 in the inertial range, followed by a Bessel function solution K ν (k), where for stationary turbulence ν = 1, in the viscous-convective and diffusion range. Other implications for solar wind turbulence with an emphasis on the evolution of density fluctuations are also discussed.

Conditions for sustainment of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by Alfven waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dmitruk, P.; Matthaeus, W.H.; Milano, L.J.; Oughton, S.

2001-01-01

In a number of space and astrophysical plasmas, turbulence is driven by the supply of wave energy. In the context of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) there are basic physical reasons, associated with conservation of cross helicity, why this kind of driving may be ineffective in sustaining turbulence. Here an investigation is made into some basic requirements for sustaining steady turbulence and dissipation in the context of incompressible MHD in a weakly inhomogeneous open field line region, driven by the supply of unidirectionally propagating waves at a boundary. While such wave driving cannot alone sustain turbulence, the addition of reflection permits sustainment. Another sustainment issue is the action of the nonpropagating or quasi-two dimensional part of the spectrum; this is particularly important in setting up a steady cascade. Thus, details of the wave boundary conditions also affect the ease of sustaining a cascade. Supply of a broadband spectrum of waves can overcome the latter difficulty but not the former, that is, the need for reflections. Implications for coronal heating and other astrophysical applications, as well as simulations, are suggested

Mean-field magnetohydrodynamics and dynamo theory

CERN Document Server

Krause, F

2013-01-01

Mean-Field Magnetohydrodynamics and Dynamo Theory provides a systematic introduction to mean-field magnetohydrodynamics and the dynamo theory, along with the results achieved. Topics covered include turbulence and large-scale structures; general properties of the turbulent electromotive force; homogeneity, isotropy, and mirror symmetry of turbulent fields; and turbulent electromotive force in the case of non-vanishing mean flow. The turbulent electromotive force in the case of rotational mean motion is also considered. This book is comprised of 17 chapters and opens with an overview of the gen

Electron and ion magnetohydrodynamic effects in plasma opening switches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grossmann, J.M.; DeVore, C.R.; Ottinger, P.F.

1993-01-01

Preliminary results are presented of a numerical code designed to investigate electron and ion magnetohydrodynamic effects in plasma erosion opening switches. The present model is one-dimensional and resolves effects such as the JxB deformation of the plasma, and the penetration of magnetic field either by anomalous resistivity or electron magnetohydrodynamics (Hall effect). Comparisons with exact analytic results and experiment are made

The Theory of Nearly Incompressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence: Homogeneous Description

Science.gov (United States)

Zank, G. P.; Adhikari, L.; Hunana, P.; Shiota, D.; Bruno, R.; Telloni, D.; Avinash, K.

2017-09-01

The theory of nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (NI MHD) was developed to understand the apparent incompressibility of the solar wind and other plasma environments, particularly the relationship of density fluctuations to incompressible manifestations of turbulence in the solar wind and interstellar medium. Of interest was the identification of distinct leading-order incompressible descriptions for plasma beta β ≫ 1 and β ∼ 1 or ≪ 1 environments. In the first case, the “dimensionality” of the MHD description is 3D whereas for the latter two, there is a collapse of dimensionality in that the leading-order incompressible MHD description is 2D in a plane orthogonal to the large-scale or mean magnetic field. Despite the success of NI MHD in describing fluctuations in a low-frequency plasma environment such as the solar wind, a basic turbulence description has not been developed. Here, we rewrite the NI MHD system in terms of Elsässer variables. We discuss the distinction that emerges between the three cases. However, we focus on the β ∼ 1 or ≪ 1 regimes since these are appropriate to the solar wind and solar corona. In both cases, the leading-order turbulence model describes 2D turbulence and the higher-order description corresponds to slab turbulence, which forms a minority component. The Elsäasser β ∼ 1 or ≪ 1 formulation exhibits the nonlinear couplings between 2D and slab components very clearly, and shows that slab fluctuations respond in a passive scalar sense to the turbulently evolving majority 2D component fluctuations. The coupling of 2D and slab fluctuations through the β ∼ 1 or ≪ 1 NI MHD description leads to a very natural emergence of the “Goldreich-Sridhar” critical balance scaling parameter, although now with a different interpretation. Specifically, the critical balance parameter shows that the energy flux in wave number space is a consequence of the intensity of Alfvén wave sweeping versus passive scalar

An empirical investigation of compressibility in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spangler, Steven R.; Spitler, Laura G.

2004-01-01

The density fluctuations which occur in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are an important diagnostic of the turbulent dynamics, and serve as the basis of astrophysical remote sensing measurements. This paper is concerned with the relation between density fluctuations and fluctuations of the magnetic field and velocity. The approach is empirical, utilizing spacecraft observations of slow solar wind turbulence. Sixty-six data intervals of 1 h duration were chosen, in which the solar wind speed was less than 450 km/s, and in which the fluctuations in density and vector magnetic field appeared to be approximately stationary. The parameters of interest were the root-mean-square fluctuations of density and magnetic field, normalized by the respective mean values, ε N ≡ 2 > 0.5 /n 0 and ε B ≡ 2 > 0.5 /B 0 , respectively, where n 0 and B 0 are the mean plasma number density and magnetic field strength. The conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) Consistent with previous investigations, the dependence of the normalized density fluctuation on the normalized magnetic field fluctuation is found to be between linear (ε N =ε B ) and quadratic (ε N =ε B 2 ). (2) The value of R≡ε N /ε B shows a wide range from 4; the median value is 0.46 and the mean is 0.72. (3) Typical normalized fluctuation amplitudes (ε N and ε B ) for records of one hour length (maximum scale size of ≅1.6x10 6 km) are 0.03-0.08 for the density, and 0.04-0.21 for the magnetic field. (4) For most intervals, the magnitude of the perpendicular (to the large scale magnetic field) magnetic field fluctuations exceeds that of the parallel fluctuations by a factor of 3-4. This indicates that the turbulent magnetic field fluctuations are primarily transverse fluctuations. The implications of these results for theories of MHD turbulence, and for the remote sensing of turbulent plasmas such as the corona, the near-Sun solar wind, and the interstellar medium, are discussed

Effects of flow shear and Alfven waves on two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douglas, Jamie; Kim, Eun-jin; Thyagaraja, A.

2008-01-01

The suppression of turbulent transport by large scale mean shear flows and uniform magnetic fields is investigated in two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by a small-scale forcing with finite correlation time. By numerical integration the turbulent magnetic diffusivity D T is shown to be significantly quenched, with a scaling D T ∝B -2 Ω 0 -5/4 , which is much more severe than in the case of a short or delta correlated forcing typified by white noise, studied in E. Kim and B. Dubrulle [Phys. Plasmas 8, 813 (2001)]. Here B and Ω 0 are magnetic field strength and flow shear rate, respectively. The forcing with finite correlation time also leads to much stronger suppression of momentum transport through the cancellation of the Reynolds stress by the Maxwell stress with a positive small value of turbulent viscosity, ν T >0. While fluctuating kinetic and magnetic energies are unaffected by the magnetic field just as in the case of a delta correlated forcing, they are much more severely quenched by flow shear than in that of a delta correlated forcing. Underlying physical mechanisms for the reduction of turbulent transport and turbulence level by flow shear and magnetic field are discussed

DAMPING OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE IN PARTIALLY IONIZED PLASMA: IMPLICATIONS FOR COSMIC RAY PROPAGATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Siyao; Yan, Huirong; Lazarian, A.

2016-01-01

We study the damping processes of both incompressible and compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in a 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 the cutoff boundary of linear MHD waves is investigated. We find two branches of slow modes propagating in ions and neutrals, respectively, below the damping scale of slow MHD turbulence, and offer a thorough discussion of their propagation and dissipation behavior. Our analytical results are shown to be applicable in a variety of partially ionized interstellar medium (ISM) phases and the solar chromosphere. The importance of neutral viscosity in damping the Alfvenic turbulence in the interstellar warm neutral medium and the solar chromosphere is demonstrated. As a significant astrophysical utility, we introduce damping effects to the propagation of cosmic rays in partially ionized ISM. The important role of turbulence damping in both transit-time damping and gyroresonance is identified.

On spectral scaling laws for incompressible anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galtier, Sebastien; Pouquet, Annick; Mangeney, Andre

2005-01-01

A heuristic model is given for anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics turbulence in the presence of a uniform external magnetic field B 0 e parallel . The model is valid for both moderate and strong B 0 and is able to describe both the strong and weak wave turbulence regimes as well as the transition between them. The main ingredient of the model is the assumption of constant ratio at all scales between the linear wave period and the nonlinear turnover time scale. Contrary to the model of critical balance introduced by Goldreich and Sridhar [Astrophys. J. 438, 763 (1995)], it is not assumed, in addition, that this ratio be equal to unity at all scales. This allows us to make use of the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan phenomenology; it is then possible to recover the widely observed anisotropic scaling law k parallel ∝k perpendicular 2/3 between parallel and perpendicular wave numbers (with reference to B 0 e parallel and to obtain for the total-energy spectrum E(k perpendicular ,k parallel )∼k perpendicular -α k parallel -β the universal prediction, 3α+2β=7. In particular, with such a prediction, the weak Alfven wave turbulence constant-flux solution is recovered and, for the first time, a possible explanation to its precursor found numerically by Galtier et al. [J. Plasma Phys. 63, 447 (2000)] is given.

Energy transfer in compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence for isothermal self-gravitating fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Supratik; Kritsuk, Alexei G.

2018-02-01

Three-dimensional, compressible, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence of an isothermal, self-gravitating fluid is analyzed using two-point statistics in the asymptotic limit of large Reynolds numbers (both kinetic and magnetic). Following an alternative formulation proposed by Banerjee and Galtier [Phys. Rev. E 93, 033120 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevE.93.033120; J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 50, 015501 (2017), 10.1088/1751-8113/50/1/015501], an exact relation has been derived for the total energy transfer. This approach results in a simpler relation expressed entirely in terms of mixed second-order structure functions. The kinetic, thermodynamic, magnetic, and gravitational contributions to the energy transfer rate can be easily separated in the present form. By construction, the new formalism includes such additional effects as global rotation, the Hall term in the induction equation, etc. The analysis shows that solid-body rotation cannot alter the energy flux rate of compressible turbulence. However, the contribution of a uniform background magnetic field to the flux is shown to be nontrivial unlike in the incompressible case. Finally, the compressible, turbulent energy flux rate does not vanish completely due to simple alignments, which leads to a zero turbulent energy flux rate in the incompressible case.

Reconnection-driven Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in a Simulated Coronal-hole Jet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uritsky, Vadim M.; Roberts, Merrill A. [Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20064 (United States); DeVore, C. Richard; Karpen, Judith T., E-mail: vadim.uritsky@nasa.gov [Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2017-03-10

Extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray jets occur frequently in magnetically open coronal holes on the Sun, especially at high solar latitudes. Some of these jets are observed by white-light coronagraphs as they propagate through the outer corona toward the inner heliosphere, and it has been proposed that they give rise to microstreams and torsional Alfvén waves detected in situ in the solar wind. To predict and understand the signatures of coronal-hole jets, we have performed a detailed statistical analysis of such a jet simulated by an adaptively refined magnetohydrodynamics model. The results confirm the generation and persistence of three-dimensional, reconnection-driven magnetic turbulence in the simulation. We calculate the spatial correlations of magnetic fluctuations within the jet and find that they agree best with the Müller–Biskamp scaling model including intermittent current sheets of various sizes coupled via hydrodynamic turbulent cascade. The anisotropy of the magnetic fluctuations and the spatial orientation of the current sheets are consistent with an ensemble of nonlinear Alfvén waves. These properties also reflect the overall collimated jet structure imposed by the geometry of the reconnecting magnetic field. A comparison with Ulysses observations shows that turbulence in the jet wake is in quantitative agreement with that in the fast solar wind.

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldreich, P.; Sridhar, S.

1997-01-01

In 1965, Kraichnan proposed that MHD turbulence occurs as a result of collisions between oppositely directed Alfvacute en wave packets. Recent work has generated some controversy over the nature of nonlinear couplings between colliding Alfvacute en waves. We find that the resolution to much of the confusion lies in the existence of a new type of turbulence, intermediate turbulence, in which the cascade of energy in the inertial range exhibits properties intermediate between those of weak and strong turbulent cascades. Some properties of intermediate MHD turbulence are the following: (1) in common with weak turbulent cascades, wave packets belonging to the inertial range are long-lived; (2) however, components of the strain tensor are so large that, similar to the situation in strong turbulence, perturbation theory is not applicable; (3) the breakdown of perturbation theory results from the divergence of neighboring field lines due to wave packets whose perturbations in velocity and magnetic fields are localized, but whose perturbations in displacement are not; (4) three-wave interactions dominate individual collisions between wave packets, but interactions of all orders n≥3 make comparable contributions to the intermediate turbulent energy cascade; (5) successive collisions are correlated since wave packets are distorted as they follow diverging field lines; (6) in common with the weak MHD cascade, there is no parallel cascade of energy, and the cascade to small perpendicular scales strengthens as it reaches higher wavenumbers; (7) for an appropriate weak excitation, there is a natural progression from a weak, through an intermediate, to a strong cascade. copyright 1997 The American Astronomical Society

The acceleration and propagation of energetic particles in turbulent cosmic plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achterberg, A.

1981-01-01

This thesis concentrates on the acceleration and propagation of energetic particles in turbulent cosmic plasmas. The stochastic acceleration of relativistic electrons by long-wavelength weak magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is considered and a model is discussed that allows the determination of both the electron energy spectrum and the wavenumber spectrum of the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a consistent way. The question of second phase acceleration in large solar flares and the precise form of the force exerted on the background plasma when Alfven waves are generated by fast particles are considered. The energy balance in the shock wave acceleration, the propagation of energetic particles in a high β plasma (β>10 2 ) and sheared flow as a possible source of plasma turbulence for a magnetized plasma with field-aligned flow, are discussed. (Auth./C.F.)

Large eddy simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grete, Philipp

2016-01-01

Supersonic, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is thought to play an important role in many processes - especially in astrophysics, where detailed three-dimensional observations are scarce. Simulations can partially fill this gap and help to understand these processes. However, direct simulations with realistic parameters are often not feasible. Consequently, large eddy simulations (LES) have emerged as a viable alternative. In LES the overall complexity is reduced by simulating only large and intermediate scales directly. The smallest scales, usually referred to as subgrid-scales (SGS), are introduced to the simulation by means of an SGS model. Thus, the overall quality of an LES with respect to properly accounting for small-scale physics crucially depends on the quality of the SGS model. While there has been a lot of successful research on SGS models in the hydrodynamic regime for decades, SGS modeling in MHD is a rather recent topic, in particular, in the compressible regime. In this thesis, we derive and validate a new nonlinear MHD SGS model that explicitly takes compressibility effects into account. A filter is used to separate the large and intermediate scales, and it is thought to mimic finite resolution effects. In the derivation, we use a deconvolution approach on the filter kernel. With this approach, we are able to derive nonlinear closures for all SGS terms in MHD: the turbulent Reynolds and Maxwell stresses, and the turbulent electromotive force (EMF). We validate the new closures both a priori and a posteriori. In the a priori tests, we use high-resolution reference data of stationary, homogeneous, isotropic MHD turbulence to compare exact SGS quantities against predictions by the closures. The comparison includes, for example, correlations of turbulent fluxes, the average dissipative behavior, and alignment of SGS vectors such as the EMF. In order to quantify the performance of the new nonlinear closure, this comparison is conducted from the

Large eddy simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Grete, Philipp

2017-02-01

Supersonic, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is thought to play an important role in many processes - especially in astrophysics, where detailed three-dimensional observations are scarce. Simulations can partially fill this gap and help to understand these processes. However, direct simulations with realistic parameters are often not feasible. Consequently, large eddy simulations (LES) have emerged as a viable alternative. In LES the overall complexity is reduced by simulating only large and intermediate scales directly. The smallest scales, usually referred to as subgrid-scales (SGS), are introduced to the simulation by means of an SGS model. Thus, the overall quality of an LES with respect to properly accounting for small-scale physics crucially depends on the quality of the SGS model. While there has been a lot of successful research on SGS models in the hydrodynamic regime for decades, SGS modeling in MHD is a rather recent topic, in particular, in the compressible regime. In this thesis, we derive and validate a new nonlinear MHD SGS model that explicitly takes compressibility effects into account. A filter is used to separate the large and intermediate scales, and it is thought to mimic finite resolution effects. In the derivation, we use a deconvolution approach on the filter kernel. With this approach, we are able to derive nonlinear closures for all SGS terms in MHD: the turbulent Reynolds and Maxwell stresses, and the turbulent electromotive force (EMF). We validate the new closures both a priori and a posteriori. In the a priori tests, we use high-resolution reference data of stationary, homogeneous, isotropic MHD turbulence to compare exact SGS quantities against predictions by the closures. The comparison includes, for example, correlations of turbulent fluxes, the average dissipative behavior, and alignment of SGS vectors such as the EMF. In order to quantify the performance of the new nonlinear closure, this comparison is conducted from the

Experimental evidence of phase coherence of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the solar wind: GEOTAIL satellite data.

Science.gov (United States)

Koga, D; Chian, A C-L; Hada, T; Rempel, E L

2008-02-13

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is commonly observed in the solar wind. Nonlinear interactions among MHD waves are likely to produce finite correlation of the wave phases. For discussions of various transport processes of energetic particles, it is fundamentally important to determine whether the wave phases are randomly distributed (as assumed in the quasi-linear theory) or have a finite coherence. Using a method based on the surrogate data technique, we analysed the GEOTAIL magnetic field data to evaluate the phase coherence in MHD turbulence in the Earth's foreshock region. The results demonstrate the existence of finite phase correlation, indicating that nonlinear wave-wave interactions are in progress.

Inertial-Range Reconnection in Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence and in the Solar Wind.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalescu, Cristian C; Shi, Yi-Kang; Eyink, Gregory L; Drivas, Theodore D; Vishniac, Ethan T; Lazarian, Alexander

2015-07-10

In situ spacecraft data on the solar wind show events identified as magnetic reconnection with wide outflows and extended "X lines," 10(3)-10(4) times ion scales. To understand the role of turbulence at these scales, we make a case study of an inertial-range reconnection event in a magnetohydrodynamic simulation. We observe stochastic wandering of field lines in space, breakdown of standard magnetic flux freezing due to Richardson dispersion, and a broadened reconnection zone containing many current sheets. The coarse-grain magnetic geometry is like large-scale reconnection in the solar wind, however, with a hyperbolic flux tube or apparent X line extending over integral length scales.

VELOCITY FIELD OF COMPRESSIBLE MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE: WAVELET DECOMPOSITION AND MODE SCALINGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowal, Grzegorz; Lazarian, A.

2010-01-01

We study compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, which holds the key to many astrophysical processes, including star formation and cosmic-ray propagation. To account for the variations of the magnetic field in the strongly turbulent fluid, we use wavelet decomposition of the turbulent velocity field into Alfven, slow, and fast modes, which presents an extension of the Cho and Lazarian decomposition approach based on Fourier transforms. The wavelets allow us to follow the variations of the local direction of the magnetic field and therefore improve the quality of the decomposition compared to the Fourier transforms, which are done in the mean field reference frame. For each resulting component, we calculate the spectra and two-point statistics such as longitudinal and transverse structure functions as well as higher order intermittency statistics. In addition, we perform a Helmholtz- Hodge decomposition of the velocity field into incompressible and compressible parts and analyze these components. We find that the turbulence intermittency is different for different components, and we show that the intermittency statistics depend on whether the phenomenon was studied in the global reference frame related to the mean magnetic field or in the frame defined by the local magnetic field. The dependencies of the measures we obtained are different for different components of the velocity; for instance, we show that while the Alfven mode intermittency changes marginally with the Mach number, the intermittency of the fast mode is substantially affected by the change.

Structure of the electromagnetic field in three-dimensional Hall magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dmitruk, Pablo; Matthaeus, W.H.

2006-01-01

Numerical simulations of freely evolving three-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are performed, with and without the Hall term in Ohm's law. The parameter controlling the presence of the Hall term is the ratio of the ion skin depth to the macroscopic scale of the turbulence. The ion skin depth is set to be slightly larger than the dissipation length scale (controlled by the resistivity) for the Hall MHD simulations, while it is set to zero for non-Hall MHD simulations. Small initial cross helicity, hybrid helicity, and magnetic helicity are considered. The system is left to evolve for a few turbulent characteristic times and the magnetic field and electric field are analyzed in real and wavenumber space. Distributions (histograms) of the fields are also computed. It is found that the turbulent magnetic field (as well as the velocity field) is almost unaffected by the presence of the Hall term, while the electric field is affected at scales smaller than the ion skin depth, that is, close to the dissipation range in these simulations. The importance of each term in Ohm's law for the electric field is analyzed in wavenumber space. Furthermore, reconnection-like zones are identified, where the importance of each term in Ohm's law can be seen in real space. Reconnection-like zones with magnetic field B=0 (or small) and B≠0 are found within the turbulent state of the system

Possible signatures of dissipation from time-series analysis techniques using a turbulent laboratory magnetohydrodynamic plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaffner, D. A.; Brown, M. R.; Rock, A. B.

2016-01-01

The frequency spectrum of magnetic fluctuations as measured on the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment is broadband and exhibits a nearly Kolmogorov 5/3 scaling. It features a steepening region which is indicative of dissipation of magnetic fluctuation energy similar to that observed in fluid and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence systems. Two non-spectrum based time-series analysis techniques are implemented on this data set in order to seek other possible signatures of turbulent dissipation beyond just the steepening of fluctuation spectra. Presented here are results for the flatness, permutation entropy, and statistical complexity, each of which exhibits a particular character at spectral steepening scales which can then be compared to the behavior of the frequency spectrum.

Large eddy simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grete, Philipp

2016-09-09

Supersonic, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is thought to play an important role in many processes - especially in astrophysics, where detailed three-dimensional observations are scarce. Simulations can partially fill this gap and help to understand these processes. However, direct simulations with realistic parameters are often not feasible. Consequently, large eddy simulations (LES) have emerged as a viable alternative. In LES the overall complexity is reduced by simulating only large and intermediate scales directly. The smallest scales, usually referred to as subgrid-scales (SGS), are introduced to the simulation by means of an SGS model. Thus, the overall quality of an LES with respect to properly accounting for small-scale physics crucially depends on the quality of the SGS model. While there has been a lot of successful research on SGS models in the hydrodynamic regime for decades, SGS modeling in MHD is a rather recent topic, in particular, in the compressible regime. In this thesis, we derive and validate a new nonlinear MHD SGS model that explicitly takes compressibility effects into account. A filter is used to separate the large and intermediate scales, and it is thought to mimic finite resolution effects. In the derivation, we use a deconvolution approach on the filter kernel. With this approach, we are able to derive nonlinear closures for all SGS terms in MHD: the turbulent Reynolds and Maxwell stresses, and the turbulent electromotive force (EMF). We validate the new closures both a priori and a posteriori. In the a priori tests, we use high-resolution reference data of stationary, homogeneous, isotropic MHD turbulence to compare exact SGS quantities against predictions by the closures. The comparison includes, for example, correlations of turbulent fluxes, the average dissipative behavior, and alignment of SGS vectors such as the EMF. In order to quantify the performance of the new nonlinear closure, this comparison is conducted from the

Laminar and Turbulent Dynamos in Chiral Magnetohydrodynamics. II. Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Schober, Jennifer; Rogachevskii, Igor; Brandenburg, Axel; Boyarsky, Alexey; Fröhlich, Jürg; Ruchayskiy, Oleg; Kleeorin, Nathan

2018-05-01

Using direct numerical simulations (DNS), we study laminar and turbulent dynamos in chiral magnetohydrodynamics with an extended set of equations that accounts for an additional contribution to the electric current due to the chiral magnetic effect (CME). This quantum phenomenon originates from an asymmetry between left- and right-handed relativistic fermions in the presence of a magnetic field and gives rise to a chiral dynamo. We show that the magnetic field evolution proceeds in three stages: (1) a small-scale chiral dynamo instability, (2) production of chiral magnetically driven turbulence and excitation of a large-scale dynamo instability due to a new chiral effect (α μ effect), and (3) saturation of magnetic helicity and magnetic field growth controlled by a conservation law for the total chirality. The α μ effect becomes dominant at large fluid and magnetic Reynolds numbers and is not related to kinetic helicity. The growth rate of the large-scale magnetic field and its characteristic scale measured in the numerical simulations agree well with theoretical predictions based on mean-field theory. The previously discussed two-stage chiral magnetic scenario did not include stage (2), during which the characteristic scale of magnetic field variations can increase by many orders of magnitude. Based on the findings from numerical simulations, the relevance of the CME and the chiral effects revealed in the relativistic plasma of the early universe and of proto-neutron stars are discussed.

Electron acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, X.; Büchner, J.; Widmer, F.; Muñoz, P. A.

2018-04-01

In space and astrophysical plasmas, like in planetary magnetospheres, as that of Mercury, energetic electrons are often found near current sheets, which hint at electron acceleration by magnetic reconnection. Unfortunately, electron acceleration by reconnection is not well understood yet, in particular, acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection. We have investigated electron acceleration by turbulent plasmoid reconnection, described by MHD simulations, via test particle calculations. In order to avoid resolving all relevant turbulence scales down to the dissipation scales, a mean-field turbulence model is used to describe the turbulence of sub-grid scales and their effects via a turbulent electromotive force (EMF). The mean-field model describes the turbulent EMF as a function of the mean values of current density, vorticity, magnetic field as well as of the energy, cross-helicity, and residual helicity of the turbulence. We found that, mainly around X-points of turbulent reconnection, strongly enhanced localized EMFs most efficiently accelerated electrons and caused the formation of power-law spectra. Magnetic-field-aligned EMFs, caused by the turbulence, dominate the electron acceleration process. Scaling the acceleration processes to parameters of the Hermean magnetotail, electron energies up to 60 keV can be reached by turbulent plasmoid reconnection through the thermal plasma.

''Reduced'' magnetohydrodynamics and minimum dissipation rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, D.

1992-01-01

It is demonstrated that all solutions of the equations of ''reduced'' magnetohydrodynamics approach a uniform-current, zero-flow state for long times, given a constant wall electric field, uniform scalar viscosity and resistivity, and uniform mass density. This state is the state of minimum energy dissipation rate for these boundary conditions. No steady-state turbulence is possible. The result contrasts sharply with results for full three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics before the reduction occurs

Two-fluid turbulence including electron inertia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrés, Nahuel, E-mail: nandres@iafe.uba.ar; Gómez, Daniel [Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio, CC. 67, suc. 28, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón I, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Gonzalez, Carlos; Martin, Luis; Dmitruk, Pablo [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2014-12-15

We present a full two-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) description for a completely ionized hydrogen plasma, retaining the effects of the Hall current, electron pressure, and electron inertia. According to this description, each plasma species introduces a new spatial scale: the ion inertial length λ{sub i} and the electron inertial length λ{sub e}, which are not present in the traditional MHD description. In the present paper, we seek for possible changes in the energy power spectrum in fully developed turbulent regimes, using numerical simulations of the two-fluid equations in two-and-a-half dimensions. We have been able to reproduce different scaling laws in different spectral ranges, as it has been observed in the solar wind for the magnetic energy spectrum. At the smallest wavenumbers where plain MHD is valid, we obtain an inertial range following a Kolmogorov k{sup −5∕3} law. For intermediate wavenumbers such that λ{sub i}{sup −1}≪k≪λ{sub e}{sup −1}, the spectrum is modified to a k{sup −7∕3} power-law, as has also been obtained for Hall-MHD neglecting electron inertia terms. When electron inertia is retained, a new spectral region given by k>λ{sub e}{sup −1} arises. The power spectrum for magnetic energy in this region is given by a k{sup −11∕3} power law. Finally, when the terms of electron inertia are retained, we study the self-consistent electric field. Our results are discussed and compared with those obtained in the solar wind observations and previous simulations.

Plasma turbulence measured by fast sweep reflectometry on Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clairet, F.; Vermare, L.; Leclert, G.

2004-01-01

Traditionally devoted to electron density profile measurement we show that fast frequency sweeping reflectometry technique can bring valuable and innovative measurements onto plasma turbulence. While fast frequency sweeping technique is traditionally devoted to electron density radial profile measurements we show in this paper how we can handle the fluctuations of the reflected signal to recover plasma density fluctuation measurements with a high spatial and temporal resolution. Large size turbulence related to magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) activity and the associated magnetic islands can be detected. The radial profile of the micro-turbulence, which is responsible for plasma anomalous transport processes, is experimentally determined through the fluctuation of the reflected phase signal. (authors)

Plasma turbulence measured by fast sweep reflectometry on Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clairet, F.; Vermare, L.; Heuraux, S.; Leclert, G.

2004-01-01

Traditionally devoted to electron density profile measurement we show that fast frequency sweeping reflectometry technique can bring valuable and innovative measurements onto plasma turbulence. While fast frequency sweeping technique is traditionally devoted to electron density radial profile measurements we show in this paper how we can handle the fluctuations of the reflected signal to recover plasma density fluctuation measurements with a high spatial and temporal resolution. Large size turbulence related to magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) activity and the associated magnetic islands can be detected. The radial profile of the micro-turbulence, which is responsible for plasma anomalous transport processes, is experimentally determined through the fluctuation of the reflected phase signal

Laminar and Turbulent Dynamos in Chiral Magnetohydrodynamics. I. Theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogachevskii, Igor; Kleeorin, Nathan [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel); Ruchayskiy, Oleg [Discovery Center, Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Boyarsky, Alexey [Instituut-Lorentz for Theoretical Physics, Universiteit Leiden, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden (Netherlands); Fröhlich, Jürg [Institute of Theoretical Physics, ETH Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Brandenburg, Axel; Schober, Jennifer, E-mail: gary@bgu.ac.il [Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)

2017-09-10

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) description of plasmas with relativistic particles necessarily includes an additional new field, the chiral chemical potential associated with the axial charge (i.e., the number difference between right- and left-handed relativistic fermions). This chiral chemical potential gives rise to a contribution to the electric current density of the plasma ( chiral magnetic effect ). We present a self-consistent treatment of the chiral MHD equations , which include the back-reaction of the magnetic field on a chiral chemical potential and its interaction with the plasma velocity field. A number of novel phenomena are exhibited. First, we show that the chiral magnetic effect decreases the frequency of the Alfvén wave for incompressible flows, increases the frequencies of the Alfvén wave and of the fast magnetosonic wave for compressible flows, and decreases the frequency of the slow magnetosonic wave. Second, we show that, in addition to the well-known laminar chiral dynamo effect, which is not related to fluid motions, there is a dynamo caused by the joint action of velocity shear and chiral magnetic effect. In the presence of turbulence with vanishing mean kinetic helicity, the derived mean-field chiral MHD equations describe turbulent large-scale dynamos caused by the chiral alpha effect, which is dominant for large fluid and magnetic Reynolds numbers. The chiral alpha effect is due to an interaction of the chiral magnetic effect and fluctuations of the small-scale current produced by tangling magnetic fluctuations (which are generated by tangling of the large-scale magnetic field by sheared velocity fluctuations). These dynamo effects may have interesting consequences in the dynamics of the early universe, neutron stars, and the quark–gluon plasma.

Laminar and Turbulent Dynamos in Chiral Magnetohydrodynamics. I. Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogachevskii, Igor; Kleeorin, Nathan; Ruchayskiy, Oleg; Boyarsky, Alexey; Fröhlich, Jürg; Brandenburg, Axel; Schober, Jennifer

2017-01-01

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) description of plasmas with relativistic particles necessarily includes an additional new field, the chiral chemical potential associated with the axial charge (i.e., the number difference between right- and left-handed relativistic fermions). This chiral chemical potential gives rise to a contribution to the electric current density of the plasma ( chiral magnetic effect ). We present a self-consistent treatment of the chiral MHD equations , which include the back-reaction of the magnetic field on a chiral chemical potential and its interaction with the plasma velocity field. A number of novel phenomena are exhibited. First, we show that the chiral magnetic effect decreases the frequency of the Alfvén wave for incompressible flows, increases the frequencies of the Alfvén wave and of the fast magnetosonic wave for compressible flows, and decreases the frequency of the slow magnetosonic wave. Second, we show that, in addition to the well-known laminar chiral dynamo effect, which is not related to fluid motions, there is a dynamo caused by the joint action of velocity shear and chiral magnetic effect. In the presence of turbulence with vanishing mean kinetic helicity, the derived mean-field chiral MHD equations describe turbulent large-scale dynamos caused by the chiral alpha effect, which is dominant for large fluid and magnetic Reynolds numbers. The chiral alpha effect is due to an interaction of the chiral magnetic effect and fluctuations of the small-scale current produced by tangling magnetic fluctuations (which are generated by tangling of the large-scale magnetic field by sheared velocity fluctuations). These dynamo effects may have interesting consequences in the dynamics of the early universe, neutron stars, and the quark–gluon plasma.

Attractors of magnetohydrodynamic flows in an Alfvenic state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nunez, Manuel; Sanz, Javier [Departamento de Analisis Matematico, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain)

1999-08-13

We present a simplified form of the magnetohydrodynamic system which describes the evolution of a plasma where the small-scale velocity and magnetic field are aligned in the form of Alfven waves, such as happens in several turbulent situations. Bounds on the dimension of the global attractor are found, and are shown to be an improvement of the standard ones for the full magnetohydrodynamic equations. (author)

Nonlinear features of the electron temperature gradient mode and electron thermal transport in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaw, P.K.; Singh, R.; Weiland, J.G.

2001-01-01

Analytical investigations of several linear and nonlinear features of ETG turbulence are reported. The linear theory includes effects such as finite beta induced electromagnetic shielding, coupling to electron magnetohydrodynamic modes like whistlers etc. It is argued that nonlinearly, turbulence and transport are dominated by radially extended modes called 'streamers'. A nonlinear mechanism generating streamers based on a modulational instability theory of the ETG turbulence is also presented. The saturation levels of the streamers using a Kelvin Helmholtz secondary instability mechanism are calculated and levels of the electron thermal transport due to streamers are estimated. (author)

Suppression of AGN-driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium

Science.gov (United States)

Bambic, Christopher J.; Morsony, Brian J.; Reynolds, Christopher S.

2018-04-01

We investigate the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in turbulent heating of galaxy clusters. Specifically, we analyze the production of turbulence by g-modes generated by the supersonic expansion and buoyant rise of AGN-driven bubbles. Previous work that neglects magnetic fields has shown that this process is inefficient, with less than 1% of the injected energy ending up in turbulence. This inefficiency primarily arises because the bubbles are shredded apart by hydrodynamic instabilities before they can excite sufficiently strong g-modes. Using a plane-parallel model of the intracluster medium (ICM) and 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, we examine the role of a large-scale magnetic field that is able to drape around these rising bubbles, preserving them from hydrodynamic instabilities. We find that while magnetic draping appears better able to preserve AGN-driven bubbles, the driving of g-modes and the resulting production of turbulence is still inefficient. The magnetic tension force prevents g-modes from transitioning into the nonlinear regime, suppressing turbulence in our model ICM. Our work highlights the ways in which ideal MHD is an insufficient description for the cluster feedback process, and we discuss future work such as the inclusion of anisotropic viscosity as a means of simulating high β plasma kinetic effects. These results suggest the hypothesis that other mechanisms of heating the ICM plasma such as sound waves or cosmic rays may be responsible for the observed feedback in galaxy clusters.

Particle acceleration by Alfven wave turbulence in radio galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilek, J.A.

1986-01-01

Radio galaxies show evidence for acceleration of relativistic electrons locally within the diffuse radio luminous plasma. One likely candidate for the reacceleration mechanism is acceleration by magnetohydrodynamic turbulence which exists within the plasma. If Alfven waves are generated by a fluid turbulent cascade described by a power law energy-wavenumber spectrum, the particle spectrum in the presence of synchrotron losses will evolve towards an asymptotic power law which agrees with the particle spectra observed in these sources

Driving Solar Spicules and Jets with Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence: Testing a Persistent Idea

Science.gov (United States)

Cranmer, Steven R.; Woolsey, Lauren N.

2015-10-01

The solar chromosphere contains thin, highly dynamic strands of plasma known as spicules. Recently, it has been suggested that the smallest and fastest (Type II) spicules are identical to intermittent jets observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. These jets appear to expand out along open magnetic field lines rooted in unipolar network regions of coronal holes. In this paper we revisit a thirty-year-old idea that spicules may be caused by upward forces associated with Alfvén waves. These forces involve the conversion of transverse Alfvén waves into compressive acoustic-like waves that steepen into shocks. The repeated buffeting due to upward shock propagation causes nonthermal expansion of the chromosphere and a transient levitation of the transition region (TR). Some older models of wave-driven spicules assumed sinusoidal wave inputs, but the solar atmosphere is highly turbulent and stochastic. Thus, we model this process using the output of a time-dependent simulation of reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The resulting mode-converted compressive waves are strongly variable in time, with a higher TR occurring when the amplitudes are large and a lower TR when the amplitudes are small. In this picture, the TR bobs up and down by several Mm on timescales less than a minute. These motions produce narrow, intermittent extensions of the chromosphere that have similar properties as the observed jets and Type II spicules.

DRIVING SOLAR SPICULES AND JETS WITH MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE: TESTING A PERSISTENT IDEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cranmer, Steven R.; Woolsey, Lauren N.

2015-01-01

The solar chromosphere contains thin, highly dynamic strands of plasma known as spicules. Recently, it has been suggested that the smallest and fastest (Type II) spicules are identical to intermittent jets observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. These jets appear to expand out along open magnetic field lines rooted in unipolar network regions of coronal holes. In this paper we revisit a thirty-year-old idea that spicules may be caused by upward forces associated with Alfvén waves. These forces involve the conversion of transverse Alfvén waves into compressive acoustic-like waves that steepen into shocks. The repeated buffeting due to upward shock propagation causes nonthermal expansion of the chromosphere and a transient levitation of the transition region (TR). Some older models of wave-driven spicules assumed sinusoidal wave inputs, but the solar atmosphere is highly turbulent and stochastic. Thus, we model this process using the output of a time-dependent simulation of reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The resulting mode-converted compressive waves are strongly variable in time, with a higher TR occurring when the amplitudes are large and a lower TR when the amplitudes are small. In this picture, the TR bobs up and down by several Mm on timescales less than a minute. These motions produce narrow, intermittent extensions of the chromosphere that have similar properties as the observed jets and Type II spicules

DRIVING SOLAR SPICULES AND JETS WITH MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE: TESTING A PERSISTENT IDEA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cranmer, Steven R. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Woolsey, Lauren N. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2015-10-10

The solar chromosphere contains thin, highly dynamic strands of plasma known as spicules. Recently, it has been suggested that the smallest and fastest (Type II) spicules are identical to intermittent jets observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. These jets appear to expand out along open magnetic field lines rooted in unipolar network regions of coronal holes. In this paper we revisit a thirty-year-old idea that spicules may be caused by upward forces associated with Alfvén waves. These forces involve the conversion of transverse Alfvén waves into compressive acoustic-like waves that steepen into shocks. The repeated buffeting due to upward shock propagation causes nonthermal expansion of the chromosphere and a transient levitation of the transition region (TR). Some older models of wave-driven spicules assumed sinusoidal wave inputs, but the solar atmosphere is highly turbulent and stochastic. Thus, we model this process using the output of a time-dependent simulation of reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The resulting mode-converted compressive waves are strongly variable in time, with a higher TR occurring when the amplitudes are large and a lower TR when the amplitudes are small. In this picture, the TR bobs up and down by several Mm on timescales less than a minute. These motions produce narrow, intermittent extensions of the chromosphere that have similar properties as the observed jets and Type II spicules.

Electron Heating and Saturation of Self-regulating Magnetorotational Instability in Protoplanetary Disks

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Shoji; Muranushi, Takayuki; Okuzumi, Satoshi; Inutsuka, Shu-ichiro

2017-11-01

Magnetorotational instability (MRI) has the potential to generatevigorous turbulence in protoplanetary disks, although its turbulence strength and accretion stress remain debatable because of the uncertainty of MRI with a low ionization fraction. We focus on the heating of electrons by strong electric fields, which amplifies nonideal magnetohydrodynamic effects. The heated electrons frequently collide with and stick to dust grains, which in turn decreases the ionization fraction and is expected to weaken the turbulent motion driven by MRI. In order to quantitatively investigate the nonlinear evolution of MRI, including the electron heating, we perform magnetohydrodynamical simulation with the unstratified shearing box. We introduce a simple analytic resistivity model depending on the current density by mimicking the resistivity given by the calculation of ionization. Our simulation confirms that the electron heating suppresses magnetic turbulence when the electron heating occurs with low current density. We find a clear correlation between magnetic stress and current density, which means that the magnetic stress is proportional to the squared current density. When the turbulent motion is completely suppressed, laminar accretion flow is caused by an ordered magnetic field. We give an analytical description of the laminar stateusing a solution of linear perturbation equations with resistivity. We also propose a formula that successfully predicts the accretion stress in the presence of the electron heating.

Intermittency and geometrical statistics of three-dimensional homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic turbulence: A wavelet viewpoint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshimatsu, Katsunori; Kawahara, Yasuhiro; Schneider, Kai; Okamoto, Naoya; Farge, Marie

2011-01-01

Scale-dependent and geometrical statistics of three-dimensional incompressible homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic turbulence without mean magnetic field are examined by means of the orthogonal wavelet decomposition. The flow is computed by direct numerical simulation with a Fourier spectral method at resolution 512 3 and a unit magnetic Prandtl number. Scale-dependent second and higher order statistics of the velocity and magnetic fields allow to quantify their intermittency in terms of spatial fluctuations of the energy spectra, the flatness, and the probability distribution functions at different scales. Different scale-dependent relative helicities, e.g., kinetic, cross, and magnetic relative helicities, yield geometrical information on alignment between the different scale-dependent fields. At each scale, the alignment between the velocity and magnetic field is found to be more pronounced than the other alignments considered here, i.e., the scale-dependent alignment between the velocity and vorticity, the scale-dependent alignment between the magnetic field and its vector potential, and the scale-dependent alignment between the magnetic field and the current density. Finally, statistical scale-dependent analyses of both Eulerian and Lagrangian accelerations and the corresponding time-derivatives of the magnetic field are performed. It is found that the Lagrangian acceleration does not exhibit substantially stronger intermittency compared to the Eulerian acceleration, in contrast to hydrodynamic turbulence where the Lagrangian acceleration shows much stronger intermittency than the Eulerian acceleration. The Eulerian time-derivative of the magnetic field is more intermittent than the Lagrangian time-derivative of the magnetic field.

Nearly incompressible MHD turbulence in the solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matthaeus, W.H.; Zhou, Y.

1989-01-01

Observational studies indicate that solar wind plasma and magnetic field fluctuations may be meaningfully viewed as an example of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. This paper presents a brief summary of some relevant results of turbulence theory and reviews a turbulence style description of 'typical' solar wind conditions. Recent results, particularly those regarding the radial evolution of inertial range cross helicity, support the viewpoint that interplanetary turbulence is active and evolving with heliocentric distance. A number of observed properties can be understood by appeal to incompressible turbulence mechanisms. This connection may be understood by appeal to incompressible turbulence mechanisms. This connection may be understood in terms of theories of pseudosound density fluctuations and nearly incompressible magnetohydrodynamics, which are also reviewed here. Finally, we summarize a recent two-scale dynamical theory of the radial and temporal evolution of the turbulence, which may provide an additional framework for understanding the observations. (author). 49 refs

A new linear plasma device for the study of plasma waves in the electron magnetohydrodynamics regime

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Garima; Ravi, G.; Mukherjee, S.

2018-06-01

A new, user-friendly, linear plasma device has been developed in our laboratory where a quiescent (Δ n/n ≈ 1%), low temperature (1-10 eV), pulsed (3-10 ms) plasma can be produced over a large uniform region of 30-40 cm diameter and 40 cm length. Salient features of the device include the flexibility of tuning the plasma density in the range of 10^{10} to 10^{12} cm^{-3} and capability of scanning the plasma and field parameters in two dimensions with a precision of electromagnetic field parameters by miniature magnetic probes and Rogowski coils. The plasma produced is uniform and essentially unbounded for performing experiments on waves and turbulence. The whole device can be operated single-handedly by undergraduate or graduate students. The device can be opened, serviced, new antennas/probes installed and ready for operation in a matter of hours. Some results on the excitation of electromagnetic structures in the context of electron magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD) are also presented to demonstrate the suitability of the device for carrying out such experiments.

Magnetohydrodynamics of accretion disks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torkelsson, U.

1994-04-01

The thesis consists of an introduction and summary, and five research papers. The introduction and summary provides the background in accretion disk physics and magnetohydrodynamics. The research papers describe numerical studies of magnetohydrodynamical processes in accretion disks. Paper 1 is a one-dimensional study of the effect of magnetic buoyancy on a flux tube in an accretion disk. The stabilizing influence of an accretion disk corona on the flux tube is demonstrated. Paper 2-4 present numerical simulations of mean-field dynamos in accretion disks. Paper 11 verifies the correctness of the numerical code by comparing linear models to previous work by other groups. The results are also extended to somewhat modified disk models. A transition from an oscillatory mode of negative parity for thick disks to a steady mode of even parity for thin disks is found. Preliminary results for nonlinear dynamos at very high dynamo numbers are also presented. Paper 3 describes the bifurcation behaviour of the nonlinear dynamos. For positive dynamo numbers it is found that the initial steady solution is replaced by an oscillatory solution of odd parity. For negative dynamo numbers the solution becomes chaotic at sufficiently high dynamo numbers. Paper 4 continues the studies of nonlinear dynamos, and it is demonstrated that a chaotic solution appears even for positive dynamo numbers, but that it returns to a steady solution of mixed parity at very high dynamo numbers. Paper 5 describes a first attempt at simulating the small-scale turbulence of an accretion disk in three dimensions. There is only find cases of decaying turbulence, but this is rather due to limitations of the simulations than that turbulence is really absent in accretion disks

Hall effect in a strong magnetic field: Direct comparisons of compressible magnetohydrodynamics and the reduced Hall magnetohydrodynamic equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, L. N.; Dmitruk, P.; Gomez, D. O.

2010-01-01

In this work we numerically test a model of Hall magnetohydrodynamics in the presence of a strong mean magnetic field: the reduced Hall magnetohydrodynamic model (RHMHD) derived by [Gomez et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 102303 (2008)] with the addition of weak compressible effects. The main advantage of this model lies in the reduction of computational cost. Nevertheless, up until now the degree of agreement with the original Hall MHD system and the range of validity in a regime of turbulence were not established. In this work direct numerical simulations of three-dimensional Hall MHD turbulence in the presence of a strong mean magnetic field are compared with simulations of the weak compressible RHMHD model. The results show that the degree of agreement is very high (when the different assumptions of RHMHD, such as spectral anisotropy, are satisfied). Nevertheless, when the initial conditions are isotropic but the mean magnetic field is maintained strong, the results differ at the beginning but asymptotically reach a good agreement at relatively short times. We also found evidence that the compressibility still plays a role in the dynamics of these systems, and the weak compressible RHMHD model is able to capture these effects. In conclusion the weak compressible RHMHD model is a valid approximation of the Hall MHD turbulence in the relevant physical context.

Research on magnetohydrodynamic turbulent behavior. Development of the turbulence model using large eddy simulation. FY15 report of the JNC cooperative research scheme on the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanahashi, Takahiko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Ara, Kuniaki; Ohira, Hiroaki

2004-08-01

Investigation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent model with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method was started in FY15 to evaluate MHD turbulent behavior on the conditions of high Reynolds numbers and high magnetic Reynolds numbers. In FY15, the proposed Subgrid Scale (SGS) model for magnetic fields generated by direct current was formulated with GSMAC-FEM (Generalized Simplified Marker and Cell method for Finite Element Method) and the characteristic behavior of MHD turbulence studied theoretically. A Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) method was also developed to verify the theoretical study and construct and advanced SGS model. The last purpose of this study is to analyze the realistic Electromagnetic Pump. In order to understand basic concept, analyses of small-scale Electromagnetic Pump was started with A-φ method. The following results were obtained from these studies: (1) Homogeneous turbulent flows in a conducting fluid which were exposed to uniform magnetic fields were examined through the Direct Numerical Simulation and the characteristics of energy distribution were shown in the MHD turbulence at low magnetic Reynolds numbers. (2) For the analysis of the realistic Electromagnetic Pump, the parallel scheme based on GSMAC-FEM was constructed. Effectiveness of the scheme for large-scale calculation was shown through the benchmark problem, three dimensional cavity flow. (3) A new Balancing Tensor Diffusivity (BTD) formulation for the magnetic fields was proposed in this study and the proposed SGS model in previous study was formulated with GSMAC-FEM. The FEM scheme for MHD turbulence at high magnetic Reynolds number was verified through homogeneous MHD turbulence. (4) An A-φ method formulated with GSMAC-FEM was applied to the analysis of small-scale Electromagnetic pump. The basic concepts for the analysis with B method were obtained through the results. (author)

Spectral properties of electromagnetic turbulence in plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Shaikh

2009-03-01

Full Text Available We report on the nonlinear turbulent processes associated with electromagnetic waves in plasmas. We focus on low-frequency (in comparison with the electron gyrofrequency nonlinearly interacting electron whistlers and nonlinearly interacting Hall-magnetohydrodynamic (H-MHD fluctuations in a magnetized plasma. Nonlinear whistler mode turbulence study in a magnetized plasma involves incompressible electrons and immobile ions. Two-dimensional turbulent interactions and subsequent energy cascades are critically influenced by the electron whisters that behave distinctly for scales smaller and larger than the electron skin depth. It is found that in whistler mode turbulence there results a dual cascade primarily due to the forward spectral migration of energy that coexists with a backward spectral transfer of mean squared magnetic potential. Finally, inclusion of the ion dynamics, resulting from a two fluid description of the H-MHD plasma, leads to several interesting results that are typically observed in the solar wind plasma. Particularly in the solar wind, the high-time-resolution databases identify a spectral break at the end of the MHD inertial range spectrum that corresponds to a high-frequency regime. In the latter, turbulent cascades cannot be explained by the usual MHD model and a finite frequency effect (in comparison with the ion gyrofrequency arising from the ion inertia is essentially included to discern the dynamics of the smaller length scales (in comparison with the ion skin depth. This leads to a nonlinear H-MHD model, which is presented in this paper. With the help of our 3-D H-MHD code, we find that the characteristic turbulent interactions in the high-frequency regime evolve typically on kinetic-Alfvén time-scales. The turbulent fluctuation associated with kinetic-Alfvén interactions are compressive and anisotropic and possess equipartition of the kinetic and magnetic energies.

Electron thermal transport in tokamak: ETG or TEM turbulences?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Z.; Chen, L.; Nishimura, Y.; Qu, H.; Hahm, T.S.; Lewandowski, J.; Rewoldt, G.; Wang, W.X.; Diamond, P.H.; Holland, C.; Zonca, F.; Li, Y.

2005-01-01

This paper reports progress on numerical and theoretical studies of electron transport in tokamak including: (1) electron temperature gradient turbulence; (2) trapped electron mode turbulence; and (3) a new finite element solver for global electromagnetic simulation. In particular, global gyrokinetic particle simulation and nonlinear gyrokinetic theory find that electron temperature gradient (ETG) instability saturates via nonlinear toroidal couplings, which transfer energy successively from unstable modes to damped modes preferably with longer poloidal wavelengths. The electrostatic ETG turbulence is dominated by nonlinearly generated radial streamers. The length of streamers scales with the device size and is much longer than the distance between mode rational surfaces or electron radial excursions. Both fluctuation intensity and transport level are independent of the streamer size. These simulations with realistic plasma parameters find that the electron heat conductivity is much smaller than the experimental value and in contrast with recent findings of flux-tube simulations that ETG turbulence is responsible for the anomalous electron thermal transport in fusion plasmas. The nonlinear toroidal couplings represent a new paradigm for the spectral cascade in plasma turbulence. (author)

Magnetohydrodynamics turbulence: An astronomical perspective

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

MHD turbulence in the solar wind are described in §6, and a theory of ..... on plasmas are very difficult to perform, and so experimental verification was not forth- .... checks of self-consistency regarding the assumed weakness of the cascade.

Solitary magnetohydrodynamic vortices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silaev, I.I.; Skvortsov, A.T.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on the analytical description of fluid flow by means of localized vortices which is traditional for hydrodynamics, oceanology, plasma physics. Recently it has been widely applied to different structure turbulence models. Considerable results involved have been presented where it was shown that in magnetohydrodynamics alongside with the well-known kinds of localized vortices (e.g. Hill's vortex), which are characterized by quite a weak decrease of disturbed velocity or magnetic field (as a power of the inverse distance from vortex center), the vortices with screening (or solitary vortices) may exist. All disturbed parameters either exponentially vanish or become identically zero in outer region in the latter case. (In a number of papers numerical simulations of such the vortices are presented). Solutions in a form of solitary vortices are of particular interest due to their uniformity and solitonlike behavior. On the basis of these properties one can believe for such structures to occur in real turbulent flows

Inertial range spectrum of field-aligned whistler turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dwivedi, Navin Kumar; Singh, Shobhana

2017-01-01

the background magnetic field is exploited to derive the inertial range scaling laws corresponding to the electric field and magnetic field fluctuations. The model is based on the concept of Iroshnikov-Kraichnan inertial range magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The present phenomenological turbulence scaling model...

Magnetohydrodynamic spin waves in degenerate electron-positron-ion plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mushtaq, A. [TPPD, PINSTECH Nilore, 44000 Islamabad (Pakistan); National Center for Physics, Shahdrah Valley Road, 44000 Islamabad (Pakistan); Maroof, R.; Ahmad, Zulfiaqr [Institute of Physics and Electronics, University of Peshawar, 25000 Peshawar (Pakistan); Qamar, A. [National Center for Physics, Shahdrah Valley Road, 44000 Islamabad (Pakistan); Institute of Physics and Electronics, University of Peshawar, 25000 Peshawar (Pakistan)

2012-05-15

Low frequency magnetosonic waves are studied in magnetized degenerate electron-positron-ion plasmas with spin effects. Using the fluid equations of magnetoplasma with quantum corrections due to the Bohm potential, temperature degeneracy, and spin magnetization energy, a generalized dispersion relation for oblique magnetosonic waves is derived. Spin effects are incorporated via spin force and macroscopic spin magnetization current. For three different values of angle {theta}, the generalized dispersion relation is reduced to three different relations under the low frequency magnetohydrodynamic assumptions. It is found that the effect of quantum corrections in the presence of positron concentration significantly modifies the dispersive properties of these modes. The importance of the work relevant to compact astrophysical bodies is pointed out.

Turbulence in extended synchrotron radio sources. I. Polarization of turbulent sources. II. Power-spectral analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilek, J.A.

1989-01-01

Recent theories of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence are used to construct microphysical turbulence models, with emphasis on models of anisotropic turbulence. These models have been applied to the determination of the emergent polarization from a resolved uniform source. It is found that depolarization alone is not a unique measure of the turbulence, and that the turblence will also affect the total-intensity distributions. Fluctuations in the intensity image can thus be employed to measure turbulence strength. In the second part, it is demonstrated that a power-spectral analysis of the total and polarized intensity images can be used to obtain the power spectra of the synchrotron emission. 81 refs

Reduced magnetohydrodynamics and the Hasegawa-Mima equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazeltine, R.D.

1983-04-01

Reduced magnetohydrodynamics consists of a set of simplified fluid equations which has become a principal tool in the interpretation of plasma fluid motions in tokamak experiments. The Hasegawa-Mima equation is applied to the study of electrostatic fluctuations in turbulent plasmas. The relation between thee two nonlinear models is elucidated. It is shown tht both models can be obtained from appropriate limits of a third, inclusive, nonlinear system. The inclusive system is remarkably simple

Turbulent acceleration of auroral electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryant, D.A.; Cook, A.C.; Wang, Z.-S.; Angelis, U. de; Perry, C.H.

1991-07-01

It is shown that the characteristic peak in the auroral electron velocity distribution can be generated stochastically through resonant interactions with lower-hybrid electrostatic turbulence. The peak itself is shown to be a direct consequence of restrictions imposed on reflexion of electron velocities in the frame of reference of individual wave packets by the limitation in group velocity. A Monte-Carlo model demonstrates how the various properties of the acceleration region are reflected in the resultant electron distribution. It is shown, in particular, that the width of the peak is governed by the amplitude of the turbulence, while the amplitude of the peak reflects the column density of wave energy. Electron distributions encountered within three auroral arcs are interpreted to yield order of magnitude estimates of the amplitude and rms electric field of lower-hybrid wave packets. The velocities and frequencies of the resonant waves, the net electric field, the column density of wave energy and the electric-field energy density are also estimated. The results are found to be consistent with available electric-field measurements. A general broadening of the electron distribution caused by less systematic interactions between electrons and wave packets is shown to have a negligible effect on the peak resulting from the reflexion process; it does, though, lead to the creation of a characteristic high-energy tail. (author)

Saturation mechanism of decaying ion temperature gradient driven turbulence with kinetic electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idomura, Yasuhiro

2016-01-01

We present full-f gyrokinetic simulations of the ion temperature gradient driven (ITG) turbulence including kinetic electrons. By comparing decaying ITG turbulence simulations with adiabatic and kinetic electron models, an impact of kinetic electrons on the ITG turbulence is investigated. It is found that significant electron transport occurs even in the ITG turbulence, and both ion and electron temperature profiles are relaxed. In steady states, both cases show upshifts of nonlinear critical ion temperature gradients from linear ones, while their saturation mechanisms are qualitatively different. In the adiabatic electron case, the ITG mode is stabilized by turbulence driven zonal flows. On the other hand, in the kinetic electron case, passing electrons transport shows fine resonant structures at mode rational surfaces, which generate corrugated density profiles. Such corrugated density profiles lead to fine radial electric fields following the neoclassical force balance relation. The resulting E × B shearing rate greatly exceeds the linear growth rate of the ITG mode. (author)

SciDAC Center for Gyrokinetic Particle Simulation of Turbulent Transport in Burning Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Zhihong [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

2013-12-18

During the first year of the SciDAC gyrokinetic particle simulation (GPS) project, the GPS team (Zhihong Lin, Liu Chen, Yasutaro Nishimura, and Igor Holod) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) studied the tokamak electron transport driven by electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence, and by trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence and ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence with kinetic electron effects, extended our studies of ITG turbulence spreading to core-edge coupling. We have developed and optimized an elliptic solver using finite element method (FEM), which enables the implementation of advanced kinetic electron models (split-weight scheme and hybrid model) in the SciDAC GPS production code GTC. The GTC code has been ported and optimized on both scalar and vector parallel computer architectures, and is being transformed into objected-oriented style to facilitate collaborative code development. During this period, the UCI team members presented 11 invited talks at major national and international conferences, published 22 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 10 papers in conference proceedings. The UCI hosted the annual SciDAC Workshop on Plasma Turbulence sponsored by the GPS Center, 2005-2007. The workshop was attended by about fifties US and foreign researchers and financially sponsored several gradual students from MIT, Princeton University, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland. A new SciDAC postdoc, Igor Holod, has arrived at UCI to initiate global particle simulation of magnetohydrodynamics turbulence driven by energetic particle modes. The PI, Z. Lin, has been promoted to the Associate Professor with tenure at UCI.

Regulation of electron temperature gradient turbulence by zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes

Science.gov (United States)

Asahi, Y.; Ishizawa, A.; Watanabe, T.-H.; Tsutsui, H.; Tsuji-Iio, S.

2014-05-01

Turbulent transport caused by electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes was investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulations. It was found that the ETG turbulence can be regulated by meso-scale zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes (TEMs), which are excited with much smaller growth rates than those of ETG modes. The zonal flows of which radial wavelengths are in between the ion and the electron banana widths are not shielded by trapped ions nor electrons, and hence they are effectively driven by the TEMs. It was also shown that an E × B shearing rate of the TEM-driven zonal flows is larger than or comparable to the growth rates of long-wavelength ETG modes and TEMs, which make a main contribution to the turbulent transport before excitation of the zonal flows.

Strong plasma turbulence in the earth's electron foreshock

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, P. A.; Newman, D. L.

1991-01-01

A quantitative model is developed to account for the distribution in magnitude and location of the intense plasma waves observed in the earth's electron foreshock given the observed rms levels of waves. In this model, nonlinear strong-turbulence effects cause solitonlike coherent wave packets to form and decouple from incoherent background beam-excited weak turbulence, after which they convect downstream with the solar wind while collapsing to scales as short as 100 m and fields as high as 2 V/m. The existence of waves with energy densities above the strong-turbulence wave-collapse threshold is inferred from observations from IMP 6 and ISEE 1 and quantitative agreement is found between the predicted distribution of fields in an ensemble of such wave packets and the actual field distribution observed in situ by IMP 6. Predictions for the polarization of plasma waves and the bandwidth of ion-sound waves are also consistent with the observations. It is shown that strong-turbulence effects must be incorporated in any comprehensive theory of the propagation and evolution of electron beams in the foreshock. Previous arguments against the existence of strong turbulence in the foreshock are refuted.

Strong plasma turbulence in the earth's electron foreshock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, P.A.; Newman, D.L.

1991-01-01

A quantitative model is developed to account for the distribution in magnitude and location of the intense plasma waves observed in the Earth's electron foreshock given the observed rms levels of waves. In this model, nonlinear strong-turbulence effects cause solitonlike coherent wave packets to form and decouple from incoherent background beam-excited weak turbulence, after which they convect downstream with the solar wind while collapsing to scales as short as 100 m and fields as high as 2 V m -1 . The existence of waves with energy densities above the strong-turbulence wave-collapse threshold is inferred from observations from IMP 6 and ISEE 1 and quantitative agreement is found between the predicted distribution of fields in an ensemble of such wave packets and the actual field distribution observed in situ by IMP 6. Predictions for the polarization of plasma waves and the bandwidth of ion-sound waves are also consistent with the observations. It is shown that strong-turbulence effects must be incorporated in any comprehensive theory of the propagation and evolution of electron beams in the foreshock. Previous arguments against the existence of strong turbulence in the foreshock are refuted

Magnetic turbulent electron transport in a reversed field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoenberg, K.; Moses, R.

1990-01-01

A model of magnetic turbulent electron transport is presented. The model, based on the thermal conduction theory of Rechester and Rosenbluth, entails a Boltzmann description of electron dynamics in the long mean-free-path limit and quantitatively describes the salient features of superthermal electron measurements in the RFP edge plasma. Included are predictions of the mean superthermal electron energy, current density, and power flux asymmetry. A discussion of the transport model, the assumptions implicit in the model, and the relevance of this work to more general issue of magnetic turbulent transport in toroidal systems is presented. 32 refs., 3 figs

EXTENDED SCALING LAWS IN NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, Joanne; Cattaneo, Fausto; Perez, Jean Carlos; Boldyrev, Stanislav

2011-01-01

Magnetized 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 often takes into account the fundamental anisotropy of field-guided MHD turbulence, with gradients being much slower in the field-parallel direction. The simulations are then optimized by employing the reduced MHD equations and relaxing the field-parallel numerical resolution. In this work we explore a different possibility. We propose that there exist certain quantities that are remarkably stable with respect to the Reynolds number. As an illustration, we study the alignment angle between the magnetic and velocity fluctuations in MHD turbulence, measured as the ratio of two specially constructed structure functions. We find that the scaling of this ratio can be extended surprisingly well into the regime of relatively low Reynolds number. However, the extended scaling easily becomes spoiled when the dissipation range in the simulations is underresolved. Thus, taking the numerical optimization methods too far can lead to spurious numerical effects and erroneous representation of the physics of MHD turbulence, which in turn can affect our ability to identify correctly the physical mechanisms that are operating in astrophysical systems.

Intermittency in Hall-magnetohydrodynamics with a strong guide field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Imazio, P.; Martin, L. N.; Dmitruk, P.; Mininni, P. D.

2013-01-01

We present a detailed study of intermittency in the velocity and magnetic field fluctuations of compressible Hall-magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with an external guide field. To solve the equations numerically, a reduced model valid when a strong guide field is present is used. Different values for the ion skin depth are considered in the simulations. The resulting data are analyzed computing field increments in several directions perpendicular to the guide field, and building structure functions and probability density functions. In the magnetohydrodynamic limit, we recover the usual results with the magnetic field being more intermittent than the velocity field. In the presence of the Hall effect, field fluctuations at scales smaller than the ion skin depth show a substantial decrease in the level of intermittency, with close to monofractal scaling

Hydromagnetic waves, turbulence, and collisionless processes in the interplanetary medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, A.

1983-01-01

The solar wind does not flow quietly. It seethes and undulates, fluctuating on time scales that range from the solar rotation period down to fractions of milliseconds. Most of the power in interplanetary waves and turbulence lies at hydromagnetic scales. These fluctuations are normally of large amplitude, containing enough energy to affect solar and galactic cosmic rays, and may be the remnants of a coronal turbulence field powerful enough to play a major role in accelerating the solar wind itself. The origin and evolution of interplanetary hydromagnetic waves and turbulence, and their influence on the large-scale dynamics of the solar wind are among the most fundamental questions of solar-terrestrial physics. First hydrodynamic waves and turbulences in the interplanetary medium are discussed in two sections, respectively. Because the length and time scales for hydromagnetic fluctuations are very much smaller than the corresponding Coulomb collision scales of the plasma ions and electrons, the interplanetary variations are modelled as fluctuations in a magnetohydrodynamic fluid. In the last section, collisionless phenomena are discussed. They are of qualitative significance. (Auth.)

Mathematical and physical theory of turbulence

CERN Document Server

Cannon, John

2006-01-01

Although the current dynamical system approach offers several important insights into the turbulence problem, issues still remain that present challenges to conventional methodologies and concepts. These challenges call for the advancement and application of new physical concepts, mathematical modeling, and analysis techniques. Bringing together experts from physics, applied mathematics, and engineering, Mathematical and Physical Theory of Turbulence discusses recent progress and some of the major unresolved issues in two- and three-dimensional turbulence as well as scalar compressible turbulence. Containing introductory overviews as well as more specialized sections, this book examines a variety of turbulence-related topics. The authors concentrate on theory, experiments, computational, and mathematical aspects of Navier-Stokes turbulence; geophysical flows; modeling; laboratory experiments; and compressible/magnetohydrodynamic effects. The topics discussed in these areas include finite-time singularities a...

Intermittency in Hall-magnetohydrodynamics with a strong guide field

OpenAIRE

Imazio, P. Rodriguez; Martin, L. N.; Dmitruk, P.; Mininni, P. D.

2013-01-01

We present a detailed study of intermittency in the velocity and magnetic field fluctuations of compressible Hall-magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with an external guide field. To solve the equations numerically, a reduced model valid when a strong guide field is present is used. Different values for the ion skin depth are considered in the simulations. The resulting data are analyzed computing field increments in several directions perpendicular to the guide field, and building structure funct...

Behavior of lithium ions in the turbulent near-wall tokamak plasma under heating of ions and electrons of the main plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shurygin, R. V.; Morozov, D. Kh.

2014-01-01

Turbulent dynamics of the near-wall tokamak plasma is simulated by numerically solving the nonlinear reduced Braginskii magnetohydrodynamic equations with allowance for a lithium ion admixture. The effects of turbulence and radiation of the admixture are analyzed in the framework of a self-consistent approach. The radial distributions of the radiative loss power and the density of Li 0 atoms and Li +1 ions are obtained as functions of the electron and ion temperatures of the main plasma in the near-wall layer. The results of numerical simulations show that supply of lithium ions into the low-temperature near-wall plasma substantially depends on whether the additional power is deposited into the electron or ion component of the main plasma. If the electron temperature in the layer increases (ECR heating), then the ion density drops. At the same time, an increase in the temperature of the main ions (ICR heating) leads to an increase in the density of Li +1 ions. The results of numerical simulations are explained by the different influence of the electron and ion temperatures on the atomic processes governing the accumulation and loss of particles in the balance equations for neutral Li 0 atoms and Li +1 ions in the admixture. The radial profile of the electron temperature and the corresponding distribution of the radiative loss power for different densities of neutral Li 0 atoms on the wall are obtained. The calculations show that the presence of Li +1 ions affects turbulent transport of the main ions. In this case, the electron heat flux increases by 20–30% with increasing Li +1 density, whereas the flux of the main ions drops by nearly the same amount. The radial profile of the turbulent flux of lithium ions is obtained. It is demonstrated that the appearance of the pinch effect is related to the positive density gradient of lithium ions across the calculation layer. For the parameters of the T-10 tokamak, the effect of radiative cooling of the near-wall plasma

Astrophysical Gyrokinetics: Kinetic and Fluid Turbulent Cascades In Magnetized Weakly Collisional Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schekochihin, A.A.; Cowley, S.C.; Dorland, W.; Hammett, G.W.; Howes, G.G.; Quataert, E.; Tatsuno, T.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding plasma turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. It is motivated by observations of electromagnetic and density fluctuations in the solar wind, interstellar medium and galaxy clusters, as well as by models of particle heating in accretion disks. All of these plasmas and many others have turbulent motions at weakly collisional and collisionless scales. The paper focuses on turbulence in a strong mean magnetic field. The key assumptions are that the turbulent fluctuations are small compared to the mean field, spatially anisotropic with respect to it and that their frequency is low compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. The turbulence is assumed to be forced at some system-specific outer scale. The energy injected at this scale has to be dissipated into heat, which ultimately cannot be accomplished without collisions. A kinetic cascade develops that brings the energy to collisional scales both in space and velocity. The nature of the kinetic cascade in various scale ranges depends on the physics of plasma fluctuations that exist there. There are four special scales that separate physically distinct regimes: the electron and ion gyroscales, the mean free path and the electron diffusion scale. In each of the scale ranges separated by these scales, the fully kinetic problem is systematically reduced to a more physically transparent and computationally tractable system of equations, which are derived in a rigorous way. In the 'inertial range' above the ion gyroscale, the kinetic cascade separates into two parts: a cascade of Alfvenic fluctuations and a passive cascade of density and magnetic-field strength fluctuations. The former are governed by the Reduced Magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) equations at both the collisional and collisionless scales; the latter obey a linear kinetic equation along the (moving) field lines associated with the Alfvenic component (in the collisional limit, these compressive fluctuations

Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, T. D.; Eastwood, J. P.; Shay, M. A.; Drake, J. F.; Sonnerup, B. U. Ö.; Fujimoto, M.; Cassak, P. A.; Øieroset, M.; Burch, J. L.; Torbert, R. B.; Rager, A. C.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Pollock, C.; Pyakurel, P. S.; Haggerty, C. C.; Khotyaintsev, Y.; Lavraud, B.; Saito, Y.; Oka, M.; Ergun, R. E.; Retino, A.; Le Contel, O.; Argall, M. R.; Giles, B. L.; Moore, T. E.; Wilder, F. D.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.; Lindqvist, P. A.; Magnes, W.

2018-05-01

Magnetic reconnection in current sheets is a magnetic-to-particle energy conversion process that is fundamental to many space and laboratory plasma systems. In the standard model of reconnection, this process occurs in a minuscule electron-scale diffusion region1,2. On larger scales, ions couple to the newly reconnected magnetic-field lines and are ejected away from the diffusion region in the form of bi-directional ion jets at the ion Alfvén speed3-5. Much of the energy conversion occurs in spatially extended ion exhausts downstream of the diffusion region6. In turbulent plasmas, which contain a large number of small-scale current sheets, reconnection has long been suggested to have a major role in the dissipation of turbulent energy at kinetic scales7-11. However, evidence for reconnection plasma jetting in small-scale turbulent plasmas has so far been lacking. Here we report observations made in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath region (downstream of the bow shock) of an electron-scale current sheet in which diverging bi-directional super-ion-Alfvénic electron jets, parallel electric fields and enhanced magnetic-to-particle energy conversion were detected. Contrary to the standard model of reconnection, the thin reconnecting current sheet was not embedded in a wider ion-scale current layer and no ion jets were detected. Observations of this and other similar, but unidirectional, electron jet events without signatures of ion reconnection reveal a form of reconnection that can drive turbulent energy transfer and dissipation in electron-scale current sheets without ion coupling.

Hamiltonian formulation of reduced magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, P.J.; Hazeltine, R.D.

1983-07-01

Reduced magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) has become a principal tool for understanding nonlinear processes, including disruptions, in tokamak plasmas. Although analytical studies of RMHD turbulence have been useful, the model's impressive ability to simulate tokamak fluid behavior has been revealed primarily by numerical solution. The present work describes a new analytical approach, not restricted to turbulent regimes, based on Hamiltonian field theory. It is shown that the nonlinear (ideal) RMHD system, in both its high-beta and low-beta versions, can be expressed in Hanmiltonian form. Thus a Poisson bracket, [ , ], is constructed such that each RMHD field quantitity, xi/sub i/, evolves according to xi/sub i/ = [xi/sub i/,H], where H is the total field energy. The new formulation makes RMHD accessible to the methodology of Hamiltonian mechanics; it has lead, in particular, to the recognition of new RMHD invariants and even exact, nonlinear RMHD solutions. A canonical version of the Poisson bracket, which requires the introduction of additional fields, leads to a nonlinear variational principle for time-dependent RMHD

Long-wavelength instability of periodic flows and whistler waves in electron magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakhin, V.P.; Levchenko, V.D.

2003-01-01

Stability analysis of periodic flows and whistlers with respect to long-wavelength perturbations within the framework of dissipative electron magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD) based on two-scale asymptotic expansion technique is presented. Several types of flows are considered: two-dimensional Kolmogorov-like flow, helical flow, and anisotropic helical flow. It is shown hat the destabilizing effect on the long-wavelength perturbations is due to either the negative resistivity effect related to flow anisotropy or α-like effect to its micro helicity. The criteria of the corresponding instabilities are obtained. Numerical simulations of EMHD equations with the initial conditions corresponding to two types of periodic flows are presented. (author)

Energy spectrum, dissipation, and spatial structures in reduced Hall magnetohydrodynamic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin, L. N.; Dmitruk, P. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Gomez, D. O. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio, CONICET, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2012-05-15

We analyze the effect of the Hall term in the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence under a strong externally supported magnetic field, seeing how this changes the energy cascade, the characteristic scales of the flow, and the dynamics of global magnitudes, with particular interest in the dissipation. Numerical simulations of freely evolving three-dimensional reduced magnetohydrodynamics are performed, for different values of the Hall parameter (the ratio of the ion skin depth to the macroscopic scale of the turbulence) controlling the impact of the Hall term. The Hall effect modifies the transfer of energy across scales, slowing down the transfer of energy from the large scales up to the Hall scale (ion skin depth) and carrying faster the energy from the Hall scale to smaller scales. The final outcome is an effective shift of the dissipation scale to larger scales but also a development of smaller scales. Current sheets (fundamental structures for energy dissipation) are affected in two ways by increasing the Hall effect, with a widening but at the same time generating an internal structure within them. In the case where the Hall term is sufficiently intense, the current sheet is fully delocalized. The effect appears to reduce impulsive effects in the flow, making it less intermittent.

Sustained turbulence and magnetic energy in non-rotating shear flows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nauman, Farrukh; Blackman, Eric G.

2017-01-01

From numerical simulations, we show that non-rotating magnetohydrodynamic shear flows are unstable to finite amplitude velocity perturbations and become turbulent, leading to the growth and sustenance of magnetic energy, including large scale fields. This supports the concept that sustained...... magnetic energy from turbulence is independent of the driving mechanism for large enough magnetic Reynolds numbers....

Stabilization of electron-scale turbulence by electron density gradient in national spherical torus experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruiz Ruiz, J.; White, A. E. [MIT-Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Ren, Y.; Guttenfelder, W.; Kaye, S. M.; Leblanc, B. P.; Mazzucato, E. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Lee, K. C. [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Domier, C. W. [University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Smith, D. R. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Yuh, H. [Nova Photonics, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

2015-12-15

Theory and experiments have shown that electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence on the electron gyro-scale, k{sub ⊥}ρ{sub e} ≲ 1, can be responsible for anomalous electron thermal transport in NSTX. Electron scale (high-k) turbulence is diagnosed in NSTX with a high-k microwave scattering system [D. R. Smith et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 123501 (2008)]. Here we report on stabilization effects of the electron density gradient on electron-scale density fluctuations in a set of neutral beam injection heated H-mode plasmas. We found that the absence of high-k density fluctuations from measurements is correlated with large equilibrium density gradient, which is shown to be consistent with linear stabilization of ETG modes due to the density gradient using the analytical ETG linear threshold in F. Jenko et al. [Phys. Plasmas 8, 4096 (2001)] and linear gyrokinetic simulations with GS2 [M. Kotschenreuther et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 88, 128 (1995)]. We also found that the observed power of electron-scale turbulence (when it exists) is anti-correlated with the equilibrium density gradient, suggesting density gradient as a nonlinear stabilizing mechanism. Higher density gradients give rise to lower values of the plasma frame frequency, calculated based on the Doppler shift of the measured density fluctuations. Linear gyrokinetic simulations show that higher values of the electron density gradient reduce the value of the real frequency, in agreement with experimental observation. Nonlinear electron-scale gyrokinetic simulations show that high electron density gradient reduces electron heat flux and stiffness, and increases the ETG nonlinear threshold, consistent with experimental observations.

Development and anisotropy of three-dimensional turbulence in a current sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onofri, M.; Veltri, P.; Malara, F.

2007-01-01

The nonlinear evolution of three-dimensional reconnection instabilities are studied in a current sheet where many resonant surfaces are simultaneously present at different locations of the simulation domain. The nonlinear evolution produces the development of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The development of the energy spectrum is followed until the energy is transported to the dissipative length scale and the anisotropy of the spectrum is analyzed. The energy cascade is affected by the Alfven effect and it takes place mainly in the direction perpendicular to the local average magnetic field. Anisotropy is also affected by propagation of perturbations across the main magnetic field, due to the growth of a transverse component related to reconnection. The direction of anisotropy varies with the position in space. The spectral index is different both from what is found in homogeneous isotropic turbulence and from the values predicted for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with a uniform large-scale magnetic field

On the inverse transfer of (non-)helical magnetic energy in a decaying magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Kiwan

2017-12-01

In our conventional understanding, large-scale magnetic fields are thought to originate from an inverse cascade in the presence of magnetic helicity, differential rotation or a magneto-rotational instability. However, as recent simulations have given strong indications that an inverse cascade (transfer) may occur even in the absence of magnetic helicity, the physical origin of this inverse cascade is still not fully understood. We here present two simulations of freely decaying helical and non-helical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We verified the inverse transfer of helical and non-helical magnetic fields in both cases, but we found the underlying physical principles to be fundamentally different. In the former case, the helical magnetic component leads to an inverse cascade of magnetic energy. We derived a semi-analytic formula for the evolution of large-scale magnetic field using α coefficient and compared it with the simulation data. But in the latter case, the α effect, including other conventional dynamo theories, is not suitable to describe the inverse transfer of non-helical magnetic energy. To obtain a better understanding of the physics at work here, we introduced a 'field structure model' based on the magnetic induction equation in the presence of inhomogeneities. This model illustrates how the curl of the electromotive force leads to the build up of a large-scale magnetic field without the requirement of magnetic helicity. And we applied a quasi-normal approximation to the inverse transfer of magnetic energy.

Evidence for equivalence of diffusion processes of passive scalar and magnetic fields in anisotropic Navier-Stokes turbulence.

Science.gov (United States)

Jurčišinová, E; Jurčišin, M

2017-05-01

The influence of the uniaxial small-scale anisotropy on the kinematic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is investigated by using the field theoretic renormalization group technique in the one-loop approximation of a perturbation theory. The infrared stable fixed point of the renormalization group equations, which drives the scaling properties of the model in the inertial range, is investigated as the function of the anisotropy parameters and it is shown that, at least at the one-loop level of approximation, the diffusion processes of the weak passive magnetic field in the anisotropically driven kinematic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence are completely equivalent to the corresponding diffusion processes of passively advected scalar fields in the anisotropic Navier-Stokes turbulent environments.

Astrophysical Gyrokinetics: Kinetic and Fluid Turbulent Cascades In Magentized Weakly Collisional Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schekochihin, A. A.; Cowley, S. C.; Dorland, W.; Hammett, G. W.; Howes, G. G.; Quataert, E.; Tatsuno, T.

2009-04-23

This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding plasma turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. It is motivated by observations of electromagnetic and density fluctuations in the solar wind, interstellar medium and galaxy clusters, as well as by models of particle heating in accretion disks. All of these plasmas and many others have turbulentmotions at weakly collisional and collisionless scales. The paper focuses on turbulence in a strong mean magnetic field. The key assumptions are that the turbulent fluctuations are small compared to the mean field, spatially anisotropic with respect to it and that their frequency is low compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. The turbulence is assumed to be forced at some system-specific outer scale. The energy injected at this scale has to be dissipated into heat, which ultimately cannot be accomplished without collisions. A kinetic cascade develops that brings the energy to collisional scales both in space and velocity. The nature of the kinetic cascade in various scale ranges depends on the physics of plasma fluctuations that exist there. There are four special scales that separate physically distinct regimes: the electron and ion gyroscales, the mean free path and the electron diffusion scale. In each of the scale ranges separated by these scales, the fully kinetic problem is systematically reduced to a more physically transparent and computationally tractable system of equations, which are derived in a rigorous way. In the "inertial range" above the ion gyroscale, the kinetic cascade separates into two parts: a cascade of Alfvenic fluctuations and a passive cascade of density and magnetic-fieldstrength fluctuations. The former are governed by the Reduced Magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) equations at both the collisional and collisionless scales; the latter obey a linear kinetic equation along the (moving) field lines associated with the Alfvenic component (in the collisional limit, these compressive fluctuations

Field theory modelling of vortex tube entanglement in turbulent magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moriconi, L.; Nobre, F.A. S.

2000-01-01

Full text follows: We study the dynamics of interacting closed vortex tubes in magnetohydrodynamics, in terms of a (1+1)-dimensional field theory derived within the context of the Martin-Siggia-Rose formalism. The fluid is stirred by large scale stochastic forces which affect smaller scales through foldings of the velocity and magnetic vortex tubes. Numerical computations are done by means of a length-preserving scheme, motivated by the usual self-induction approximation. In order to understand the origin of intermittency effects, we investigate the multifractal exponents for the equilibrium vortex tube configurations, as well as correlations developed between different tubes. (author)

Electron Fluid Description of Wave-Particle Interactions in Strong Buneman Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Haihong

2013-10-01

To understand the nature of anomalous resistivity in magnetic reconnection, we investigate turbulence-induced momentum transport and energy dissipation associated with electron heating in Buneman instability. Using 3D particle-in-cell simulations, we find that the macroscopic effects generated by wave-particle interactions can be described by a set of electron fluid equations. These equations show that the energy dissipation and momentum transports in Buneman instability are locally quasi-static but globally non-static and irreversible. Turbulence drag dissipates both the bulk energy of electron streams and the associated magnetic energy. The decrease of magnetic field maintains an inductive electric field that re-accelerates electrons. The net loss of streaming energy is converted into electron heat and increases the electron Boltzmann entropy. The growth of self-sustained Buneman waves satisfies a Bernoulli-like equation which relates the turbulence-induced convective momentum transport and thermal momentum transport. Electron trapping and de-trapping drives local momentum transports, while phase mixing converts convective momentum into thermal momentum.These two local momentum transports sustain the Buneman waves and act as the micro-macro link in the anomalous heating process. This research is supported by the NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA/GSFC administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities through a contract with NASA.

Zonal flow generation in collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J; Nordman, H; Singh, R; Weiland, J

2006-01-01

In the present work the generation of zonal flows in collisionless trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence is studied analytically. A reduced model for TEM turbulence is utilized based on an advanced fluid model for reactive drift waves. An analytical expression for the zonal flow growth rate is derived and compared with the linear TEM growth, and its scaling with plasma parameters is examined for typical tokamak parameter values

Gyrokinetic Simulations of Solar Wind Turbulence from Ion to Electron Scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howes, G. G.; TenBarge, J. M.; Dorland, W.; Numata, R.; Quataert, E.; Schekochihin, A. A.; Tatsuno, T.

2011-01-01

A three-dimensional, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of plasma turbulence resolving scales from the ion to electron gyroradius with a realistic mass ratio is presented, where all damping is provided by resolved physical mechanisms. The resulting energy spectra are quantitatively consistent with a magnetic power spectrum scaling of k -2.8 as observed in in situ spacecraft measurements of the 'dissipation range' of solar wind turbulence. Despite the strongly nonlinear nature of the turbulence, the linear kinetic Alfven wave mode quantitatively describes the polarization of the turbulent fluctuations. The collisional ion heating is measured at subion-Larmor radius scales, which provides evidence of the ion entropy cascade in an electromagnetic turbulence simulation.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Maroof, R.; Ali, S.; Mushtaq, A.; Qamar, A.

2015-11-01

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

Magnetohydrodynamic waves with relativistic electrons and positrons in degenerate spin-1/2 astrophysical plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maroof, R. [Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200 (Pakistan); Department of Physics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25000 (Pakistan); National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Ali, S. [National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Mushtaq, A. [Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200 (Pakistan); National Center for Physics (NCP) at QAU Campus, Shahdra Valley Road, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Qamar, A. [Department of Physics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25000 (Pakistan)

2015-11-15

Linear properties of high and low frequency waves are studied in an electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) dense plasma with spin and relativity effects. In a low frequency regime, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, namely, the magnetoacoustic and Alfven waves are presented in a magnetized plasma, in which the inertial ions are taken as spinless and non-degenerate, whereas the electrons and positrons are treated quantum mechanically due to their smaller mass. Quantum corrections associated with the spin magnetization and density correlations for electrons and positrons are re-considered and a generalized dispersion relation for the low frequency MHD waves is derived to account for relativistic degeneracy effects. On the basis of angles of propagation, the dispersion relations of different modes are discussed analytically in a degenerate relativistic plasma. Numerical results reveal that electron and positron relativistic degeneracy effects significantly modify the dispersive properties of MHD waves. Our present analysis should be useful for understanding the collective interactions in dense astrophysical compact objects, like, the white dwarfs and in atmosphere of neutron stars.

Self-organization of turbulence. A brief review of self-organization with particular reference to hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, A [Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ (USA)

1982-02-01

Theoretical treatments of turbulence in fluids and plasmas often assume that the turbulence is isotropic and homogeneous. It is also often considered that turbulence produces uniformly distributed chaos, even when starting with a coherent initial condition. Recently, however, phenomena which do not obey these classic concepts have emerged. For example, in two-dimensional Navier-Stokes turbulence, an organized flow or structure is found to appear even from a chaotic initial condition. The author attempts to review some of the recent developments of a phenomenon called self-organization in the field of hydrodynamics and plasma physics.

On Electron-Scale Whistler Turbulence in the Solar Wind

Science.gov (United States)

Narita, Y.; Nakamura, R.; Baumjohann, W.; Glassmeier, K.-H.; Motschmann, U.; Giles, B.; Magnes, W.; Fischer, D.; Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.

2016-01-01

For the first time, the dispersion relation for turbulence magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind is determined directly on small scales of the order of the electron inertial length, using four-point magnetometer observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. The data are analyzed using the high-resolution adaptive wave telescope technique. Small-scale solar wind turbulence is primarily composed of highly obliquely propagating waves, with dispersion consistent with that of the whistler mode.

Numerical investigation of kinetic turbulence in relativistic pair plasmas - I. Turbulence statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhdankin, Vladimir; Uzdensky, Dmitri A.; Werner, Gregory R.; Begelman, Mitchell C.

2018-02-01

We describe results from particle-in-cell simulations of driven turbulence in collisionless, magnetized, relativistic pair plasma. This physical regime provides a simple setting for investigating the basic properties of kinetic turbulence and is relevant for high-energy astrophysical systems such as pulsar wind nebulae and astrophysical jets. In this paper, we investigate the statistics of turbulent fluctuations in simulations on lattices of up to 10243 cells and containing up to 2 × 1011 particles. Due to the absence of a cooling mechanism in our simulations, turbulent energy dissipation reduces the magnetization parameter to order unity within a few dynamical times, causing turbulent motions to become sub-relativistic. In the developed stage, our results agree with predictions from magnetohydrodynamic turbulence phenomenology at inertial-range scales, including a power-law magnetic energy spectrum with index near -5/3, scale-dependent anisotropy of fluctuations described by critical balance, lognormal distributions for particle density and internal energy density (related by a 4/3 adiabatic index, as predicted for an ultra-relativistic ideal gas), and the presence of intermittency. We also present possible signatures of a kinetic cascade by measuring power-law spectra for the magnetic, electric and density fluctuations at sub-Larmor scales.

Experimental observation of electron-temperature-gradient turbulence in a laboratory plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattoo, S K; Singh, S K; Awasthi, L M; Singh, R; Kaw, P K

2012-06-22

We report the observation of electron-temperature-gradient (ETG) driven turbulence in the laboratory plasma of a large volume plasma device. The removal of unutilized primary ionizing and nonthermal electrons from uniform density plasma and the imposition and control of the gradient in the electron temperature (T[Symbol: see text] T(e)) are all achieved by placing a large (2 m diameter) magnetic electron energy filter in the middle of the device. In the dressed plasma, the observed ETG turbulence in the lower hybrid range of frequencies ν = (1-80 kHz) is characterized by a broadband with a power law. The mean wave number k perpendicular ρ(e) = (0.1-0.2) satisfies the condition k perpendicular ρ(e) ≤ 1, where ρ(e) is the electron Larmor radius.

Nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics: the effects of nonlinear plasma fluctuations on the transport, confinement and heating of a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, D.C.

1986-01-01

We have explored numerical solutions of the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equations and of the Strauss equations. In the former case, the emphasis has been on relaxation to force-free, field-reversed states in magnetofluids bounded by rigid conductors; in the latter case, the emphasis has been on disruptions. The competition between dynamic alignment of the velocity fields and magnetic fields and selective decay toward minimum energy states has been explored. Analytical expressions for density fluctuation spectra in MHD turbulence have been derived. Analytical expressions for turbulent MHD resistivities and viscosities have been derived

Experimental study of parametric dependence of electron-scale turbulence in a spherical tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Y.; Guttenfelder, W.; Kaye, S. M.; Mazzucato, E.; Bell, R. E.; Diallo, A.; LeBlanc, B. P. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Domier, C. W.; Lee, K. C. [University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Smith, D. R. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Yuh, H. [Nova Photonics, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

2012-05-15

Electron-scale turbulence is predicted to drive anomalous electron thermal transport. However, experimental study of its relation with transport is still in its early stage. On the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment (NSTX), electron-scale density fluctuations are studied with a novel tangential microwave scattering system with high radial resolution of {+-}2 cm. Here, we report a study of parametric dependence of electron-scale turbulence in NSTX H-mode plasmas. The dependence on density gradient is studied through the observation of a large density gradient variation in the core induced by an edge localized mode (ELM) event, where we found the first clear experimental evidence of density gradient stabilization of electron-gyro scale turbulence in a fusion plasma. This observation, coupled with linear gyro-kinetic calculations, leads to the identification of the observed instability as toroidal electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes. It is observed that longer wavelength ETG modes, k{sub Up-Tack }{rho}{sub s} Less-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 10 ({rho}{sub s} is the ion gyroradius at electron temperature and k{sub Up-Tack} is the wavenumber perpendicular to local equilibrium magnetic field), are most stabilized by density gradient, and the stabilization is accompanied by about a factor of two decrease in electron thermal diffusivity. Comparisons with nonlinear ETG gyrokinetic simulations show ETG turbulence may be able to explain the experimental electron heat flux observed before the ELM event. The collisionality dependence of electron-scale turbulence is also studied by systematically varying plasma current and toroidal field, so that electron gyroradius ({rho}{sub e}), electron beta ({beta}{sub e}), and safety factor (q{sub 95}) are kept approximately constant. More than a factor of two change in electron collisionality, {nu}{sub e}{sup *}, was achieved, and we found that the spectral power of electron-scale turbulence appears to increase as {nu}{sub e}{sup *} is

Turbulent Diffusion of the Geomagnetic Field and Dynamo Theories

OpenAIRE

Filippi, Enrico

2016-01-01

The thesis deals with the Dynamo Theories of the Earth’s Magnetic Field and mainly deepens the turbulence phenomena in the fluid Earth’s core. Indeed, we think that these phenomena are very important to understand the recent decay of the geomagnetic field. The thesis concerns also the dynamics of the outer core and some very rapid changes of the geomagnetic field observed in the Earth’s surface and some aspects regarding the (likely) isotropic turbulence in the Magnetohydrodynamics. These top...

Tokamak electron heat transport by direct numerical simulation of small scale turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labit, B.

2002-10-01

In a fusion machine, understanding plasma turbulence, which causes a degradation of the measured energy confinement time, would constitute a major progress in this field. In tokamaks, the measured ion and electron thermal conductivities are of comparable magnitude. The possible sources of turbulence are the temperature and density gradients occurring in a fusion plasma. Whereas the heat losses in the ion channel are reasonably well understood, the origin of the electron losses is more uncertain. In addition to the radial velocity associated to the fluctuations of the electric field, electrons are more affected than ions by the magnetic field fluctuations. In experiments, the confinement time can be conveniently expressed in terms of dimensionless parameters. Although still somewhat too imprecise, these scaling laws exhibit strong dependencies on the normalized pressure β or the normalized Larmor radius, ρ * . The present thesis assesses whether a tridimensional, electromagnetic, nonlinear fluid model of plasma turbulence driven by a specific instability can reproduce the dependence of the experimental electron heat losses on the dimensionless parameters β and ρ * . The investigated interchange instability is the Electron Temperature Gradient driven one (ETG). The model is built by using the set of Braginskii equations. The developed simulation code is global in the sense that a fixed heat flux is imposed at the inner boundary, leaving the gradients free to evolve. From the nonlinear simulations, we have put in light three characteristics for the ETG turbulence: the turbulent transport is essentially electrostatic; the potential and pressure fluctuations form radially elongated cells called streamers; the transport level is very low compared to the experimental values. The thermal transport dependence study has shown a very small role of the normalized pressure, which is in contradiction with the Ohkama's formula. On the other hand, the crucial role of the

Statistical analysis of anomalous transport in resistive interchange turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugama, Hideo; Wakatani, Masahiro.

1992-01-01

A new anomalous transport model for resistive interchange turbulence is derived from statistical analysis applying two-scale direct-interaction approximation to resistive magnetohydrodynamic equations with a gravity term. Our model is similar to the K-ε model for eddy viscosity of turbulent shear flows in that anomalous transport coefficients are expressed in terms of by the turbulent kinetic energy K and its dissipation rate ε while K and ε are determined by transport equations. This anomalous transport model can describe some nonlocal effects such as those from boundary conditions which cannot be treated by conventional models based on the transport coefficients represented by locally determined plasma parameters. (author)

Solar Wind Electron Scattering by Kinetic Instabilities and Whistler Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Gary, S. P.

2015-12-01

The expansion of the solar wind away from the Sun drives electron velocity distributions away from the thermal Maxwellian form, yielding distributions near 1 AU which typically can be characterized as consisting of three anisotropic components: a more dense, relatively cool core, a relatively tenuous , relatively warm halo and a similarly tenuous, warm strahl. Each of these nonthermal components are potential sources of kinetic plasma instabilities; the enhanced waves from each instability can scatter the electrons, acting to reduce the various anisotropies and making their overall velocity distribution more nearly (but not completely) thermal. In contrast, simulations are demonstrating that the forward decay of whistler turbulence can lead to the development of a T||> T_perp electron anisotropy. This presentation will review linear theories of electron-driven kinetic instabilities (following the presentation by Daniel Verscharen at the 2015 SHINE Workshop), and will further consider the modification of electron velocity distributions as obtained from particle-in-cell simulations of such instabilities as well as from the decay of whistler turbulence.

Inertial-range spectrum of whistler turbulence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Narita

2010-02-01

Full Text Available We develop a theoretical model of an inertial-range energy spectrum for homogeneous whistler turbulence. The theory is a generalization of the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan concept of the inertial-range magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. In the model the dispersion relation is used to derive scaling laws for whistler waves at highly oblique propagation with respect to the mean magnetic field. The model predicts an energy spectrum for such whistler waves with a spectral index −2.5 in the perpendicular component of the wave vector and thus provides an interpretation about recent discoveries of the second inertial-range of magnetic energy spectra at high frequencies in the solar wind.

Effects of Shock and Turbulence Properties on Electron Acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, G.; Kong, F.-J.; Zhang, L.-H.

2018-06-01

Using test particle simulations, we study electron acceleration at collisionless shocks with a two-component model turbulent magnetic field with slab component including dissipation range. We investigate the importance of the shock-normal angle θ Bn, magnetic turbulence level {(b/{B}0)}2, and shock thickness on the acceleration efficiency of electrons. It is shown that at perpendicular shocks the electron acceleration efficiency is enhanced with the decrease of {(b/{B}0)}2, and at {(b/{B}0)}2=0.01 the acceleration becomes significant due to a strong drift electric field with long time particles staying near the shock front for shock drift acceleration (SDA). In addition, at parallel shocks the electron acceleration efficiency is increasing with the increase of {(b/{B}0)}2, and at {(b/{B}0)}2=10.0 the acceleration is very strong due to sufficient pitch-angle scattering for first-order Fermi acceleration, as well as due to the large local component of the magnetic field perpendicular to the shock-normal angle for SDA. On the other hand, the high perpendicular shock acceleration with {(b/{B}0)}2=0.01 is stronger than the high parallel shock acceleration with {(b/{B}0)}2=10.0, the reason might be the assumption that SDA is more efficient than first-order Fermi acceleration. Furthermore, for oblique shocks, the acceleration efficiency is small no matter whether the turbulence level is low or high. Moreover, for the effect of shock thickness on electron acceleration at perpendicular shocks, we show that there exists the bendover thickness, L diff,b. The acceleration efficiency does not noticeably change if the shock thickness is much smaller than L diff,b. However, if the shock thickness is much larger than L diff,b, the acceleration efficiency starts to drop abruptly.

Solar magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priest, E.R.

1982-01-01

The book serves several purposes. First set of chapters gives a concise general introduction to solar physics. In a second set the basic methods of magnetohydrodynamics are developed. A third set of chapters is an account of current theories for observed phenomena. The book is suitable for a course in solar physics and it also provides a comprehensive review of present magnetohydrodynamical models in solar physics. (SC)

Fast response of electron-scale turbulence to auxiliary heating cessation in National Spherical Torus Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Y.; Wang, W. X.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Guttenfelder, W.; Kaye, S. M.; Ethier, S.; Mazzucato, E.; Bell, R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Lee, K. C. [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-806 (Korea, Republic of); Domier, C. W. [University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616 (United States); Smith, D. R. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Yuh, H. [Nova Photonics, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

2015-11-15

In this letter, we report the first observation of the fast response of electron-scale turbulence to auxiliary heating cessation in National Spherical Torus eXperiment [Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. The observation was made in a set of RF-heated L-mode plasmas with toroidal magnetic field of 0.55 T and plasma current of 300 kA. It is observed that electron-scale turbulence spectral power (measured with a high-k collective microwave scattering system) decreases significantly following fast cessation of RF heating that occurs in less than 200 μs. The large drop in the turbulence spectral power has a short time delay of about 1–2 ms relative to the RF cessation and happens on a time scale of 0.5–1 ms, much smaller than the energy confinement time of about 10 ms. Power balance analysis shows a factor of about 2 decrease in electron thermal diffusivity after the sudden drop of turbulence spectral power. Measured small changes in equilibrium profiles across the RF cessation are unlikely able to explain this sudden reduction in the measured turbulence and decrease in electron thermal transport, supported by local linear stability analysis and both local and global nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. The observations imply that nonlocal flux-driven mechanism may be important for the observed turbulence and electron thermal transport.

On energy conservation in extended magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Keiji; Morrison, P. J.

2014-01-01

A systematic study of energy conservation for extended magnetohydrodynamic models that include Hall terms and electron inertia is performed. It is observed that commonly used models do not conserve energy in the ideal limit, i.e., when viscosity and resistivity are neglected. In particular, a term in the momentum equation that is often neglected is seen to be needed for conservation of energy

Trapped Electron Mode Turbulence Driven Intrinsic Rotation in Tokamak Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W.X.; Hahm, T.S.; Ethier, S.; Zakharov, L.E.

2011-01-01

Recent progress from global gyrokinetic simulations in understanding the origin of intrinsic rotation in toroidal plasmas is reported with emphasis on electron thermal transport dominated regimes. The turbulence driven intrinsic torque associated with nonlinear residual stress generation by the fluctuation intensity and the intensity gradient in the presence of zonal flow shear induced asymmetry in the parallel wavenumber spectrum is shown to scale close to linearly with plasma gradients and the inverse of the plasma current. These results qualitatively reproduce empirical scalings of intrinsic rotation observed in various experiments. The origin of current scaling is found to be due to enhanced kll symmetry breaking induced by the increased radial variation of the safety factor as the current decreases. The physics origin for the linear dependence of intrinsic torque on pressure gradient is that both turbulence intensity and the zonal flow shear, which are two key ingredients for driving residual stress, increase with the strength of turbulence drive, which is R0/LTe and R0/Lne for the trapped electron mode.

Self-consistent dynamo-like activity in turbulent plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharjee, A.; Hameiri, E.

1986-05-01

The evolution of turbulent plasmas is investigated within the framework of resistive magnetohydrodynamics. The functional form of the mean electric field is derived for fluctuations generated by tearing and resistive interchange modes. It is shown that a bath of such local and global modes in pinches causes toroidal field-reversal with finite pressure gradients in the plasma

Transition to turbulence in the Hartmann boundary layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thess, A.; Krasnov, D.; Boeck, T.; Zienicke, E. [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Ilmenau Univ. of Tech. (Germany); Zikanov, O. [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of Michigan, Dearborn, MI (United States); Moresco, P. [School of Physics and Astronomy, The Univ. of Manchester (United Kingdom); Alboussiere, T. [Lab. de Geophysique Interne et Tectonophysique, Observatoire des Science de l' Univers de Grenoble, Univ. Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France)

2007-07-01

The Hartmann boundary layer is a paradigm of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. Hartmann boundary layers develop when a liquid metal flows under the influence of a steady magnetic field. The present paper is an overview of recent successful attempts to understand the mechanisms by which the Hartmann layer undergoes a transition from laminar to turbulent flow. (orig.)

Gyrofluid modeling and phenomenology of low-βe Alfvén wave turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Passot, T.; Sulem, P. L.; Tassi, E.

2018-04-01

A two-field reduced gyrofluid model including electron inertia, ion finite Larmor radius corrections, and parallel magnetic field fluctuations is derived from the model of Brizard [Brizard, Phys. Fluids B 4, 1213 (1992)]. It assumes low βe, where βe indicates the ratio between the equilibrium electron pressure and the magnetic pressure exerted by a strong uniform magnetic guide field, but permits an arbitrary ion-to-electron equilibrium temperature ratio. It is shown to have a noncanonical Hamiltonian structure and provides a convenient framework for studying kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence, from magnetohydrodynamics to sub-de scales (where de holds for the electron skin depth). Magnetic energy spectra are phenomenologically determined within energy and generalized cross-helicity cascades in the perpendicular spectral plane. Arguments based on absolute statistical equilibria are used to predict the direction of the transfers, pointing out that, within the sub-ion range, the generalized cross-helicity could display an inverse cascade if injected at small scales, for example by reconnection processes.

Linear and nonlinear studies of velocity shear driven three dimensional electron-magnetohydrodynamics instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaur, Gurudatt; Das, Amita

2012-01-01

The study of electron velocity shear driven instability in electron magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD) regime in three dimensions has been carried out. It is well known that the instability is non-local in the plane defined by the flow direction and that of the shear, which is the usual Kelvin-Helmholtz mode, often termed as the sausage mode in the context of EMHD. On the other hand, a local instability with perturbations in the plane defined by the shear and the magnetic field direction exists which is termed as kink mode. The interplay of these two modes for simple sheared flow case as well as that when an external magnetic field exists has been studied extensively in the present manuscript in both linear and nonlinear regimes. Finally, these instability processes have been investigated for the exact 2D dipole solutions of EMHD equations [M. B. Isichenko and A. N. Marnachev, Sov. Phys. JETP 66, 702 (1987)] for which the electron flow velocity is sheared. It has been shown that dipoles are very robust and stable against the sausage mode as the unstable wavelengths are typically longer than the dipole size. However, we observe that they do get destabilized by the local kink mode.

Generation of compressible modes in MHD turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Jungyeon [Chungnam National Univ., Daejeon (Korea); Lazarian, A. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

2005-05-01

Astrophysical turbulence is magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) in nature. We discuss fundamental properties of MHD turbulence and in particular the generation of compressible MHD waves by Alfvenic turbulence and show that this process is inefficient. This allows us to study the evolution of different types of MHD perturbations separately. We describe how to separate MHD fluctuations into three distinct families: Alfven, slow, and fast modes. We find that the degree of suppression of slow and fast modes production by Alfvenic turbulence depends on the strength of the mean field. We review the scaling relations of the modes in strong MHD turbulence. We show that Alfven modes in compressible regime exhibit scalings and anisotropy similar to those in incompressible regime. Slow modes passively mimic Alfven modes. However, fast modes exhibit isotropy and a scaling similar to that of acoustic turbulence both in high and low {beta} plasmas. We show that our findings entail important consequences for star formation theories, cosmic ray propagation, dust dynamics, and gamma ray bursts. We anticipate many more applications of the new insight to MHD turbulence and expect more revisions of the existing paradigms of astrophysical processes as the field matures. (orig.)

Intermittent heating of the solar corona by MHD turbulence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

É. Buchlin

2007-10-01

Full Text Available As the dissipation mechanisms considered for the heating of the solar corona would be sufficiently efficient only in the presence of small scales, turbulence is thought to be a key player in the coronal heating processes: it allows indeed to transfer energy from the large scales to these small scales. While Direct numerical simulations which have been performed to investigate the properties of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the corona have provided interesting results, they are limited to small Reynolds numbers. We present here a model of coronal loop turbulence involving shell-models and Alfvén waves propagation, allowing the much faster computation of spectra and turbulence statistics at higher Reynolds numbers. We also present first results of the forward-modelling of spectroscopic observables in the UV.

CHARACTERIZING MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE IN THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkhart, Blakesley; Stanimirovic, Snezana; Lazarian, A.; Kowal, Grzegorz

2010-01-01

We investigate the nature and spatial variations of turbulence in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by applying several statistical methods on the neutral hydrogen (H I) column density image of the SMC and a database of isothermal numerical simulations. By using the third and fourth statistical moments we derive the spatial distribution of the sonic Mach number (M s ) across the SMC. We find that about 90% of the H I in the SMC is subsonic or transonic. However, edges of the SMC 'bar' have M s ∼4 and may be tracing shearing or turbulent flows. Using numerical simulations we also investigate how the slope of the spatial power spectrum depends on both sonic and Alfven Mach numbers. This allows us to gauge the Alfven Mach number of the SMC and conclude that its hydrodynamic pressure dominates over the magnetic pressure. The trans-Alfvenic nature of the H I gas in the SMC is also highlighted by the bispectrum, a three-point correlation function which characterizes the level of non-Gaussianity in wave modes. We find that the bispectrum of the SMC H I column density displays similar large-scale correlations as numerical simulations; however, it has localized enhancements of correlations. In addition, we find a break in correlations at a scale of ∼160 pc. This may be caused by numerous expanding shells of a similar size.

Hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamic global bifurcations in a highly turbulent von Karman flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravelet, F.

2005-09-01

We report experimental studies of the turbulent von Karman flow, inertially stirred between counter-rotating impellers. We first study the flow and its transition from laminar to turbulent regime. We highlight the role of slowly varying large scales, due to the presence of an azimuthal mixing layer. The large scales of this flow can be unstable in turbulent regime. We study the statistics of the transitions between the different mean states. The second part is dedicated to an experiment in liquid sodium, called VKS2. We optimize the time-averaged flow in order to allow kinematic dynamo action. We report the very first results of the experiment, and discuss the role of the large scales temporal non-stationariness. (author)

Turbulent Liquid Metal Dynamo Experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forest, Cary

2007-01-01

The self-generation of magnetic fields in planets and stars--the dynamo effect--is a long-standing problem of magnetohydrodynamics and plasma physics. Until recently, research on the self-excitation process has been primarily theoretical. In this talk, I will begin with a tutorial on how magnetic fields are generated in planets and stars, describing the 'Standard Model' of self-excitation known as the alpha-omega dynamo. In this model, axisymmetric differential rotation can produce the majority of the magnetic field, but some non-axisymmetric, turbulence driven currents are also necessary. Understanding the conversion of turbulent kinetic energy in the fluid motion into electrical currents and thus magnetic fields, is a major challenge for both experiments and theory at this time. I will then report on recent results from a 1 meter diameter, spherical, liquid sodium dynamo experiment at the University of Wisconsin, in which the first clear evidence for these turbulence driven currents has been observed.

Effects of parallel dynamics on vortex structures in electron temperature gradient driven turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakata, M.; Watanabe, T.-H.; Sugama, H.; Horton, W.

2011-01-01

Vortex structures and related heat transport properties in slab electron temperature gradient (ETG) driven turbulence are comprehensively investigated by means of nonlinear gyrokinetic Vlasov simulations, with the aim of elucidating the underlying physical mechanisms of the transition from turbulent to coherent states. Numerical results show three different types of vortex structures, i.e., coherent vortex streets accompanied with the transport reduction, turbulent vortices with steady transport, and a zonal-flow-dominated state, depending on the relative magnitude of the parallel compression to the diamagnetic drift. In particular, the formation of coherent vortex streets is correlated with the strong generation of zonal flows for the cases with weak parallel compression, even though the maximum growth rate of linear ETG modes is relatively large. The zonal flow generation in the ETG turbulence is investigated by the modulational instability analysis with a truncated fluid model, where the parallel dynamics such as acoustic modes for electrons is incorporated. The modulational instability for zonal flows is found to be stabilized by the effect of the finite parallel compression. The theoretical analysis qualitatively agrees with secondary growth of zonal flows found in the slab ETG turbulence simulations, where the transition of vortex structures is observed.

Magnetohydrodynamic process in solar activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingxiu Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Magnetohydrodynamics is one of the major disciplines in solar physics. Vigorous magnetohydrodynamic process is taking place in the solar convection zone and atmosphere. It controls the generating and structuring of the solar magnetic fields, causes the accumulation of magnetic non-potential energy in the solar atmosphere and triggers the explosive magnetic energy release, manifested as violent solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Nowadays detailed observations in solar astrophysics from space and on the ground urge a great need for the studies of magnetohydrodynamics and plasma physics to achieve better understanding of the mechanism or mechanisms of solar activity. On the other hand, the spectacular solar activity always serves as a great laboratory of magnetohydrodynamics. In this article, we reviewed a few key unresolved problems in solar activity studies and discussed the relevant issues in solar magnetohydrodynamics.

Auroral electron fluxes induced by static magnetic field aligned electric field and plasma wave turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assis, A.S. de; Silva, C.E. da; Dias Tavares, A. Jr.; Leubner, C.; Kuhn, S.

2001-07-01

We have studied the formation of auroral electron fluxes induced by a field aligned dc electric field in the presence of plasma wave turbulence. The effect of the wave spectral shape on the production rate has been considered. This acceleration scheme was modelled by the weak turbulence approach. The electron fluxes for narrow and broad band spectra, in the case of low and high phase velocities, are calculated, and it is found as a general feature, for all modes, that their enhancement is larger the weaker the background electric field, while for its absolute enhancement it is just the opposite. The electron fluxes are enhanced by many orders of magnitude over that without turbulence. It is also shown that the modes enhance the runaway production rate via their Cherenkov dissipation, and that a synergetic effect occurs in the enhancement when more than one mode turbulent is present in the acceleration region. (author)

Magnetohydrodynamic cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portugal, R.; Soares, I.D.

1991-01-01

We analyse a class of cosmological models in magnetohydrodynamic regime extending and completing the results of a previous paper. The material content of the models is a perfect fluid plus electromagnetic fields. The fluid is neutral in average but admits an electrical current which satisfies Ohm's law. All models fulfil the physical requirements of near equilibrium thermodynamics and can be favourably used as a more realistic description of the interior of a collapsing star in a magnetohydrodynamic regime with or without a magnetic field. (author)

Giant molecular cloud collisions as triggers of star formation. VI. Collision-induced turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Benjamin; Tan, Jonathan C.; Nakamura, Fumitaka; Christie, Duncan; Li, Qi

2018-05-01

We investigate collisions between giant molecular clouds (GMCs) as potential generators of their internal turbulence. Using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of self-gravitating, magnetized, turbulent GMCs, we compare kinematic and dynamic properties of dense gas structures formed when such clouds collide compared to those that form in non-colliding clouds as self-gravity overwhelms decaying turbulence. We explore the nature of turbulence in these structures via distribution functions of density, velocity dispersions, virial parameters, and momentum injection. We find that the dense clumps formed from GMC collisions have higher effective Mach number, greater overall velocity dispersions, sustain near-virial equilibrium states for longer times, and are the conduit for the injection of turbulent momentum into high density gas at high rates.

Hall MHD Stability and Turbulence in Magnetically Accelerated Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

H. R. Strauss

2012-11-27

The object of the research was to develop theory and carry out simulations of the Z pinch and plasma opening switch (POS), and compare with experimental results. In the case of the Z pinch, there was experimental evidence of ion kinetic energy greatly in excess of the ion thermal energy. It was thought that this was perhaps due to fine scale turbulence. The simulations showed that the ion energy was predominantly laminar, not turbulent. Preliminary studies of a new Z pinch experiment with an axial magnetic field were carried out. The axial magnetic is relevant to magneto - inertial fusion. These studies indicate the axial magnetic field makes the Z pinch more turbulent. Results were also obtained on Hall magnetohydrodynamic instability of the POS.

TURBULENCE-GENERATED PROTON-SCALE STRUCTURES IN THE TERRESTRIAL MAGNETOSHEATH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vörös, Zoltán; Narita, Yasuhito [Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz (Austria); Yordanova, Emiliya [Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala (Sweden); Echim, Marius M. [Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Bruxelles (Belgium); Consolini, Giuseppe, E-mail: zoltan.voeroes@oeaw.ac.at [INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Roma (Italy)

2016-03-01

Recent results of numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations suggest that in collisionless space plasmas, turbulence can spontaneously generate thin current sheets. These coherent structures can partially explain the intermittency and the non-homogenous distribution of localized plasma heating in turbulence. In this Letter, Cluster multi-point observations are used to investigate the distribution of magnetic field discontinuities and the associated small-scale current sheets in the terrestrial magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-parallel bow shock. It is shown experimentally, for the first time, that the strongest turbulence-generated current sheets occupy the long tails of probability distribution functions associated with extremal values of magnetic field partial derivatives. During the analyzed one-hour time interval, about a hundred strong discontinuities, possibly proton-scale current sheets, were observed.

Variational integrators for reduced magnetohydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraus, Michael, E-mail: michael.kraus@ipp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstraße 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Technische Universität München, Zentrum Mathematik, Boltzmannstraße 3, 85748 Garching (Germany); Tassi, Emanuele, E-mail: tassi@cpt.univ-mrs.fr [Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT, UMR 7332, 163 avenue de Luminy, case 907, 13288 cedex 9 Marseille (France); Grasso, Daniela, E-mail: daniela.grasso@infm.polito.it [ISC-CNR and Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento Energia, C.so Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino (Italy)

2016-09-15

Reduced magnetohydrodynamics is a simplified set of magnetohydrodynamics equations with applications to both fusion and astrophysical plasmas, possessing a noncanonical Hamiltonian structure and consequently a number of conserved functionals. We propose a new discretisation strategy for these equations based on a discrete variational principle applied to a formal Lagrangian. The resulting integrator preserves important quantities like the total energy, magnetic helicity and cross helicity exactly (up to machine precision). As the integrator is free of numerical resistivity, spurious reconnection along current sheets is absent in the ideal case. If effects of electron inertia are added, reconnection of magnetic field lines is allowed, although the resulting model still possesses a noncanonical Hamiltonian structure. After reviewing the conservation laws of the model equations, the adopted variational principle with the related conservation laws is described both at the continuous and discrete level. We verify the favourable properties of the variational integrator in particular with respect to the preservation of the invariants of the models under consideration and compare with results from the literature and those of a pseudo-spectral code.

Generation of the auroral electron velocity distribution by electrostatic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryant, D.A.; Cook, A.C.; Wang, Z.-S.; Angelis, U. de; Perry, C.H.

1991-01-01

It is shown from first principles that the characteristic peak in the auroral electron velocity distribution can be generated stochastically through resonant interactions with lower-hybrid electrostatic turbulence. The peak itself is shown to be the inevitable consequence of restrictions imposed on random walk in velocity space by the limitation in wave group velocity. A Monte-Carlo model of the process demonstrates how the various properties of the acceleration region are reflected in the resultant electron distribution. It is shown, in particular, that the width of the peak is governed by the amplitude of the turbulence, while the amplitude of the peak reflects the column density of wave energy. Electron distributions encountered within three auroral arcs are interpreted to yield order of magnitude estimates of the amplitude and rms electric field of lower-hybrid wave packets. The velocities and frequencies of the resonant waves, the net electric field, the column density of wave energy and the electric field energy density are also estimated. The results are found to be not inconsistent with available electric-field measurements. (author)

Reduction effect of neutral density on the excitation of turbulent drift waves in a linear magnetized plasma with flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saitou, Y.; Yonesu, A.; Shinohara, S.; Ignatenko, M. V.; Kasuya, N.; Kawaguchi, M.; Terasaka, K.; Nishijima, T.; Nagashima, Y.; Kawai, Y.; Yagi, M.; Itoh, S.-I.; Azumi, M.; Itoh, K.

2007-01-01

The importance of reducing the neutral density to reach strong drift wave turbulence is clarified from the results of the extended magnetohydrodynamics and Monte Carlo simulations in a linear magnetized plasma. An upper bound of the neutral density relating to the ion-neutral collision frequency for the excitation of drift wave instability is shown, and the necessary flow velocity to excite this instability is also estimated from the neutral distributions. Measurements of the Mach number and the electron density distributions using Mach probe in the large mirror device (LMD) of Kyushu University [S. Shinohara et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 37, 1015 (1995)] are reported as well. The obtained results show a controllability of the neutral density and provide the basis for neutral density reduction and a possibility to excite strong drift wave turbulence in the LMD

Turbulence, Magnetic Reconnection in Turbulent Fluids and Energetic Particle Acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarian, A.; Vlahos, L.; Kowal, G.; Yan, H.; Beresnyak, A.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.

2012-11-01

Turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysics. It radically changes many astrophysical phenomena, in particular, the propagation and acceleration of cosmic rays. We present the modern understanding of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, in particular its decomposition into Alfvén, slow and fast modes, discuss the density structure of turbulent subsonic and supersonic media, as well as other relevant regimes of astrophysical turbulence. All this information is essential for understanding the energetic particle acceleration that we discuss further in the review. For instance, we show how fast and slow modes accelerate energetic particles through the second order Fermi acceleration, while density fluctuations generate magnetic fields in pre-shock regions enabling the first order Fermi acceleration of high energy cosmic rays. Very importantly, however, the first order Fermi cosmic ray acceleration is also possible in sites of magnetic reconnection. In the presence of turbulence this reconnection gets fast and we present numerical evidence supporting the predictions of the Lazarian and Vishniac (Astrophys. J. 517:700-718, 1999) model of fast reconnection. The efficiency of this process suggests that magnetic reconnection can release substantial amounts of energy in short periods of time. As the particle tracing numerical simulations show that the particles can be efficiently accelerated during the reconnection, we argue that the process of magnetic reconnection may be much more important for particle acceleration than it is currently accepted. In particular, we discuss the acceleration arising from reconnection as a possible origin of the anomalous cosmic rays measured by Voyagers as well as the origin cosmic ray excess in the direction of Heliotail.

Spacecraft observations of solar wind turbulence: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horbury, T S; Forman, M A; Oughton, S

2005-01-01

Spacecraft measurements in the solar wind offer the opportunity to study magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in a collisionless plasma in great detail. We review some of the key results of the study of this medium: the presence of large amplitude Alfven waves propagating predominantly away from the Sun; the existence of an active turbulent cascade; and the presence of intermittency similar to that in neutral fluids. We also discuss the presence of anisotropy in wavevector space relative to the local magnetic field direction. Some models suggest that MHD turbulence can evolve to a state with power predominantly in wavevectors either parallel to the magnetic field ('slab' fluctuations) or approximately perpendicular to it ('2D'). We review the existing evidence for such anisotropy, which has important consequences for the transport of energetic particles. Finally, we present the first results of a new analysis which provides the most accurate measurements to date of the wave-vector anisotropy of wavevector power in solar wind MHD turbulence

MHD from a Microscopic Concept and Onset of Turbulence in Hartmann Flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jirkovsky, L.; Bo-ot, L. Ma.; Chiang, C. M.

2010-01-01

We derive higher order magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equations from a microscopic picture using projection and perturbation formalism. In an application to Hartmann flow we find velocity profiles flattening towards the center at the onset of turbulence in hydrodynamic limit. Comparison with the system under the effect of a uniform magnetic field yields difference in the onset of turbulence consistent with observations, showing that the presence of magnetic field inhibits onset of instability or turbulence. The laminar-turbulent transition is demonstrated in a phase transition plot of the development in time of the relative average velocities vs. Reynolds number showing a sharp increase of the relative average velocity at the transition point as determined by the critical Reynolds number. (physics of gases, plasmas, and electric discharges)

Magnetohydrodynamical processes near compact objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bisnovatyi Kogan, G.S.

1979-01-01

Magnetohydrodynamical processes near compact objects are reviewed in this paper. First the accretion of the magnetized matter into a single black hole and spectra of radiation are considered. Then the magnetic-field phenomena in the disk accretion, when the black hole is in a pair are discussed. Furthermore, the magnetohydrodynamics phenomena during supernova explosion are considered. Finally the magnetohydrodynamics in the accretion of a neutron star is considered in connection With x-ray sources

Relativistic Turbulence with Strong Synchrotron and Synchrotron-Self-Compton Cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Uzdensky, D. A.

2018-03-01

Many relativistic plasma environments in high-energy astrophysics, including pulsar wind nebulae, hot accretion flows onto black holes, relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts, and giant radio lobes, are naturally turbulent. The plasma in these environments is often so hot that synchrotron and inverse-Compton (IC) radiative cooling becomes important. In this paper we investigate the general thermodynamic and radiative properties (and hence the observational appearance) of an optically thin relativistically hot plasma stirred by driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and cooled by radiation. We find that if the system reaches a statistical equilibrium where turbulent heating is balanced by radiative cooling, the effective electron temperature tends to attain a universal value θ = kT_e/m_e c^2 ˜ 1/√{τ_T}, where τT = neσTL ≪ 1 is the system's Thomson optical depth, essentially independent of the strength of turbulent driving and hence of the magnetic field. This is because both MHD turbulent dissipation and synchrotron cooling are proportional to the magnetic energy density. We also find that synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) cooling and perhaps a few higher-order IC components are automatically comparable to synchrotron in this regime. The overall broadband radiation spectrum then consists of several distinct components (synchrotron, SSC, etc.), well separated in photon energy (by a factor ˜ τ_T^{-1}) and roughly equal in power. The number of IC peaks is checked by Klein-Nishina effects and depends logarithmically on τT and the magnetic field. We also examine the limitations due to synchrotron self-absorption, explore applications to Crab PWN and blazar jets, and discuss links to radiative magnetic reconnection.

Depression of Nonlinearity in Decaying Isotropic MHD Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Servidio, S.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Dmitruk, P.

2008-01-01

Spectral method simulations show that undriven magnetohydrodynamic turbulence spontaneously generates coherent spatial correlations of several types, associated with local Beltrami fields, directional alignment of velocity and magnetic fields, and antialignment of magnetic and fluid acceleration components. These correlations suppress nonlinearity to levels lower than what is obtained from Gaussian fields, and occur in spatial patches. We suggest that this rapid relaxation leads to non-Gaussian statistics and spatial intermittency

Summary of experimental core turbulence characteristics in ohmic and electron cyclotron resonance heated discharges in T-10 tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vershkov, V.A.; Shelukhin, D.A.; Soldatov, S.V.; Urazbaev, A.O.; Grashin, S.A.; Eliseev, L.G.; Melnikov, A.V.

2005-01-01

This report summarizes the results of experimental turbulence investigations carried out at T-10 for more than 10 years. The turbulence characteristics were investigated using correlation reflectometry, multipin Langmuir probe (MLP) and heavy ion beam probe diagnostics. The reflectometry capabilities were analysed using 2D full-wave simulations and verified by direct comparison using a MLP. The ohmic and electron cyclotron resonance heated discharges show the distinct transition from the core turbulence, having complex spectral structure, to the unstructured one in the scrape-off layer. The core turbulence includes 'broad band, quasi-coherent' features, arising due to the excitation of rational surfaces with high poloidal m-numbers, with a low frequency near zero and specific oscillations at 15-30 kHz. All experimentally measured properties of low frequency and high frequency quasi-coherent oscillations are in good agreement with predictions of linear theory for the ion temperature gradient/dissipative trapped electron mode instabilities. Significant local changes in the turbulence characteristics were observed at the edge velocity shear layer and in the core near q = 1 radius after switching off the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH). The local decrease in the electron heat conductivity and decrease in the turbulence level could be evidence of the formation of an electron internal transport barrier. The dynamic behaviour of the core turbulence was also investigated for the case of fast edge cooling and the beginning phase of ECRH

Suppressing Electron Turbulence and Triggering Internal Transport Barriers with Reversed Magnetic Shear in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Jayson Luc

2011-10-01

Observations in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) have found electron temperature gradients that greatly exceed the linear threshold for the onset for electron temperature gradient-driven (ETG) turbulence. These discharges, deemed electron internal transport barriers (e-ITBs), coincide with a reversal in the shear of the magnetic field and with a reduction in electron-scale density fluctuations, qualitatively consistent with earlier gyrokinetic predictions. To investigate this phenomenon further, we numerically model electron turbulence in NSTX reversed-shear plasmas using the gyrokinetic turbulence code GYRO. These first-of-a-kind nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of NSTX e-ITBs confirm that reversing the magnetic shear can allow the plasma to reach electron temperature gradients well beyond the critical gradient for the linear onset of instability. This effect is very strong, with the nonlinear threshold for significant transport approaching three times the linear critical gradient in some cases, in contrast with moderate shear cases, which can drive significant ETG turbulence at much lower gradients. In addition to the experimental implications of this upshifted nonlinear critical gradient, we explore the behavior of ETG turbulence during reversed shear discharges. This work is supported by the SciDAC Center for the Study of Plasma Microturbulence, DOE Contract DE-AC02-09CH11466, and used the resources of NCCS at ORNL and NERSC at LBNL. M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000).

Onset of turbulence induced by electron nonthermality in a complex plasma in presence of positively charged dust grains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susmita Sarkar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper onset of turbulence has been detected from the study of non linear dust acoustic wave propagation in a complex plasma considering electrons nonthermal and equilibrium dust charge positive. Dust grains are charged by secondary electron emission process. Our analysis shows that increase in electron nonthermality makes the grain charging process faster by reducing the magnitude of the nonadiabaticity induced pseudo viscosity. Consequently nature of dust charge variation changes from nonadiabatic to adiabatic one. For further increase of electron nonthermality, this pseudo viscosity becomes negative and hence generates a turbulent grain charging behaviour. This turbulent grain charging phenomenon is exclusively the outcome of this nonlinear study which was not found in linear analysis.

Cascade of circulations in fluid turbulence.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyink, Gregory L

2006-12-01

Kelvin's theorem on conservation of circulations is an essential ingredient of Taylor's theory of turbulent energy dissipation by the process of vortex-line stretching. In previous work, we have proposed a nonlinear mechanism for the breakdown of Kelvin's theorem in ideal turbulence at infinite Reynolds number. We develop here a detailed physical theory of this cascade of circulations. Our analysis is based upon an effective equation for large-scale coarse-grained velocity, which contains a turbulent-induced vortex force that can violate Kelvin's theorem. We show that singularities of sufficient strength, which are observed to exist in turbulent flow, can lead to nonvanishing dissipation of circulation for an arbitrarily small coarse-graining length in the effective equations. This result is an analog for circulation of Onsager's theorem on energy dissipation for singular Euler solutions. The physical mechanism of the breakdown of Kelvin's theorem is diffusion of lines of large-scale vorticity out of the advected loop. This phenomenon can be viewed as a classical analog of the Josephson-Anderson phase-slip phenomenon in superfluids due to quantized vortex lines. We show that the circulation cascade is local in scale and use this locality to develop concrete expressions for the turbulent vortex force by a multiscale gradient expansion. We discuss implications for Taylor's theory of turbulent dissipation and we point out some related cascade phenomena, in particular for magnetic flux in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.

Gyrokinetic Statistical Absolute Equilibrium and Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Jian-Zhou; Hammett, Gregory W.

2011-01-01

A paradigm based on the absolute equilibrium of Galerkin-truncated inviscid systems to aid in understanding turbulence (T.-D. Lee, 'On some statistical properties of hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical fields,' Q. Appl. Math. 10, 69 (1952)) is taken to study gyrokinetic plasma turbulence: A finite set of Fourier modes of the collisionless gyrokinetic equations are kept and the statistical equilibria are calculated; possible implications for plasma turbulence in various situations are discussed. For the case of two spatial and one velocity dimension, in the calculation with discretization also of velocity v with N grid points (where N + 1 quantities are conserved, corresponding to an energy invariant and N entropy-related invariants), the negative temperature states, corresponding to the condensation of the generalized energy into the lowest modes, are found. This indicates a generic feature of inverse energy cascade. Comparisons are made with some classical results, such as those of Charney-Hasegawa-Mima in the cold-ion limit. There is a universal shape for statistical equilibrium of gyrokinetics in three spatial and two velocity dimensions with just one conserved quantity. Possible physical relevance to turbulence, such as ITG zonal flows, and to a critical balance hypothesis are also discussed.

Particle-in-cell simulation of two-dimensional electron velocity shear driven instability in relativistic domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shukla, Chandrasekhar, E-mail: chandrasekhar.shukla@gmail.com; Das, Amita, E-mail: amita@ipr.res.in [Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Patel, Kartik [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085 (India)

2016-08-15

We carry out particle-in-cell simulations to study the instabilities associated with a 2-D sheared electron flow configuration against a neutralizing background of ions. Both weak and strong relativistic flow velocities are considered. In the weakly relativistic case, we observe the development of electromagnetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability with similar characteristics as that predicted by the electron Magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) model. On the contrary, in a strong relativistic case, the compressibility effects of electron fluid dominate and introduce upper hybrid electrostatic oscillations transverse to the flow which are very distinct from EMHD fluid behavior. In the nonlinear regime, both weak and strong relativistic cases lead to turbulence with broad power law spectrum.

ON QUIET-TIME SOLAR WIND ELECTRON DISTRIBUTIONS IN DYNAMICAL EQUILIBRIUM WITH LANGMUIR TURBULENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaheer, S.; Yoon, P. H.

2013-01-01

A recent series of papers put forth a self-consistent theory of an asymptotically steady-state electron distribution function and Langmuir turbulence intensity. The theory was developed in terms of the κ distribution which features Maxwellian low-energy electrons and a non-Maxwellian energetic power-law tail component. The present paper discusses a generalized κ distribution that features a Davydov-Druyvesteyn type of core component and an energetic power-law tail component. The physical motivation for such a generalization is so that the model may reflect the influence of low-energy electrons interacting with low-frequency kinetic Alfvénic turbulence as well as with high-frequency Langmuir turbulence. It is shown that such a solution and the accompanying Langmuir wave spectrum rigorously satisfy the balance requirement between the spontaneous and induced emission processes in both the particle and wave kinetic equations, and approximately satisfy the similar balance requirement between the spontaneous and induced scattering processes, which are nonlinear. In spite of the low velocity modification of the electron distribution function, it is shown that the resulting asymptotic velocity power-law index α, where f e ∼ v –α is close to the average index observed during the quiet-time solar wind condition, i.e., α ∼ O(6.5) whereas α average ∼ 6.69, according to observation

Magnetohydrodynamic dynamos in the presence of fossil magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyer, D.W.

1982-01-01

A fossil magnetic field embedded in the radiative core of the Sun has been thought possible for some time now. However, such a fossil magnetic field has, a priori, not been considered a visible phenomenon due to the effects of turbulence in the solar convection zone. Since a well developed theory (referred to herein as magnetohydrodynamic dynamo theory) exists for describing the regeneration of magnetic fields in astrophysical objects like the Sun, it is possible to quantitatively evaluate the interaction of a fossil magnetic field with the magnetohydrodynamic dynamo operating in the solar convection zone. In this work, after a brief description of the basic dynamo equations, a spherical model calculation of the solar dynamo is introduced. First, the interaction of a fossil magnetic field with a dynamo in which the regeneration mechanisms of cyclonic convection and large-scale, nonuniform rotation are confined to spherical shells is calculated. It is argued that the amount of amplification or suppression of a fossil magnetic field will be smallest for a uniform distribution of cyclonic convection and nonuniform rotation, as expected in the Sun. Secondly, the interaction of a fossil magnetic field with a dynamo having a uniform distribution of cyclonic convection and large-scale, nonuniform rotation is calculated. It is found that the dipole or quadrupole moments of a fossil magnetic field are suppressed by factors of -0.35 and -0.37, respectively

Pebble Accretion in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ziyan; Bai, Xue-Ning; Murray-Clay, Ruth A.

2017-09-01

It has been realized in recent years that the accretion of pebble-sized dust particles onto planetary cores is an important mode of core growth, which enables the formation of giant planets at large distances and assists planet formation in general. The pebble accretion theory is built upon the orbit theory of dust particles in a laminar protoplanetary disk (PPD). For sufficiently large core mass (in the “Hill regime”), essentially all particles of appropriate sizes entering the Hill sphere can be captured. However, the outer regions of PPDs are expected to be weakly turbulent due to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), where turbulent stirring of particle orbits may affect the efficiency of pebble accretion. We conduct shearing-box simulations of pebble accretion with different levels of MRI turbulence (strongly turbulent assuming ideal magnetohydrodynamics, weakly turbulent in the presence of ambipolar diffusion, and laminar) and different core masses to test the efficiency of pebble accretion at a microphysical level. We find that accretion remains efficient for marginally coupled particles (dimensionless stopping time {τ }s˜ 0.1{--}1) even in the presence of strong MRI turbulence. Though more dust particles are brought toward the core by the turbulence, this effect is largely canceled by a reduction in accretion probability. As a result, the overall effect of turbulence on the accretion rate is mainly reflected in the changes in the thickness of the dust layer. On the other hand, we find that the efficiency of pebble accretion for strongly coupled particles (down to {τ }s˜ 0.01) can be modestly reduced by strong turbulence for low-mass cores.

Electron and ion heating by whistler turbulence: Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, R. Scott; Gary, S. Peter; Wang, Joseph

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of decaying whistler turbulence are carried out on a collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized, electron-ion plasma model. In addition, the simulations use an initial ensemble of relatively long wavelength whistler modes with a broad range of initial propagation directions with an initial electron beta β e = 0.05. The computations follow the temporal evolution of the fluctuations as they cascade into broadband turbulent spectra at shorter wavelengths. Three simulations correspond to successively larger simulation boxes and successively longer wavelengths of the initial fluctuations. The computations confirm previous results showing electron heating is preferentially parallel to the background magnetic field B o , and ion heating is preferentially perpendicular to B o . The new results here are that larger simulation boxes and longer initial whistler wavelengths yield weaker overall dissipation, consistent with linear dispersion theory predictions of decreased damping, stronger ion heating, consistent with a stronger ion Landau resonance, and weaker electron heating

Magnetohydrodynamic duct and channel flows at finite magnetic Reynolds numbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bandaru, Vinodh Kumar

2015-11-27

Magnetohydrodynamic duct flows have so far been studied only in the limit of negligible magnetic Reynolds numbers (R{sub m}). When R{sub m} is finite, the secondary magnetic field becomes significant, leading to a fully coupled evolution of the magnetic field and the conducting flow. Characterization of such flows is essential in understanding wall-bounded magnetohydrodynamic turbulence at finite R{sub m} as well as in industrial applications like the design of electromagnetic pumps and measurement of transient flows using techniques such as Lorentz force velocimetry. This thesis presents the development of a numerical framework for direct numerical simulations (DNS) of magnetohydrodynamic flows in straight rectangular ducts at finite R{sub m}, which is subsequently used to study three specific problems. The thesis opens with a brief overview of MHD and a review of the existing state of art in duct and channel MHD flows. This is followed by a description of the physical model governing the problem of MHD duct flow with insulating walls and streamwise periodicity. In the main part of the thesis, a hybrid finite difference-boundary element computational procedure is developed that is used to solve the magnetic induction equation with boundary conditions that satisfy interior-exterior matching of the magnetic field at the domain wall boundaries. The numerical procedure is implemented into a code and a detailed verification of the same is performed in the limit of low R{sub m} by comparing with the results obtained using a quasistatic approach that has no coupling with the exterior. Following this, the effect of R{sub m} on the transient response of Lorentz force is studied using the problem of a strongly accelerated solid conducting bar in the presence of an imposed localized magnetic field. The response time of Lorentz force depends linearly on R{sub m} and shows a good agreement with the existing experiments. For sufficiently large values of R{sub m}, the peak

Three-Dimensional General-Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Remnant Accretion Disks from Neutron Star Mergers: Outflows and r-Process Nucleosynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Daniel M; Metzger, Brian D

2017-12-08

The merger of binary neutron stars, or of a neutron star and a stellar-mass black hole, can result in the formation of a massive rotating torus around a spinning black hole. In addition to providing collimating media for γ-ray burst jets, unbound outflows from these disks are an important source of mass ejection and rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. We present the first three-dimensional general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of neutrino-cooled accretion disks in neutron star mergers, including a realistic equation of state valid at low densities and temperatures, self-consistent evolution of the electron fraction, and neutrino cooling through an approximate leakage scheme. After initial magnetic field amplification by magnetic winding, we witness the vigorous onset of turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI). The disk quickly reaches a balance between heating from MRI-driven turbulence and neutrino cooling, which regulates the midplane electron fraction to a low equilibrium value Y_{e}≈0.1. Over the 380-ms duration of the simulation, we find that a fraction ≈20% of the initial torus mass is unbound in powerful outflows with asymptotic velocities v≈0.1c and electron fractions Y_{e}≈0.1-0.25. Postprocessing the outflows through a nuclear reaction network shows the production of a robust second- and third-peak r process. Though broadly consistent with the results of previous axisymmetric hydrodynamical simulations, extrapolation of our results to late times suggests that the total ejecta mass from GRMHD disks is significantly higher. Our results provide strong evidence that postmerger disk outflows are an important site for the r process.

Radio wave dissipation in turbulent auroral plasma during the precipitation of energetic electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishin, E.V.; Luk'ianova, L.N.; Makarenko, S.F.; Atamaniuk, B.M.

1992-01-01

The results of the theoretical analysis of anomalous (collisionless) radio wave absorption in the turbulent auroral ionosphere during the intrusion of energetic electrons (i.e., in aurorae) are presented. The implications of the plasma turbulent layer (PTL) theory are used. It is shown that the dissipation of radio waves with frequencies much higher than the plasma frequency is caused by the nonlinear (combined) scattering in turbulent plasma of the PTL. In the auroral electrojet layer the principal dissipative process for the radio waves with frequencies close to the plasma frequency is O-Z transformation on the field-aligned, small-scale density fluctuations. The typical dissipation decrements are estimated. 26 refs

Particle-in-cell simulations of electron transport from plasma turbulence: recent progress in gyrokinetic particle simulations of turbulent plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Z; Rewoldt, G; Ethier, S; Hahm, T S; Lee, W W; Lewandowski, J L V; Nishimura, Y; Wang, W X

2005-01-01

Recent progress in gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations of turbulent plasmas using the gyrokinetic toroidal code (GTC) is surveyed. In particular, recent results for electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes and their resulting transport are presented. Also, turbulence spreading, and the effects of the parallel nonlinearity, are described. The GTC code has also been generalized for non-circular plasma cross-section, and initial results are presented. In addition, two distinct methods of generalizing the GTC code to be electromagnetic are described, along with preliminary results. Finally, a related code, GTC-Neo, for calculating neoclassical fluxes, electric fields, and velocities, are described

A study of shock-associated magnetohydrodynamic waves in the solar wind

Science.gov (United States)

Spangler, Steven R.

1992-01-01

Three major topics were addressed, one theoretical and two observational. The topics were: (1) an attempt to understand the evolution of the large-amplitude magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in the foreshock, using a nonlinear wave equation called the Derivative Nonlinear Schrodinger equation (henceforth DNLS) as a model, (2) using the extensive set of ISE data to test for the presence of various nonlinear wave processes which might be present, and (3) a study of plasma turbulence in the interstellar medium which might be physically similar to that in the solar wind. For these investigations we used radioastronomical techniques. Good progress was made in each of these areas and a separate discussion of each is given.

THE DECAY OF A WEAK LARGE-SCALE MAGNETIC FIELD IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL TURBULENCE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondić, Todor; Hughes, David W.; Tobias, Steven M., E-mail: t.kondic@leeds.ac.uk [Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom)

2016-06-01

We investigate the decay of a large-scale magnetic field in the context of incompressible, two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. It is well established that a very weak mean field, of strength significantly below equipartition value, induces a small-scale field strong enough to inhibit the process of turbulent magnetic diffusion. In light of ever-increasing computer power, we revisit this problem to investigate fluids and magnetic Reynolds numbers that were previously inaccessible. Furthermore, by exploiting the relation between the turbulent diffusion of the magnetic potential and that of the magnetic field, we are able to calculate the turbulent magnetic diffusivity extremely accurately through the imposition of a uniform mean magnetic field. We confirm the strong dependence of the turbulent diffusivity on the product of the magnetic Reynolds number and the energy of the large-scale magnetic field. We compare our findings with various theoretical descriptions of this process.

The Solar Wind as a Turbulence Laboratory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Roberto

2005-09-01

Full Text Available In this review we will focus on a topic of fundamental importance for both plasma physics and astrophysics, namely the occurrence of large-amplitude low-frequency fluctuations of the fields that describe the plasma state. This subject will be treated within the context of the expanding solar wind and the most meaningful advances in this research field will be reported emphasizing the results obtained in the past decade or so. As a matter of fact, Ulysses’ high latitude observations and new numerical approaches to the problem, based on the dynamics of complex systems, brought new important insights which helped to better understand how turbulent fluctuations behave in the solar wind. In particular, numerical simulations within the realm of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD turbulence theory unraveled what kind of physical mechanisms are at the basis of turbulence generation and energy transfer across the spectral domain of the fluctuations. In other words, the advances reached in these past years in the investigation of solar wind turbulence now offer a rather complete picture of the phenomenological aspect of the problem to be tentatively presented in a rather organic way.

Magnetohydrodynamic calculations on pulsar magnetospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brinkmann, W.

1976-01-01

In this paper, the relativistic magnetohydrodynamic is presented in covariant form and applied to some problems in the field of pulsar magnetospheres. In addition, numerical methods to solve the resulting equations of motion are investigated. The theory of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic presented here is valid in the framework of the theory of general relativity, describing the interaction of electromagnetic fields with an ideal fluid. In the two-dimensional case, a Lax-Wendroff method is studied which should be optimally stable with the operator splitting of Strang. In the framework of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic also the model of a stationary aequatorial stellar pulsar wind as well as the parallel rotator is investigated. (orig.) [de

Phenomenological modeling of turbulence in Z-pinch implosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornhill, J.W.; Whitney, K.G.; Deeney, C.; LePell, P.D.

1994-01-01

A phenomenological investigation into the effects of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence on the initial stagnation dynamics of aluminum wire array and argon gas puff Z-pinch implosions is performed. The increases that turbulence produces in the plasma viscosity, heat conductivity, and electrical resistivity are modeled by using multipliers for these quantities in one-dimensional (1-D) MHD calculations. The major effect of these increases is to soften the 1-D implosions by decreasing the densities that are achieved on axis at stagnation. As a consequence, a set of multipliers can be found that reasonably duplicates the average electron temperatures, ion densities, and mass of the K-shell emission region that were measured at stagnation for a variety of Physics International aluminum wire array and argon gas puff experiments. It is determined that the dependence of these measured quantities on the multipliers is weak once a level of enhancement is reached, where agreement between calculations and experiments is attained. The scaling of K-shell yield with load mass for a fixed implosion velocity is then reexamined, and the minimum load mass needed to efficiently produce K-shell emission by thermalization of kinetic energy is calculated for aluminum and argon using this phenomenological soft implosion modeling. The results show an upward shift in the minimum mass by a factor of 6 when compared to the original nonturbulent hard implosion calculations

Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of Electron Vortex Magnetic Hole in the Turbulent Magnetosheath Plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, S. Y.; Yuan, Z. G.; Wang, D. D.; Yu, X. D. [School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan (China); Sahraoui, F.; Contel, O. Le [Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique-UPMC, Palaiseau (France); He, J. S. [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing (China); Zhao, J. S. [Key Laboratory of Planetary Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing (China); Deng, X. H.; Pang, Y.; Li, H. M. [Institute of Space Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang (China); Zhou, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Fu, H. S.; Yang, J. [School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing (China); Shi, Q. Q. [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai (China); Lavraud, B. [Institut de Recherche and Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse (UPS), Toulouse (France); Pollock, C. J.; Giles, B. L. [NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States); Torbert, R. B. [University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States); Russell, C. T., E-mail: shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cn [Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); and others

2017-02-20

We report on the observations of an electron vortex magnetic hole corresponding to a new type of coherent structure in the turbulent magnetosheath plasma using the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission data. The magnetic hole is characterized by a magnetic depression, a density peak, a total electron temperature increase (with a parallel temperature decrease but a perpendicular temperature increase), and strong currents carried by the electrons. The current has a dip in the core region and a peak in the outer region of the magnetic hole. The estimated size of the magnetic hole is about 0.23 ρ {sub i} (∼30 ρ {sub e}) in the quasi-circular cross-section perpendicular to its axis, where ρ {sub i} and ρ {sub e} are respectively the proton and electron gyroradius. There are no clear enhancements seen in high-energy electron fluxes. However, there is an enhancement in the perpendicular electron fluxes at 90° pitch angle inside the magnetic hole, implying that the electrons are trapped within it. The variations of the electron velocity components V {sub em} and V {sub en} suggest that an electron vortex is formed by trapping electrons inside the magnetic hole in the cross-section in the M – N plane. These observations demonstrate the existence of a new type of coherent structures behaving as an electron vortex magnetic hole in turbulent space plasmas as predicted by recent kinetic simulations.

Elements of magnetohydrodynamic stability theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spies, G.O.

1976-11-01

The nonlinear equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics are discussed along with the following topics: (1) static equilibrium, (2) strict linear theory, (3) stability of a system with one degree of freedom, (4) spectrum and variational principles in magnetohydrodynamics, (5) elementary proof of the modified energy principle, (6) sufficient stability criteria, (7) local stability, and (8) normal modes

Relativistic conformal magneto-hydrodynamics from holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchbinder, Evgeny I.; Buchel, Alex

2009-01-01

We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to study first-order relativistic viscous magneto-hydrodynamics of (2+1)-dimensional conformal magnetic fluids. It is shown that the first order magneto-hydrodynamics constructed following Landau and Lifshitz from the positivity of the entropy production is inconsistent. We propose additional contributions to the entropy motivated dissipative current and, correspondingly, new dissipative transport coefficients. We use the strongly coupled M2-brane plasma in external magnetic field to show that the new magneto-hydrodynamics leads to self-consistent results in the shear and sound wave channels.

Turbulent current drive mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

McDevitt, Christopher J.; Tang, Xian-Zhu; Guo, Zehua

2017-08-01

Mechanisms through which plasma microturbulence can drive a mean electron plasma current are derived. The efficiency through which these turbulent contributions can drive deviations from neoclassical predictions of the electron current profile is computed by employing a linearized Coulomb collision operator. It is found that a non-diffusive contribution to the electron momentum flux as well as an anomalous electron-ion momentum exchange term provide the most efficient means through which turbulence can modify the mean electron current for the cases considered. Such turbulent contributions appear as an effective EMF within Ohm's law and hence provide an ideal means for driving deviations from neoclassical predictions.

Properties of Hall magnetohydrodynamic waves modified by electron inertia and finite Larmor radius effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damiano, P. A.; Wright, A. N.; McKenzie, J. F.

2009-01-01

The linear wave equation (sixth order in space and time) and the corresponding dispersion relation is derived for Hall magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves including electron inertial and finite Larmor radius effects together with several limiting cases for a homogeneous plasma. We contrast these limits with the solution of the full dispersion relation in terms of wave normal (k perpendicular ,k || ) diagrams to clearly illustrate the range of applicability of the individual approximations. We analyze the solutions in terms of all three MHD wave modes (fast, slow, and Alfven), with particular attention given to how the Alfven branch (including the cold ideal field line resonance (FLR) [D. J. Southwood, Planet. Space Sci. 22, 483 (1974)]) is modified by the Hall term and electron inertial and finite Larmor radius effects. The inclusion of these terms breaks the degeneracy of the Alfven branch in the cold plasma limit and displaces the asymptote position for the FLR to a line defined by the electron thermal speed rather than the Alfven speed. For a driven system, the break in this degeneracy implies that a resonance would form at one field line for small k perpendicular and then shift to another as k perpendicular →∞. However for very large ωk perpendicular /V A , Hall term effects lead to a coupling to the whistler mode, which would then transport energy away from the resonant layer. The inclusion of the Hall term also significantly effects the characteristics of the slow mode. This analysis reveals an interesting 'swapping' of the perpendicular root behavior between the slow and Alfven branches.

MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC EQUATIONS (MHD GENERATION CODE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Frutos Alfaro

2017-04-01

Full Text Available A program to generate codes in Fortran and C of the full magnetohydrodynamic equations is shown. The program uses the free computer algebra system software REDUCE. This software has a package called EXCALC, which is an exterior calculus program. The advantage of this program is that it can be modified to include another complex metric or spacetime. The output of this program is modified by means of a LINUX script which creates a new REDUCE program to manipulate the magnetohydrodynamic equations to obtain a code that can be used as a seed for a magnetohydrodynamic code for numerical applications. As an example, we present part of the output of our programs for Cartesian coordinates and how to do the discretization.

Benchmarking and scaling studies of pseudospectral code Tarang for turbulence simulations

KAUST Repository

VERMA, MAHENDRA K

2013-09-21

Tarang is a general-purpose pseudospectral parallel code for simulating flows involving fluids, magnetohydrodynamics, and Rayleigh–Bénard convection in turbulence and instability regimes. In this paper we present code validation and benchmarking results of Tarang. We performed our simulations on 10243, 20483, and 40963 grids using the HPC system of IIT Kanpur and Shaheen of KAUST. We observe good ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ scaling for Tarang on these systems.

Benchmarking and scaling studies of pseudospectral code Tarang for turbulence simulations

KAUST Repository

VERMA, MAHENDRA K; CHATTERJEE, ANANDO; REDDY, K SANDEEP; YADAV, RAKESH K; PAUL, SUPRIYO; CHANDRA, MANI; Samtaney, Ravi

2013-01-01

Tarang is a general-purpose pseudospectral parallel code for simulating flows involving fluids, magnetohydrodynamics, and Rayleigh–Bénard convection in turbulence and instability regimes. In this paper we present code validation and benchmarking results of Tarang. We performed our simulations on 10243, 20483, and 40963 grids using the HPC system of IIT Kanpur and Shaheen of KAUST. We observe good ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ scaling for Tarang on these systems.

Electron acceleration by wave turbulence in a magnetized plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Rigby, A.; Cruz, F.; Albertazzi, B.; Bamford, R.; Bell, A. R.; Cross, J. E.; Fraschetti, F.; Graham, P.; Hara, Y.; Kozlowski, P. M.; Kuramitsu, Y.; Lamb, D. Q.; Lebedev, S.; Marques, J. R.; Miniati, F.; Morita, T.; Oliver, M.; Reville, B.; Sakawa, Y.; Sarkar, S.; Spindloe, C.; Trines, R.; Tzeferacos, P.; Silva, L. O.; Bingham, R.; Koenig, M.; Gregori, G.

2018-05-01

Astrophysical shocks are commonly revealed by the non-thermal emission of energetic electrons accelerated in situ1-3. Strong shocks are expected to accelerate particles to very high energies4-6; however, they require a source of particles with velocities fast enough to permit multiple shock crossings. While the resulting diffusive shock acceleration4 process can account for observations, the kinetic physics regulating the continuous injection of non-thermal particles is not well understood. Indeed, this injection problem is particularly acute for electrons, which rely on high-frequency plasma fluctuations to raise them above the thermal pool7,8. Here we show, using laboratory laser-produced shock experiments, that, in the presence of a strong magnetic field, significant electron pre-heating is achieved. We demonstrate that the key mechanism in producing these energetic electrons is through the generation of lower-hybrid turbulence via shock-reflected ions. Our experimental results are analogous to many astrophysical systems, including the interaction of a comet with the solar wind9, a setting where electron acceleration via lower-hybrid waves is possible.

Nonneutralized charge effects on tokamak edge magnetohydrodynamic stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Linjin; Horton, W.; Miura, H.; Shi, T.H.; Wang, H.Q.

2016-01-01

Owing to the large ion orbits, excessive electrons can accumulate at tokamak edge. We find that the nonneutralized electrons at tokamak edge can contribute an electric compressive stress in the direction parallel to magnetic field by their mutual repulsive force. By extending the Chew–Goldburger–Low theory (Chew et al., 1956 [13]), it is shown that this newly recognized compressive stress can significantly change the plasma average magnetic well, so that a stabilization of magnetohydrodynamic modes in the pedestal can result. This linear stability regime helps to explain why in certain parameter regimes the tokamak high confinement can be rather quiet as observed experimentally.

Magnetohydrodynamic electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The object of the invention is the provision of a material capable of withstanding a high-temperature, corrosive and erosive environment for use as a ceramic-metal composite electrode current collector in the channel of a magnetohydrodynamic generator. (U.K.)

The Solar Wind as a Turbulence Laboratory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincenzo Carbone

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In this review we will focus on a topic of fundamental importance for both astrophysics and plasma physics, namely the occurrence of large-amplitude low-frequency fluctuations of the fields that describe the plasma state. This subject will be treated within the context of the expanding solar wind and the most meaningful advances in this research field will be reported emphasizing the results obtained in the past decade or so. As a matter of fact, Helios inner heliosphere and Ulysses' high latitude observations, recent multi-spacecrafts measurements in the solar wind (Cluster four satellites and new numerical approaches to the problem, based on the dynamics of complex systems, brought new important insights which helped to better understand how turbulent fluctuations behave in the solar wind. In particular, numerical simulations within the realm of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD turbulence theory unraveled what kind of physical mechanisms are at the basis of turbulence generation and energy transfer across the spectral domain of the fluctuations. In other words, the advances reached in these past years in the investigation of solar wind turbulence now offer a rather complete picture of the phenomenological aspect of the problem to be tentatively presented in a rather organic way.

Limits on the ions temperature anisotropy in turbulent intracluster medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos-Lima, R. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Potsdam Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik und Astronomie; Univ. de Sao Paulo (Brazil). Inst. de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas; Yan, H. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Potsdam Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik und Astronomie; Gouveia Dal Pino, E.M. de [Univ. de Sao Paulo (Brazil). Inst. de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas; Lazarian, A. [Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Astronomy

2016-05-15

Turbulence in the weakly collisional intracluster medium of galaxies (ICM) is able to generate strong thermal velocity anisotropies in the ions (with respect to the local magnetic field direction), if the magnetic moment of the particles is conserved in the absence of Coulomb collisions. In this scenario, the anisotropic pressure magnetohydrodynamic (AMHD) turbulence shows a very different statistical behaviour from the standard MHD one and is unable to amplify seed magnetic fields, in disagreement with previous cosmological MHD simulations which are successful to explain the observed magnetic fields in the ICM. On the other hand, temperature anisotropies can also drive plasma instabilities which can relax the anisotropy. This work aims to compare the relaxation rate with the growth rate of the anisotropies driven by the turbulence. We employ quasilinear theory to estimate the ions scattering rate due to the parallel firehose, mirror, and ion-cyclotron instabilities, for a set of plasma parameters resulting from AMHD simulations of the turbulent ICM. We show that the ICM turbulence can sustain only anisotropy levels very close to the instabilities thresholds. We argue that the AMHD model which bounds the anisotropies at the marginal stability levels can describe the Alfvenic turbulence cascade in the ICM.

Numerical simulations of the decay of primordial magnetic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahniashvili, Tina; Brandenburg, Axel; Tevzadze, Alexander G.; Ratra, Bharat

2010-01-01

We perform direct numerical simulations of forced and freely decaying 3D magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in order to model magnetic field evolution during cosmological phase transitions in the early Universe. Our approach assumes the existence of a magnetic field generated either by a process during inflation or shortly thereafter, or by bubble collisions during a phase transition. We show that the final configuration of the magnetic field depends on the initial conditions, while the velocity field is nearly independent of initial conditions.

Relativistic magnetohydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hernandez, Juan; Kovtun, Pavel [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria,Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2 (Canada)

2017-05-02

We present the equations of relativistic hydrodynamics coupled to dynamical electromagnetic fields, including the effects of polarization, electric fields, and the derivative expansion. We enumerate the transport coefficients at leading order in derivatives, including electrical conductivities, viscosities, and thermodynamic coefficients. We find the constraints on transport coefficients due to the positivity of entropy production, and derive the corresponding Kubo formulas. For the neutral state in a magnetic field, small fluctuations include Alfvén waves, magnetosonic waves, and the dissipative modes. For the state with a non-zero dynamical charge density in a magnetic field, plasma oscillations gap out all propagating modes, except for Alfvén-like waves with a quadratic dispersion relation. We relate the transport coefficients in the “conventional” magnetohydrodynamics (formulated using Maxwell’s equations in matter) to those in the “dual” version of magnetohydrodynamics (formulated using the conserved magnetic flux).

THE EFFECTS OF ELECTRON-BEAM-INDUCED ELECTRIC FIELD ON THE GENERATION OF LANGMUIR TURBULENCE IN FLARING ATMOSPHERES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zharkova, Valentina V.; Siversky, Taras V.

2011-01-01

The precipitation of an electron beam injected into the solar atmosphere is studied for the generation of Langmuir wave turbulence in the presence of collisional and Ohmic losses. The system of quasi-linear time-dependent kinetic equations describing the evolution of beams and Langmuir waves is solved by using the summary approximation method. It is found that at upper atmospheric levels the self-induced electric field suppresses the generation of Langmuir turbulence to very small regions below injection. With further precipitation into deeper atmosphere the initial single power-law distributions of beam electrons are transformed into energy distributions with maxima at lower energies formed by collisional and Ohmic energy depletion. The electrons with lower energies (<20 keV) generate on large spatial scales intense low-hybrid and high-hybrid Langmuir waves with well-defined patterns in the corona while higher energy electrons generate moderate low-hybrid waves in the chromosphere. The maximum wave density appears at the maximum of the ambient density. The self-induced electric field reduces the level and makes the regions with low-hybrid Langmuir turbulence narrower in the corona and upper chromosphere. The higher the beam energy flux or its self-induced electric field, the narrower the regions with Langmuir turbulence. High-hybrid Langmuir waves in the form of multiple patterns in space (in the corona) and energy (below 20 keV) are found to be generated only by a very intense electron beam. The number of patterns in both dimensions is also shown to be significantly reduced by the self-induced electric field.

Turbulence and transport during electron cyclotron heating in the DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhodes, T.L.; Peebles, W.A.; DeBoo, J.C.; Prater, R.; Kinsey, J.E.; de Grassie, J.S.; Bravenec, R.V.; Burrell, K.H.; Lohr, J.; Petty, C.C.; Nguyen, X.V.; Doyle, E.J.; Greenfield, C.M.; Zeng, L.; Zeeland, M.A.; Wang, G.; Makowski, M.A.; Staebler, G.M.; St John, H.E.; Solomon, W.M.

2007-01-01

The response of plasma parameters and broad wavenumber turbulence (1--40 cm -1 , kρ s = 0.1--8) to auxiliary electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is reported on. In these plasmas the electron temperature responds most strongly to the ECH while the electron density and ion temperature are kept approximately constant. Thermal fluxes and diffusivities increase appreciably with ECH for both electron and ion channels. Significant changes to the density fluctuations over the full range of measured wavenumbers are observed. This range of wavenumbers encompasses that typically associated with ion temperature gradient, trapped electron mode, and electron temperature gradient modes. Changes in linear growth rates calculated using a gyrokinetic code show consistency with observed fluctuation increases over the whole range of wavenumbers.

Rapid plasma heating by collective interactions, using strong turbulence and relativistic electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wharton, C.B.

1977-01-01

A multi-kilovolt, moderate density plasma was generated in a magnetic mirror confinement system by two methods: turbulent heating and relativistic electron beam. Extensive diagnostic development permitted the measurement of important plasma characteristics, leading to interesting and novel conclusions regarding heating and loss mechanisms. Electron and ion heating mechanisms were categorized, and parameter studies made to establish ranges of importance. Nonthermal ion and electron energy distributions were measured. Beam propagation and energy deposition studies yielded the spatial dependence of plasma heating

The impact of pedestal turbulence and electron inertia on edge-localized-mode crashes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi, P. W. [FSC and State Key Lab of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Department of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Xu, X. Q. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Diamond, P. H. [WCI Center for Fusion Theory, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences and Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0429 (United States)

2014-05-15

We demonstrate that the occurrence of Edge-Localized-Modes (ELM) crashes does not depend only on the linear peeling-ballooning threshold, but also relies on nonlinear processes. Wave-wave interaction constrains the growth time of a mode, thus inducing a shift in the criterion for triggering an ELM crash. An ELM crash requires the P-B growth rate to exceed a critical value γ>γ{sub c}, where γ{sub c} is set by 1/τ{sup ¯}{sub c}, and τ{sup ¯}{sub c} is the averaged mode phase coherence time. For 0<γ<γ{sub c}, P-B turbulence develops but drives enhanced turbulent transport. We also show that electron inertia dramatically changes the instability threshold when density is low. However, P-B turbulence alone cannot generate enough current transport to allow fast reconnection during an ELM crash.

Turbulence-driven anisotropic electron tail generation during magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

DuBois, A. M.; Scherer, A.; Almagri, A. F.; Anderson, J. K.; Pandya, M. D.; Sarff, J. S.

2018-05-01

Magnetic reconnection (MR) plays an important role in particle transport, energization, and acceleration in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. In the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch, discrete MR events release large amounts of energy from the equilibrium magnetic field, a fraction of which is transferred to electrons and ions. Previous experiments revealed an anisotropic electron tail that favors the perpendicular direction and is symmetric in the parallel. New profile measurements of x-ray emission show that the tail distribution is localized near the magnetic axis, consistent modeling of the bremsstrahlung emission. The tail appears first near the magnetic axis and then spreads radially, and the dynamics in the anisotropy and diffusion are discussed. The data presented imply that the electron tail formation likely results from a turbulent wave-particle interaction and provides evidence that high energy electrons are escaping the core-localized region through pitch angle scattering into the parallel direction, followed by stochastic parallel transport to the plasma edge. New measurements also show a strong correlation between high energy x-ray measurements and tearing mode dynamics, suggesting that the coupling between core and edge tearing modes is essential for energetic electron tail formation.

Planck intermediate results. XX. Comparison of polarized thermal emission from Galactic dust with simulations of MHD turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cardoso, J. F.; Delabrouille, J.; Ganga, K.

2015-01-01

with the local spatial coherence of the polarization angle. These observations are compared to polarized emission maps computed in simulations of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamical turbulence in which we assume a uniform intrinsic polarization fraction of the dust grains. We find that an estimate...... of these numerical models. In summary, we find that the turbulent structure of the magnetic field is able to reproduce the main statistical properties of the dust polarization as observed in a variety of nearby clouds, dense cores excluded, and that the large-scale field orientation with respect to the line of sight...

Energy Cascade Rate in Compressible Fast and Slow Solar Wind Turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadid, L. Z.; Sahraoui, F.; Galtier, S., E-mail: lina.hadid@lpp.polytechnique.fr [LPP, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Univ. Paris-Sud, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Universités, PSL Research University, F-91128 Palaiseau (France)

2017-03-20

Estimation of the energy cascade rate in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence has been done so far mostly within incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) theory. Here, we go beyond that approximation to include plasma compressibility using a reduced form of a recently derived exact law for compressible, isothermal MHD turbulence. Using in situ data from the THEMIS / ARTEMIS spacecraft in the fast and slow solar wind, we investigate in detail the role of the compressible fluctuations in modifying the energy cascade rate with respect to the prediction of the incompressible MHD model. In particular, we found that the energy cascade rate (1) is amplified particularly in the slow solar wind; (2) exhibits weaker fluctuations in spatial scales, which leads to a broader inertial range than the previous reported ones; (3) has a power-law scaling with the turbulent Mach number; (4) has a lower level of spatial anisotropy. Other features of solar wind turbulence are discussed along with their comparison with previous studies that used incompressible or heuristic (nonexact) compressible MHD models.

Energy Cascade Rate in Compressible Fast and Slow Solar Wind Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadid, L. Z.; Sahraoui, F.; Galtier, S.

2017-01-01

Estimation of the energy cascade rate in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence has been done so far mostly within incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) theory. Here, we go beyond that approximation to include plasma compressibility using a reduced form of a recently derived exact law for compressible, isothermal MHD turbulence. Using in situ data from the THEMIS / ARTEMIS spacecraft in the fast and slow solar wind, we investigate in detail the role of the compressible fluctuations in modifying the energy cascade rate with respect to the prediction of the incompressible MHD model. In particular, we found that the energy cascade rate (1) is amplified particularly in the slow solar wind; (2) exhibits weaker fluctuations in spatial scales, which leads to a broader inertial range than the previous reported ones; (3) has a power-law scaling with the turbulent Mach number; (4) has a lower level of spatial anisotropy. Other features of solar wind turbulence are discussed along with their comparison with previous studies that used incompressible or heuristic (nonexact) compressible MHD models.

Tokamak electron heat transport by direct numerical simulation of small scale turbulence; Transport de chaleur electronique dans un tokamak par simulation numerique directe d'une turbulence de petite echelle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labit, B

2002-10-01

In a fusion machine, understanding plasma turbulence, which causes a degradation of the measured energy confinement time, would constitute a major progress in this field. In tokamaks, the measured ion and electron thermal conductivities are of comparable magnitude. The possible sources of turbulence are the temperature and density gradients occurring in a fusion plasma. Whereas the heat losses in the ion channel are reasonably well understood, the origin of the electron losses is more uncertain. In addition to the radial velocity associated to the fluctuations of the electric field, electrons are more affected than ions by the magnetic field fluctuations. In experiments, the confinement time can be conveniently expressed in terms of dimensionless parameters. Although still somewhat too imprecise, these scaling laws exhibit strong dependencies on the normalized pressure {beta} or the normalized Larmor radius, {rho}{sub *}. The present thesis assesses whether a tridimensional, electromagnetic, nonlinear fluid model of plasma turbulence driven by a specific instability can reproduce the dependence of the experimental electron heat losses on the dimensionless parameters {beta} and {rho}{sub *}. The investigated interchange instability is the Electron Temperature Gradient driven one (ETG). The model is built by using the set of Braginskii equations. The developed simulation code is global in the sense that a fixed heat flux is imposed at the inner boundary, leaving the gradients free to evolve. From the nonlinear simulations, we have put in light three characteristics for the ETG turbulence: the turbulent transport is essentially electrostatic; the potential and pressure fluctuations form radially elongated cells called streamers; the transport level is very low compared to the experimental values. The thermal transport dependence study has shown a very small role of the normalized pressure, which is in contradiction with the Ohkama's formula. On the other hand

The Magnetohydrodynamic Generator A Physics Olympiad Problem

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The Magnetohydrodynamic Generator A Physics Olympiad Problem (2001). Vijay A Singh ... Magnetohydrodynamics; generator; power; efficiency; Faraday's law; Physics Olympiad . Author Affiliations. Vijay A Singh1 Manish Kapoor2. Physics Department Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur 208016, India. MPE College ...

Prompt acceleration of ions by oblique turbulent shocks in solar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, R. B.; Vlahos, L.

1985-01-01

Solar flares often accelerate ions and electrons to relativistic energies. The details of the acceleration process are not well understood, but until recently the main trend was to divide the acceleration process into two phases. During the first phase elctrons and ions are heated and accelerated up to several hundreds of keV simultaneously with the energy release. These mildly relativistic electrons interact with the ambient plasma and magnetic fields and generate hard X-ray and radio radiation. The second phase, usually delayed from the first by several minutes, is responsible for accelerating ions and electrons to relativistic energies. Relativistic electrons and ions interact with the solar atmosphere or escape from the Sun and generate gamma ray continuum, gamma ray line emission, neutron emission or are detected in space by spacecraft. In several flares the second phase is coincident with the start of a type 2 radio burst that is believed to be the signature of a shock wave. Observations from the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft have shown, for the first time, that several flares accelerate particles to all energies nearly simultaneously. These results posed a new theoretical problem: How fast are shocks and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence formed and how quickly can they accelerate ions to 50 MeV in the lower corona? This problem is discussed.

Prompt acceleration of ions by oblique turbulent shocks in solar flares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decker, R.B.; Vlahos, L.

1985-01-01

Solar flares often accelerate ions and electrons to relativistic energies. The details of the acceleration process are not well understood, but until recently the main trend was to divide the acceleration process into two phases. During the first phase elctrons and ions are heated and accelerated up to several hundreds of keV simultaneously with the energy release. These mildly relativistic electrons interact with the ambient plasma and magnetic fields and generate hard x-ray and radio radiation. The second phase, usually delayed from the first by several minutes, is responsible for accelerating ions and electrons to relativistic energies. Relativistic electrons and ions interact with the solar atmosphere or escape from the Sun and generate gamma ray continuum, gamma ray line emission, neutron emission or are detected in space by spacecraft. In several flares the second phase is coincident with the start of a type 2 radio burst that is believed to be the signature of a shock wave. Observations from the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft have shown, for the first time, that several flares accelerate particles to all energies nearly simultaneously. These results posed a new theoretical problem: How fast are shocks and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence formed and how quickly can they accelerate ions to 50 MeV in the lower corona. This problem is discussed

Disappearance of Anisotropic Intermittency in Large-amplitude MHD Turbulence and Its Comparison with Small-amplitude MHD Turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Liping; Zhang, Lei; He, Jiansen; Tu, Chuanyi; Li, Shengtai; Wang, Xin; Wang, Linghua

2018-03-01

Multi-order structure functions in the solar wind are reported to display a monofractal scaling when sampled parallel to the local magnetic field and a multifractal scaling when measured perpendicularly. Whether and to what extent will the scaling anisotropy be weakened by the enhancement of turbulence amplitude relative to the background magnetic strength? In this study, based on two runs of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence simulation with different relative levels of turbulence amplitude, we investigate and compare the scaling of multi-order magnetic structure functions and magnetic probability distribution functions (PDFs) as well as their dependence on the direction of the local field. The numerical results show that for the case of large-amplitude MHD turbulence, the multi-order structure functions display a multifractal scaling at all angles to the local magnetic field, with PDFs deviating significantly from the Gaussian distribution and a flatness larger than 3 at all angles. In contrast, for the case of small-amplitude MHD turbulence, the multi-order structure functions and PDFs have different features in the quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular directions: a monofractal scaling and Gaussian-like distribution in the former, and a conversion of a monofractal scaling and Gaussian-like distribution into a multifractal scaling and non-Gaussian tail distribution in the latter. These results hint that when intermittencies are abundant and intense, the multifractal scaling in the structure functions can appear even if it is in the quasi-parallel direction; otherwise, the monofractal scaling in the structure functions remains even if it is in the quasi-perpendicular direction.

Turbulence and transport of passive scalar in magnetohydrodynamic channel flows with different orientations of magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dey, Prasanta K.; Zikanov, Oleg

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Turbulent passive scalar transport in an MHD flow in a channel is studied using DNS. ► Magnetic fields of wall-normal, spanwise, and streamwise orientations are considered. ► Magnetic fields suppress turbulent transport and modifies scalar distribution. ► The effect is particularly strong at wall-normal and spanwise magnetic fields. ► Decrease of Nusselt number is approximated by a linear function of magnetic interaction parameter. - Abstract: DNS of turbulent flow and passive scalar transport in a channel are conducted for the situation when the fluid is electrically conducting (for example, a liquid metal) and the flow is affected by an imposed magnetic field. The cases of wall-normal, spanwise, and streamwise orientation of the magnetic field are considered. As main results, we find that the magnetic fields, especially those in the wall-normal and spanwise directions, significantly reduce the turbulent scalar transport and modify the properties of the scalar distribution.

Magnetohydrodynamic cellular automata

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, David; Doolen, Gary D.

1987-01-01

A generalization of the hexagonal lattice gas model of Frisch, Hasslacher and Pomeau is shown to lead to two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics. The method relies on the ideal point-wise conservation law for vector potential.

Filamentary magnetohydrodynamic plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinney, R.; Tajima, T.; McWilliams, J.C.; Petviashvili, N.

1994-01-01

A filamentary construct of magnetohydrodynamical plasma dynamics based on the Elsaesser variables is developed. This approach is modeled after discrete vortex models of hydrodynamical turbulence, which cannot be expected in general to produce results identical to those based on a Fourier decomposition of the fields. In a highly intermittent plasma, the induction force is small compared to the convective motion, and when this force is neglected, the plasma vortex system is described by a Hamiltonian. A statistical treatment of a collection of discrete current-vorticity concentrations is given. Canonical and microcanonical statistical calculations show that both the vorticity and the current spectra are peaked at long wavelengths, and the expected states revert to known hydrodynamical states as the magnetic field vanishes. These results differ from previous Fourier-based statistical theories, but it is found that when the filament calculation is expanded to include the inductive force, the results approach the Fourier equilibria in the low-temperature limit, and the previous Hamiltonian plasma vortex results in the high-temperature limit. Numerical simulations of a large number of filaments are carried out and support the theory. A three-dimensional vortex model is presented as well, which is also Hamiltonian when the inductive force is neglected. A statistical calculation in the canonical ensemble and numerical simulations show that a nonzero large-scale magnetic field is statistically favored, and that the preferred shape of this field is a long, thin tube of flux. Possible applications to a variety of physical phenomena are suggested

Development of the numerical method for liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics (I). Investigation of the method and development of the 2D method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohira, H.; Ara, K.

2002-11-01

Advanced electromagnetic components are investigated in Feasibility Studies on Commercialized FR Cycle System to apply to the main cooling systems of Liquid Metal Fast Reactor. Although a lot of experiments and numerical analysis were carried out on both high Reynolds numbers and high magnetic Reynolds numbers, the complex phenomena could not be evaluated in detail. As the first step of the development of the numerical methods for the liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics, we investigated numerical methods that could be applied to the electromagnetic components with both complex structures and high magnetic turbulent field. As a result, we selected GSMAC (Generalized-Simplified MArker and Cell) method for calculating the liquid metal fluid dynamics because it could be easily applied to the complex flow field. We also selected the vector-FEM for calculating the magnetic field of the large components because the method had no interaction procedure. In the high magnetic turbulent field, the dynamic-SGS models would be also a promising model for the good estimation, because it could calculate the field directly without any experimental constant. In order to verify the GSMAC and the vector-FEM, we developed the 2D numerical models and calculated the magnetohydrodynamics in the large electromagnetic pump. It was estimated from these results that the methods were basically reasonable, because the calculated pressure differences had the similar tendencies to the experimental ones. (author)

Observation of the skin-like profiles of electron temperature and density of turbulently heated plasmas in the TRIAM-1 tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiraki, Naoji; Nakamura, Kazuo; Toi, Kazuo; Itoh, Satoshi

1980-01-01

The time evolution of electron temperature and density profiles are measured on the turbulent heating experiment in the TRIAM-1 tokamak. The skin-like profiles of electron temperature and density are observed just after the application of the pulsed electric field for turbulent heating. The width of the skin layer of the electron temperature profile is about 1 cm, and agrees well with the theoretical value. The above mentioned skin heating of electrons just after the heating pulse is also spectroscopically confirmed by the remarkable decrease of the volume emission of visible lines which is localized at the outer plasma region. (author)

Observation of the skin-like profiles of electron temperature and density of turbulently heated plasmas in the TRIAM-1 tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiraki, N; Nakamura, K; Toi, K; Itoh, S [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Research Inst. for Applied Mechanics

1980-07-01

The time evolution of electron temperature and density profiles are measured on the turbulent heating experiment in the TRIAM-1 tokamak. The skin-like profiles of electron temperature and density are observed just after the application of the pulsed electric field for turbulent heating. The width of the skin layer of the electron temperature profile is about 1 cm, and agrees well with the theoretical value. The above mentioned skin heating of electrons just after the heating pulse is also spectroscopically confirmed by the remarkable decrease of the volume emission of visible lines which is localized at the outer plasma region.

Transport of solar electrons in the turbulent interplanetary magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ablaßmayer, J.; Tautz, R. C., E-mail: robert.c.tautz@gmail.com [Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, D-10623 Berlin (Germany); Dresing, N., E-mail: dresing@physik.uni-kiel.de [Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Leibnizstraße 11, D-24118 Kiel (Germany)

2016-01-15

The turbulent transport of solar energetic electrons in the interplanetary magnetic field is investigated by means of a test-particle Monte-Carlo simulation. The magnetic fields are modeled as a combination of the Parker field and a turbulent component. In combination with the direct calculation of diffusion coefficients via the mean-square displacements, this approach allows one to analyze the effect of the initial ballistic transport phase. In that sense, the model complements the main other approach in which a transport equation is solved. The major advancement is that, by recording the flux of particles arriving at virtual detectors, intensity and anisotropy-time profiles can be obtained. Observational indications for a longitudinal asymmetry can thus be explained by tracing the diffusive spread of the particle distribution. The approach may be of future help for the systematic interpretation of observations for instance by the solar terrestrial relations observatory (STEREO) and advanced composition explorer (ACE) spacecrafts.

Schlieren Technique Applied to Magnetohydrodynamic Generator Plasma Torch

Science.gov (United States)

Chopra, Nirbhav; Pearcy, Jacob; Jaworski, Michael

2017-10-01

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generators are a promising augmentation to current hydrocarbon based combustion schemes for creating electrical power. In recent years, interest in MHD generators has been revitalized due to advances in a number of technologies such as superconducting magnets, solid-state power electronics and materials science as well as changing economics associated with carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration. We use a multi-wavelength schlieren imaging system to evaluate electron density independently of gas density in a plasma torch under conditions relevant to MHD generators. The sensitivity and resolution of the optical system are evaluated alongside the development of an automated analysis and calibration program in Python. Preliminary analysis shows spatial resolutions less than 1mm and measures an electron density of ne = 1 ×1016 cm-3 in an atmospheric microwave torch. Work supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

THE EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT GYRO-SCALE SLAB TURBULENCE ON PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR COSMIC-RAY TRANSPORT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Roux, J. A.

2011-01-01

Earlier work based on nonlinear guiding center (NLGC) theory suggested that perpendicular cosmic-ray transport is diffusive when cosmic rays encounter random three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence dominated by uniform two-dimensional (2D) turbulence with a minor uniform slab turbulence component. In this approach large-scale perpendicular cosmic-ray transport is due to cosmic rays microscopically diffusing along the meandering magnetic field dominated by 2D turbulence because of gyroresonant interactions with slab turbulence. However, turbulence in the solar wind is intermittent and it has been suggested that intermittent turbulence might be responsible for the observation of 'dropout' events in solar energetic particle fluxes on small scales. In a previous paper le Roux et al. suggested, using NLGC theory as a basis, that if gyro-scale slab turbulence is intermittent, large-scale perpendicular cosmic-ray transport in weak uniform 2D turbulence will be superdiffusive or subdiffusive depending on the statistical characteristics of the intermittent slab turbulence. In this paper we expand and refine our previous work further by investigating how both parallel and perpendicular transport are affected by intermittent slab turbulence for weak as well as strong uniform 2D turbulence. The main new finding is that both parallel and perpendicular transport are the net effect of an interplay between diffusive and nondiffusive (superdiffusive or subdiffusive) transport effects as a consequence of this intermittency.

THE EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT GYRO-SCALE SLAB TURBULENCE ON PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR COSMIC-RAY TRANSPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le Roux, J. A. [Department of Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)

2011-12-10

Earlier work based on nonlinear guiding center (NLGC) theory suggested that perpendicular cosmic-ray transport is diffusive when cosmic rays encounter random three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence dominated by uniform two-dimensional (2D) turbulence with a minor uniform slab turbulence component. In this approach large-scale perpendicular cosmic-ray transport is due to cosmic rays microscopically diffusing along the meandering magnetic field dominated by 2D turbulence because of gyroresonant interactions with slab turbulence. However, turbulence in the solar wind is intermittent and it has been suggested that intermittent turbulence might be responsible for the observation of 'dropout' events in solar energetic particle fluxes on small scales. In a previous paper le Roux et al. suggested, using NLGC theory as a basis, that if gyro-scale slab turbulence is intermittent, large-scale perpendicular cosmic-ray transport in weak uniform 2D turbulence will be superdiffusive or subdiffusive depending on the statistical characteristics of the intermittent slab turbulence. In this paper we expand and refine our previous work further by investigating how both parallel and perpendicular transport are affected by intermittent slab turbulence for weak as well as strong uniform 2D turbulence. The main new finding is that both parallel and perpendicular transport are the net effect of an interplay between diffusive and nondiffusive (superdiffusive or subdiffusive) transport effects as a consequence of this intermittency.

Runaway electron generation as possible trigger for enhancement of magnetohydrodynamic plasma activity and fast changes in runaway beam behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pankratov, I. M.; Zhou, R. J.; Hu, L. Q.

2015-01-01

Peculiar phenomena were observed during experiments with runaway electrons: rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) signal (cyclotron radiation of suprathermal electrons). These phenomena were initially observed in TEXTOR (Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research), where these events only occurred in the current decay phase or in discharges with thin stable runaway beams at a q = 1 drift surface. These rapid changes in the synchrotron spot were interpreted by the TEXTOR team as a fast pitch angle scattering event. Recently, similar rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the non-thermal ECE signal were observed in the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) runaway discharge. Runaway electrons were located around the q = 2 rational magnetic surface (ring-like runaway electron beam). During the EAST runaway discharge, stepwise ECE signal increases coincided with enhanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. This behavior was peculiar to this shot. In this paper, we show that these non-thermal ECE step-like jumps were related to the abrupt growth of suprathermal electrons induced by bursting electric fields at reconnection events during this MHD plasma activity. Enhancement of the secondary runaway electron generation also occurred simultaneously. Local changes in the current-density gradient appeared because of local enhancement of the runaway electron generation process. These current-density gradient changes are considered to be a possible trigger for enhancement of the MHD plasma activity and the rapid changes in runaway beam behavior

Runaway electron generation as possible trigger for enhancement of magnetohydrodynamic plasma activity and fast changes in runaway beam behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pankratov, I. M., E-mail: pankratov@kipt.kharkov.ua, E-mail: rjzhou@ipp.ac.cn [Institute of Plasma Physics, NSC Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, Academicheskaya Str. 1, 61108 Kharkov (Ukraine); Zhou, R. J., E-mail: pankratov@kipt.kharkov.ua, E-mail: rjzhou@ipp.ac.cn; Hu, L. Q. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China)

2015-07-15

Peculiar phenomena were observed during experiments with runaway electrons: rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) signal (cyclotron radiation of suprathermal electrons). These phenomena were initially observed in TEXTOR (Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research), where these events only occurred in the current decay phase or in discharges with thin stable runaway beams at a q = 1 drift surface. These rapid changes in the synchrotron spot were interpreted by the TEXTOR team as a fast pitch angle scattering event. Recently, similar rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the non-thermal ECE signal were observed in the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) runaway discharge. Runaway electrons were located around the q = 2 rational magnetic surface (ring-like runaway electron beam). During the EAST runaway discharge, stepwise ECE signal increases coincided with enhanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. This behavior was peculiar to this shot. In this paper, we show that these non-thermal ECE step-like jumps were related to the abrupt growth of suprathermal electrons induced by bursting electric fields at reconnection events during this MHD plasma activity. Enhancement of the secondary runaway electron generation also occurred simultaneously. Local changes in the current-density gradient appeared because of local enhancement of the runaway electron generation process. These current-density gradient changes are considered to be a possible trigger for enhancement of the MHD plasma activity and the rapid changes in runaway beam behavior.

Runaway electron generation as possible trigger for enhancement of magnetohydrodynamic plasma activity and fast changes in runaway beam behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Pankratov, I. M.; Zhou, R. J.; Hu, L. Q.

2015-07-01

Peculiar phenomena were observed during experiments with runaway electrons: rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) signal (cyclotron radiation of suprathermal electrons). These phenomena were initially observed in TEXTOR (Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research), where these events only occurred in the current decay phase or in discharges with thin stable runaway beams at a q = 1 drift surface. These rapid changes in the synchrotron spot were interpreted by the TEXTOR team as a fast pitch angle scattering event. Recently, similar rapid changes in the synchrotron spot and its intensity that coincided with stepwise increases in the non-thermal ECE signal were observed in the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) runaway discharge. Runaway electrons were located around the q = 2 rational magnetic surface (ring-like runaway electron beam). During the EAST runaway discharge, stepwise ECE signal increases coincided with enhanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. This behavior was peculiar to this shot. In this paper, we show that these non-thermal ECE step-like jumps were related to the abrupt growth of suprathermal electrons induced by bursting electric fields at reconnection events during this MHD plasma activity. Enhancement of the secondary runaway electron generation also occurred simultaneously. Local changes in the current-density gradient appeared because of local enhancement of the runaway electron generation process. These current-density gradient changes are considered to be a possible trigger for enhancement of the MHD plasma activity and the rapid changes in runaway beam behavior.

The H i-to-H{sub 2} Transition in a Turbulent Medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bialy, Shmuel; Sternberg, Amiel [Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978 (Israel); Burkhart, Blakesley, E-mail: shmuelbi@mail.tau.ac.il [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA (United States)

2017-07-10

We study the effect of density fluctuations induced by turbulence on the H i/H{sub 2} structure in photodissociation regions (PDRs) both analytically and numerically. We perform magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations for both subsonic and supersonic turbulent gas and chemical H i/H{sub 2} balance calculations. We derive atomic-to-molecular density profiles and the H i column density probability density function (PDF) assuming chemical equilibrium. We find that, while the H i/H{sub 2} density profiles are strongly perturbed in turbulent gas, the mean H i column density is well approximated by the uniform-density analytic formula of Sternberg et al. The PDF width depends on (a) the radiation intensity–to–mean density ratio, (b) the sonic Mach number, and (c) the turbulence decorrelation scale, or driving scale. We derive an analytic model for the H i PDF and demonstrate how our model, combined with 21 cm observations, can be used to constrain the Mach number and driving scale of turbulent gas. As an example, we apply our model to observations of H i in the Perseus molecular cloud. We show that a narrow observed H i PDF may imply small-scale decorrelation, pointing to the potential importance of subcloud-scale turbulence driving.

Magnetohydrodynamic pumps for molten salts in cooling loops of high-temperature nuclear reactors

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Doležel, Ivo; Kotlan, V.; Ulrych, B.

2011-01-01

Roč. 87, č. 5 (2011), s. 28-33 ISSN 0033-2097 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) MEB051041 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20570509 Keywords : magnetohydrodynamic pump * molten salt * electric field Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 0.244, year: 2011 http://pe.org.pl/

A comprehensive spectral theory of zonal-mode dynamics in trapped electron mode turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, P.W.; Gatto, R.; Baver, D.A.; Fernandez, E.

2005-01-01

A comprehensive, self-consistent theory for spectral dynamics in trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence offers critical new understanding and insights into zonal-mode physics. This theory shows that 1) zonal mode structure, anisotropy, excitation, and temporal behavior arise at and from the interface of nonlinear advection and linear wave properties; 2) waves induce a marked spectral energy-transfer anisotropy that preferentially drives zonal modes relative to non zonal modes; 3) triplet correlations involving density (as opposed to those involving only flow) mediate the dominant energy transfer at long wavelengths; 4) energy transfer becomes inverse in the presence of wave anisotropy, where otherwise it is forward; 5) zonal-mode excitation is accompanied by excitation of a spectrum of damped eigenmodes, making zonal modes nonlinearly damped; and 6) the combination of anisotropic transfer to zonal modes and their nonlinear damping make this the dominant saturation mechanism for TEM turbulence. This accounts for the reduction of turbulence level by zonal modes, not zonal-flow ExB shearing. (author)

Liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic convertor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aladiev, I.T.; Dzhamardzhashvili, V.A.

1981-01-01

This invention relates to the generation of electrical energy by direct conversion from thermal or electrical energy and notably to liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic convertors. The convertor described in this invention can be successfully used as a source of electrical energy for space vessels, for underwater vessels, for aeronautics and for the generation of electrical energy in thermal or atomic power plants. This liquid metal convertor consists of a heat source, a two phase nozzle, a separator, a steam diffuser and a condenser. These elements are connected together hydraulically in series. The condenser is connected hydraulically to a heat source, a liquid diffuser and a magnetohydrodynamic generator. These elements are interconnected hydraulically to the separator and heat source [fr

Characterizing electrostatic turbulence in tokamak plasmas with high MHD activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guimaraes-Filho, Z O; Santos Lima, G Z dos; Caldas, I L; Nascimento, I C; Kuznetsov, Yu K [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Caixa Postal 66316, 05315-970, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Viana, R L, E-mail: viana@fisica.ufpr.b [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Parana, Caixa Postal 19044, 81531-990, Curitiba, PR (Brazil)

2010-09-01

One of the challenges in obtaining long lasting magnetic confinement of fusion plasmas in tokamaks is to control electrostatic turbulence near the vessel wall. A necessary step towards achieving this goal is to characterize the turbulence level and so as to quantify its effect on the transport of energy and particles of the plasma. In this paper we present experimental results on the characterization of electrostatic turbulence in Tokamak Chauffage Alfven Bresilien (TCABR), operating in the Institute of Physics of University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In particular, we investigate the effect of certain magnetic field fluctuations, due to magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) instabilities activity, on the spectral properties of electrostatic turbulence at plasma edge. In some TCABR discharges we observe that this MHD activity may increase spontaneously, following changes in the edge safety factor, or after changes in the radial electric field achieved by electrode biasing. During the high MHD activity, the magnetic oscillations and the plasma edge electrostatic turbulence present several common linear spectral features with a noticeable dominant peak in the same frequency. In this article, dynamical analyses were applied to find other alterations on turbulence characteristics due to the MHD activity and turbulence enhancement. A recurrence quantification analysis shows that the turbulence determinism radial profile is substantially changed, becoming more radially uniform, during the high MHD activity. Moreover, the bicoherence spectra of these two kinds of fluctuations are similar and present high bicoherence levels associated with the MHD frequency. In contrast with the bicoherence spectral changes, that are radially localized at the plasma edge, the turbulence recurrence is broadly altered at the plasma edge and the scrape-off layer.

Three-dimensional simulations of turbulent spectra in the local interstellar medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Shaikh

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional time dependent numerical simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic fluids describing super-Alfvénic, supersonic and strongly magnetized space and laboratory plasmas show a nonlinear relaxation towards a state of near incompressibility. The latter is characterized essentially by a subsonic turbulent Mach number. This transition is mediated dynamically by disparate spectral energy dissipation rates in compressible magnetosonic and shear Alfvénic modes. Nonlinear cascades lead to super-Alfvénic turbulent motions decaying to a sub-Alfvénic regime that couples weakly with (magnetoacoustic cascades. Consequently, the supersonic plasma motion is transformed into highly subsonic motion and density fluctuations experience a passive convection. This model provides a self-consistent explaination of the ubiquitous nature of incompressible magnetoplasma fluctuations in the solar wind and the interstellar medium.

The role of electron heating physics in images and variability of the Galactic Centre black hole Sagittarius A*

Science.gov (United States)

Chael, Andrew; Rowan, Michael; Narayan, Ramesh; Johnson, Michael; Sironi, Lorenzo

2018-05-01

The accretion flow around the Galactic Centre black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is expected to have an electron temperature that is distinct from the ion temperature, due to weak Coulomb coupling in the low-density plasma. We present four two-temperature general relativistic radiative magnetohydrodynamic (GRRMHD) simulations of Sgr A* performed with the code KORAL. These simulations use different electron heating prescriptions, motivated by different models of the underlying plasma microphysics. We compare the Landau-damped turbulent cascade model used in previous work with a new prescription we introduce based on the results of particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection. With the turbulent heating model, electrons are preferentially heated in the polar outflow, whereas with the reconnection model electrons are heated by nearly the same fraction everywhere in the accretion flow. The spectra of the two models are similar around the submillimetre synchrotron peak, but the models heated by magnetic reconnection produce variability more consistent with the level observed from Sgr A*. All models produce 230 GHz images with distinct black hole shadows which are consistent with the image size measured by the Event Horizon Telescope, but only the turbulent heating produces an anisotropic `disc-jet' structure where the image is dominated by a polar outflow or jet at frequencies below the synchrotron peak. None of our models can reproduce the observed radio spectral slope, the large near-infrared and X-ray flares, or the near-infrared spectral index, all of which suggest non-thermal electrons are needed to fully explain the emission from Sgr A*.

Reversed magnetic shear suppression of electron-scale turbulence on NSTX

Science.gov (United States)

Yuh, Howard Y.; Levinton, F. M.; Bell, R. E.; Hosea, J. C.; Kaye, S. M.; Leblanc, B. P.; Mazzucato, E.; Smith, D. R.; Domier, C. W.; Luhmann, N. C.; Park, H. K.

2009-11-01

Electron thermal internal transport barriers (e-ITBs) are observed in reversed (negative) magnetic shear NSTX discharges^1. These e-ITBs can be created with either neutral beam heating or High Harmonic Fast Wave (HHFW) RF heating. The e-ITB location occurs at the location of minimum magnetic shear determined by Motional Stark Effect (MSE) constrained equilibria. Statistical studies show a threshold condition in magnetic shear for e-ITB formation. High-k fluctuation measurements at electron turbulence wavenumbers^3 have been made under several different transport regimes, including a bursty regime that limits temperature gradients at intermediate magnetic shear. The growth rate of fluctuations has been calculated immediately following a change in the local magnetic shear, resulting in electron temperature gradient relaxation. Linear gyrokinetic simulation results for NSTX show that while measured electron temperature gradients exceed critical linear thresholds for ETG instability, growth rates can remain low under reversed shear conditions up to high electron temperatures gradients. ^1H. Yuh, et. al., PoP 16, 056120 ^2D.R. Smith, E. Mazzucato et al., RSI 75, 3840 ^3E. Mazzucato, D.R. Smith et al., PRL 101, 075001

Hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamic global bifurcations in a highly turbulent von Karman flow; Bifurcations globales hydrodynamiques et magnetohydrodynamiques dans un ecoulement de von Karman turbulent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravelet, F

2005-09-15

We report experimental studies of the turbulent von Karman flow, inertially stirred between counter-rotating impellers. We first study the flow and its transition from laminar to turbulent regime. We highlight the role of slowly varying large scales, due to the presence of an azimuthal mixing layer. The large scales of this flow can be unstable in turbulent regime. We study the statistics of the transitions between the different mean states. The second part is dedicated to an experiment in liquid sodium, called VKS2. We optimize the time-averaged flow in order to allow kinematic dynamo action. We report the very first results of the experiment, and discuss the role of the large scales temporal non-stationariness. (author)

Magnetohydrodynamics turbulence

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Theoretical horizons correspondingly expanded in the 1980s, to accommodate ... too flat and the ideas on anisotropic spectra too qualitative to explain the observations. ... This very active area of research continues to be driven by astronomy.

RADIO POLARIMETRY SIGNATURES OF STRONG MAGNETIC TURBULENCE IN SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroman, Wendy; Pohl, Martin

2009-01-01

We discuss the emission and transport of polarized radio-band synchrotron radiation near the forward shocks of young shell-type supernova remnants, for which X-ray data indicate a strong amplification of turbulent magnetic field. Modeling the magnetic turbulence through the superposition of waves, we calculate the degree of polarization and the magnetic polarization direction which is at 90 deg. to the conventional electric polarization direction. We find that isotropic strong turbulence will produce weakly polarized radio emission even in the absence of internal Faraday rotation. If anisotropy is imposed on the magnetic-field structure, the degree of polarization can be significantly increased, provided internal Faraday rotation is inefficient. Both for shock compression and a mixture with a homogeneous field, the increase in polarization degree goes along with a fairly precise alignment of the magnetic-polarization angle with the direction of the dominant magnetic-field component, implying tangential magnetic polarization at the rims in the case of shock compression. We compare our model with high-resolution radio polarimetry data of Tycho's remnant. Using the absence of internal Faraday rotation we find a soft limit for the amplitude of magnetic turbulence, δB ∼ 0 . An alternative viable scenario involves anisotropic turbulence with stronger amplitudes in the radial direction, as was observed in recent Magnetohydrodynamics simulations of shocks propagating through a medium with significant density fluctuations.

Kinetic effects on magnetohydrodynamic phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, Hiroshi; Matsumoto, Taro

2001-01-01

Resistive and ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theories are insufficient to adequately explain MHD phenomena in the high-temperature plasma. Recent progress in numerical simulations concerning kinetic effects on magnetohydrodynamic phenomena is summarized. The following three topics are studied using various models treating extended-MHD phenomena. (1) Kinetic modifications of internal kink modes in tokamaks with normal and reversed magnetic shear configurations. (2) Temporal evolution of the toroidal Alfven eigenmode and fishbone mode in tokamaks with energetic ions. (3) Kinetic stabilization of a title mode in field-reversed configurations by means of anchoring ions and beam ions. (author)

Magnetic field amplification and evolution in turbulent collisionless magnetohydrodynamics: An application to the intracluster medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos-Lima, R.; De Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; Kowal, G. [Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, R. do Matão, 1226, São Paulo, SP 05508-090 (Brazil); Falceta-Gonçalves, D. [Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Arlindo Bettio, 1000, São Paulo, SP 03828-000 (Brazil); Lazarian, A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Nakwacki, M. S. [Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE), CONICET (Argentina)

2014-02-01

The amplification of magnetic fields (MFs) in the intracluster medium (ICM) is attributed to turbulent dynamo (TD) action, which is generally derived in the collisional-MHD framework. However, this assumption is poorly justified a priori, since in the ICM the ion mean free path between collisions is of the order of the dynamical scales, thus requiring a collisionless MHD description. The present study uses an anisotropic plasma pressure that brings the plasma within a parametric space where collisionless instabilities take place. In this model, a relaxation term of the pressure anisotropy simulates the feedback of the mirror and firehose instabilities, in consistency with empirical studies. Our three-dimensional numerical simulations of forced transonic turbulence, aiming the modeling of the turbulent ICM, were performed for different initial values of the MF intensity and different relaxation rates of the pressure anisotropy. We found that in the high-β plasma regime corresponding to the ICM conditions, a fast anisotropy relaxation rate gives results that are similar to the collisional-MHD model, as far as the statistical properties of the turbulence are concerned. Also, the TD amplification of seed MFs was found to be similar to the collisional-MHD model. The simulations that do not employ the anisotropy relaxation deviate significantly from the collisional-MHD results and show more power at the small-scale fluctuations of both density and velocity as a result of the action of the instabilities. For these simulations, the large-scale fluctuations in the MF are mostly suppressed and the TD fails in amplifying seed MFs.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and the importance of multifield fluctuation measurements for testing nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

White, A E; Schmitz, L; Peebles, W A; Carter, T A; Rhodes, T L; Doyle, E J; Gourdain, P A; Hillesheim, J C; Wang, G; Holland, C; Tynan, G R; Austin, M E; McKee, G R; Shafer, M W; Burrell, K H; Candy, J; DeBoo, J C; Prater, R; Staebler, G M; Waltz, R E; Makowski, M A

2008-10-01

A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been used to measure local, turbulent fluctuations of the electron temperature in the core of DIII-D plasmas. This paper describes the hardware and testing of the CECE diagnostic and highlights the importance of measurements of multifield fluctuation profiles for the testing and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic codes. The process of testing and validating such codes is critical for extrapolation to next-step fusion devices. For the first time, the radial profiles of electron temperature and density fluctuations are compared to nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. The CECE diagnostic at DIII-D uses correlation radiometry to measure the rms amplitude and spectrum of the electron temperature fluctuations. Gaussian optics are used to produce a poloidal spot size with w(o) approximately 1.75 cm in the plasma. The intermediate frequency filters and the natural linewidth of the EC emission determine the radial resolution of the CECE diagnostic, which can be less than 1 cm. Wavenumbers resolved by the CECE diagnostic are k(theta) < or = 1.8 cm(-1) and k(r) < or = 4 cm(-1), relevant for studies of long-wavelength turbulence associated with the trapped electron mode and the ion temperature gradient mode. In neutral beam heated L-mode plasmas, core electron temperature fluctuations in the region 0.5 < r/a < 0.9, increase with radius from approximately 0.5% to approximately 2%, similar to density fluctuations that are measured simultaneously with beam emission spectroscopy. After incorporating "synthetic diagnostics" to effectively filter the code output, the simulations reproduce the characteristics of the turbulence and transport at one radial location r/a = 0.5, but not at a second location, r/a = 0.75. These results illustrate that measurements of the profiles of multiple fluctuating fields can provide a significant constraint on the turbulence models employed by the code.

SIGNATURES OF MRI-DRIVEN TURBULENCE IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: PREDICTIONS FOR ALMA OBSERVATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simon, Jacob B. [Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302 (United States); Hughes, A. Meredith; Flaherty, Kevin M. [Astronomy Department, Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan University, 96 Foss Hill Dr., Middletown, CT 06459 (United States); Bai, Xue-Ning [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., MS-51, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Armitage, Philip J., E-mail: jbsimon.astro@gmail.com [JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0440 (United States)

2015-08-01

Spatially resolved observations of molecular line emission have the potential to yield unique constraints on the nature of turbulence within protoplanetary disks. Using a combination of local non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations and radiative transfer calculations, tailored to properties of the disk around HD 163296, we assess the ability of ALMA to detect turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability (MRI). Our local simulations show that the MRI produces small-scale turbulent velocity fluctuations that increase in strength with height above the mid-plane. For a set of simulations at different disk radii, we fit a Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution to the turbulent velocity and construct a turbulent broadening parameter as a function of radius and height. We input this broadening into radiative transfer calculations to quantify observational signatures of MRI-driven disk turbulence. We find that the ratio of the peak line flux to the flux at line center is a robust diagnostic of turbulence that is only mildly degenerate with systematic uncertainties in disk temperature. For the CO(3–2) line, which we expect to probe the most magnetically active slice of the disk column, variations in the predicted peak-to-trough ratio between our most and least turbulent models span a range of approximately 15%. Additional independent constraints can be derived from the morphology of spatially resolved line profiles, and we estimate the resolution required to detect turbulence on different spatial scales. We discuss the role of lower optical depth molecular tracers, which trace regions closer to the disk mid-plane where velocities in MRI-driven models are systematically lower.

Numerical Test of Analytical Theories for Perpendicular Diffusion in Small Kubo Number Turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heusen, M.; Shalchi, A., E-mail: husseinm@myumanitoba.ca, E-mail: andreasm4@yahoo.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 (Canada)

2017-04-20

In the literature, one can find various analytical theories for perpendicular diffusion of energetic particles interacting with magnetic turbulence. Besides quasi-linear theory, there are different versions of the nonlinear guiding center (NLGC) theory and the unified nonlinear transport (UNLT) theory. For turbulence with high Kubo numbers, such as two-dimensional turbulence or noisy reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, the aforementioned nonlinear theories provide similar results. For slab and small Kubo number turbulence, however, this is not the case. In the current paper, we compare different linear and nonlinear theories with each other and test-particle simulations for a noisy slab model corresponding to small Kubo number turbulence. We show that UNLT theory agrees very well with all performed test-particle simulations. In the limit of long parallel mean free paths, the perpendicular mean free path approaches asymptotically the quasi-linear limit as predicted by the UNLT theory. For short parallel mean free paths we find a Rechester and Rosenbluth type of scaling as predicted by UNLT theory as well. The original NLGC theory disagrees with all performed simulations regardless what the parallel mean free path is. The random ballistic interpretation of the NLGC theory agrees much better with the simulations, but compared to UNLT theory the agreement is inferior. We conclude that for this type of small Kubo number turbulence, only the latter theory allows for an accurate description of perpendicular diffusion.

Numerical Test of Analytical Theories for Perpendicular Diffusion in Small Kubo Number Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heusen, M.; Shalchi, A.

2017-01-01

In the literature, one can find various analytical theories for perpendicular diffusion of energetic particles interacting with magnetic turbulence. Besides quasi-linear theory, there are different versions of the nonlinear guiding center (NLGC) theory and the unified nonlinear transport (UNLT) theory. For turbulence with high Kubo numbers, such as two-dimensional turbulence or noisy reduced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, the aforementioned nonlinear theories provide similar results. For slab and small Kubo number turbulence, however, this is not the case. In the current paper, we compare different linear and nonlinear theories with each other and test-particle simulations for a noisy slab model corresponding to small Kubo number turbulence. We show that UNLT theory agrees very well with all performed test-particle simulations. In the limit of long parallel mean free paths, the perpendicular mean free path approaches asymptotically the quasi-linear limit as predicted by the UNLT theory. For short parallel mean free paths we find a Rechester and Rosenbluth type of scaling as predicted by UNLT theory as well. The original NLGC theory disagrees with all performed simulations regardless what the parallel mean free path is. The random ballistic interpretation of the NLGC theory agrees much better with the simulations, but compared to UNLT theory the agreement is inferior. We conclude that for this type of small Kubo number turbulence, only the latter theory allows for an accurate description of perpendicular diffusion.

Calculating electron cyclotron current drive stabilization of resistive tearing modes in a nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, Thomas G.; Schnack, Dalton D.; Kruger, Scott E.; Hegna, C. C.; Sovinec, Carl R.

2010-01-01

A model which incorporates the effects of electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) into the magnetohydrodynamic equations is implemented in the NIMROD code [C. R. Sovinec et al., J. Comput. Phys. 195, 355 (2004)] and used to investigate the effect of ECCD injection on the stability, growth, and dynamical behavior of magnetic islands associated with resistive tearing modes. In addition to qualitatively and quantitatively agreeing with numerical results obtained from the inclusion of localized ECCD deposition in static equilibrium solvers [A. Pletzer and F. W. Perkins, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1589 (1999)], predictions from the model further elaborate the role which rational surface motion plays in these results. The complete suppression of the (2,1) resistive tearing mode by ECCD is demonstrated and the relevant stabilization mechanism is determined. Consequences of the shifting of the mode rational surface in response to the injected current are explored, and the characteristic short-time responses of resistive tearing modes to spatial ECCD alignments which are stabilizing are also noted. We discuss the relevance of this work to the development of more comprehensive predictive models for ECCD-based mitigation and control of neoclassical tearing modes.

Recent developments in plasma turbulence and turbulent transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terry, P.W. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

1997-09-22

This report contains viewgraphs of recent developments in plasma turbulence and turbulent transport. Localized nonlinear structures occur under a variety of circumstances in turbulent, magnetically confined plasmas, arising in both kinetic and fluid descriptions, i.e., in either wave-particle or three-wave coupling interactions. These structures are non wavelike. They cannot be incorporated in the collective wave response, but interact with collective modes through their shielding by the plasma dielectric. These structures are predicted to modify turbulence-driven transport in a way that in consistent with, or in some cases are confirmed by recent experimental observations. In kinetic theory, non wavelike structures are localized perturbations of phase space density. There are two types of structures. Holes are self-trapped, while clumps have a self-potential that is too weak to resist deformation and mixing by ambient potential fluctuations. Clumps remain correlated in turbulence if their spatial extent is smaller than the correlation length of the scattering fields. In magnetic turbulence, clumps travel along stochastic magnetic fields, shielded by the plasma dielectric. A drag on the clump macro-particle is exerted by the shielding, inducing emission into the collective response. The emission in turn damps back on the particle distribution via Landau dampling. The exchange of energy between clumps and particles, as mediated by the collective mode, imposes constraints on transport. For a turbulent spectrum whose mean wavenumber along the equilibrium magnetic field is nonzero, the electron thermal flux is proportional to the ion thermal velocity. Conventional predictions (which account only for collective modes) are larger by the square root of the ion to electron mass ratio. Recent measurements are consistent with the small flux. In fluid plasma,s localized coherent structures can occur as intense vortices.

The Parametric Decay Instability of Alfvén Waves in Turbulent Plasmas and the Applications in the Solar Wind

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Mijie; Xiao, Chijie; Wang, Xiaogang [State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Fusion Simulation Center, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Li, Hui, E-mail: cjxiao@pku.edu.cn [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

2017-06-10

We perform three-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to study the parametric decay instability (PDI) of Alfvén waves in turbulent plasmas and explore its possible applications in the solar wind. We find that, over a broad range of parameters in background turbulence amplitudes, the PDI of an Alfvén wave with various amplitudes can still occur, though its growth rate in turbulent plasmas tends to be lower than both the theoretical linear theory prediction and that in the non-turbulent situations. Spatial–temporal FFT analyses of density fluctuations produced by the PDI match well with the dispersion relation of the slow MHD waves. This result may provide an explanation of the generation mechanism of slow waves in the solar wind observed at 1 au. It further highlights the need to explore the effects of density variations in modifying the turbulence properties as well as in heating the solar wind plasmas.

Multi-scale-nonlinear interactions among micro-turbulence, double tearing instability and zonal flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizawa, A.; Nakajima, N.

2007-01-01

Micro-turbulence and macro-magnetohydrodynamic (macro-MHD) instabilities can appear in plasma at the same time and interact with each other in a plasma confinement. The multi-scale-nonlinear interaction among micro-turbulence, double tearing instability and zonal flow is investigated by numerically solving a reduced set of two-fluid equations. It is found that the double tearing instability, which is a macro-MHD instability, appears in an equilibrium formed by a balance between micro-turbulence and zonal flow when the double tearing mode is unstable. The roles of the nonlinear and linear terms of the equations in driving the zonal flow and coherent convective cell flow of the double tearing mode are examined. The Reynolds stress drives zonal flow and coherent convective cell flow, while the ion diamagnetic term and Maxwell stress oppose the Reynolds stress drive. When the double tearing mode grows, linear terms in the equations are dominant and they effectively release the free energy of the equilibrium current gradient

The Solar Flare: A Strongly Turbulent Particle Accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, L.; Krucker, S.; Cargill, P.

The topics of explosive magnetic energy release on a large scale (a solar flare) and particle acceleration during such an event are rarely discussed together in the same article. Many discussions of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mod- eling of solar flares and/or CMEs have appeared (see [143] and references therein) and usually address large-scale destabilization of the coronal mag- netic field. Particle acceleration in solar flares has also been discussed exten- sively [74, 164, 116, 166, 87, 168, 95, 122, 35] with the main emphasis being on the actual mechanisms for acceleration (e.g., shocks, turbulence, DC electric fields) rather than the global magnetic context in which the acceleration takes place.

Wavenumber spectrum of whistler turbulence: Particle-in-cell simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, S.; Gary, S. Peter; Narita, Y.

2010-01-01

The forward cascade of decaying whistler turbulence is studied in low beta plasma to understand essential properties of the energy spectrum at electron scales, by using a two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. This simulation demonstrates turbulence in which the energy cascade rate is greater than the dissipation rate at the electron inertial length. The PIC simulation shows that the magnetic energy spectrum of forward-cascaded whistler turbulence at electron inertial scales is anisotropic and develops a very steep power-law spectrum which is consistent with recent solar wind observations. A comparison of the simulated spectrum with that predicted by a phenomenological turbulence scaling model suggests that the energy cascade at the electron inertial scale depends on both magnetic fluctuations and electron velocity fluctuations, as well as on the whistler dispersion relation. Thus, not only kinetic Alfven turbulence but also whistler turbulence may explain recent solar wind observations of very steep magnetic spectra at short scales.

Magnetohydrodynamics of neutron star interiors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Easson, I.; Pethick, C.J.

1979-01-01

Magnetohydrodynamic equations for the charged particles in the fluid interior of a neutron star are derived from the Landau-Boltzmann kinetic equations. It is assumed that the protons are normal and the neutrons are superfluid. The dissipative processes associated with the weak interactions are shown to be negligible except in very hot neutron stars; we neglect them here. Among the topics discussed are: the influence of the neutron-proton nuclear force (Fermi liquid corrections) on the magnetohydrodynamics; the effects of the magnetic field on the pressure, viscosity, and heat conductivity tensors; the plasma equation of state; and the form of the generalized Ohm's law

On a temporal evolution of the ultra-relativistic electron spectrum by action of synchrotron losses and turbulent acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samsonov, A.M.; Fedorenko, V.N.

1981-01-01

The kinetic equation describing temporal evolution of the ultra-relativistic electrons' energy spectrum effected by synchrotron losses and turbulent acceleration is solved for the isotropic part of the electrons' distribution function. The original distribution is assumed to be given in the form of a power spectrum. Turbulence properties are stated by means of the turbulent acceleration coefficient depending on epsilon energy D(epsilon)=D 0 epsilon 3 which is related to the synchrotron losses coefficient b(epsilon)=b 0 epsilon 3 so that the isotropization of the distribution function is provided without essential acceleration of particles. The initial spectrum is conserved up to some values of time t and energy epsilon connected by inequality epsilonb 0 t 0 /D 0 -2 if epsilonD 0 t>>1 and b 0 >>D 0 . Finally, are possible applications of the solution to description of processes in supernova shells and radio galaxies are discussed [ru

Density Gradient Stabilization of Electron Temperature Gradient Driven Turbulence in a Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Y.; Kaye, S.M.; Mazzucato, E.; Guttenfelder, W.; Bell, R.E.; Domier, C.W.; LeBlanc, B.P.; Lee, K.C.; Luhmann, N.C. Jr.; Smith, D.R.; Yuh, H.

2011-01-01

In this letter we report the first clear experimental observation of density gradient stabilization of electron temperature gradient driven turbulence in a fusion plasma. It is observed that longer wavelength modes, k (perpendicular) ρ s ∼< 10, are most stabilized by density gradient, and the stabilization is accompanied by about a factor of two decrease in the plasma effective thermal diffusivity.

THE TURBULENT DYNAMO IN HIGHLY COMPRESSIBLE SUPERSONIC PLASMAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Federrath, Christoph [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611 (Australia); Schober, Jennifer [Universität Heidelberg, Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Strasse 2, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Bovino, Stefano; Schleicher, Dominik R. G., E-mail: christoph.federrath@anu.edu.au [Institut für Astrophysik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, D-37077 Göttingen (Germany)

2014-12-20

The turbulent dynamo may explain the origin of cosmic magnetism. While the exponential amplification of magnetic fields has been studied for incompressible gases, little is known about dynamo action in highly compressible, supersonic plasmas, such as the interstellar medium of galaxies and the early universe. Here we perform the first quantitative comparison of theoretical models of the dynamo growth rate and saturation level with three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of supersonic turbulence with grid resolutions of up to 1024{sup 3} cells. We obtain numerical convergence and find that dynamo action occurs for both low and high magnetic Prandtl numbers Pm = ν/η = 0.1-10 (the ratio of viscous to magnetic dissipation), which had so far only been seen for Pm ≥ 1 in supersonic turbulence. We measure the critical magnetic Reynolds number, Rm{sub crit}=129{sub −31}{sup +43}, showing that the compressible dynamo is almost as efficient as in incompressible gas. Considering the physical conditions of the present and early universe, we conclude that magnetic fields need to be taken into account during structure formation from the early to the present cosmic ages, because they suppress gas fragmentation and drive powerful jets and outflows, both greatly affecting the initial mass function of stars.

WEAK TURBULENCE IN THE HD 163296 PROTOPLANETARY DISK REVEALED BY ALMA CO OBSERVATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flaherty, Kevin M.; Hughes, A. Meredith [Van Vleck Observatory, Astronomy Department, Wesleyan University, 96 Foss Hill Drive, Middletown, CT 06459 (United States); Rosenfeld, Katherine A.; Andrews, Sean M.; Wilner, David J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Chiang, Eugene; Kerzner, Skylar [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, 307 McCone Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Simon, Jacob B. [Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302 (United States)

2015-11-10

Turbulence can transport angular momentum in protoplanetary disks and influence the growth and evolution of planets. With spatially and spectrally resolved molecular emission line measurements provided by (sub)millimeter interferometric observations, it is possible to directly measure non-thermal motions in the disk gas that can be attributed to this turbulence. We report a new constraint on the turbulence in the disk around HD 163296, a nearby young A star, determined from Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Science Verification observations of four CO emission lines (the CO(3-2), CO(2-1), {sup 13}CO(2-1), and C{sup 18}O(2-1) transitions). The different optical depths for these lines permit probes of non-thermal line-widths at a range of physical conditions (temperature and density) and depths into the disk interior. We derive stringent limits on the non-thermal motions in the upper layers of the outer disk such that any contribution to the line-widths from turbulence is <3% of the local sound speed. These limits are approximately an order of magnitude lower than theoretical predictions for full-blown magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability, potentially suggesting that this mechanism is less efficient in the outer (R ≳ 30 AU) disk than has been previously considered.

PROPERTIES OF INTERSTELLAR TURBULENCE FROM GRADIENTS OF LINEAR POLARIZATION MAPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkhart, Blakesley; Lazarian, A.; Gaensler, B. M.

2012-01-01

Faraday rotation of linearly polarized radio signals provides a very sensitive probe of fluctuations in the interstellar magnetic field and ionized gas density resulting from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We used a set of statistical tools to analyze images of the spatial gradient of linearly polarized radio emission (|∇P|) for both observational data from a test image of the Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) and isothermal three-dimensional simulations of MHD turbulence. Visually, in both observations and simulations, a complex network of filamentary structures is seen. Our analysis shows that the filaments in |∇P| can be produced both by interacting shocks and random fluctuations characterizing the non-differentiable field of MHD turbulence. The latter dominates for subsonic turbulence, while the former is only present in supersonic turbulence. We show that supersonic and subsonic turbulence exhibit different distributions as well as different morphologies in the maps of |∇P|. Particularly, filaments produced by shocks show a characteristic 'double jump' profile at the sites of shock fronts resulting from delta function-like increases in the density and/or magnetic field, while those produced by subsonic turbulence show a single jump profile. In order to quantitatively characterize these differences, we use the topology tool known as the genus curve as well as the probability distribution function moments of the image distribution. We find that higher values for the moments correspond to cases of |∇P| with larger sonic Mach numbers. The genus analysis of the supersonic simulations of |∇P| reveals a 'swiss cheese' topology, while the subsonic cases have characteristics of a 'clump' topology. Based on the analysis of the genus and the higher order moments, the SGPS test region data have a distribution and morphology that match subsonic- to transonic-type turbulence, which confirms what is now expected for the warm ionized medium.

PROPERTIES OF INTERSTELLAR TURBULENCE FROM GRADIENTS OF LINEAR POLARIZATION MAPS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burkhart, Blakesley; Lazarian, A. [Astronomy Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 475 N. Charter St., WI 53711 (United States); Gaensler, B. M. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

2012-04-20

Faraday rotation of linearly polarized radio signals provides a very sensitive probe of fluctuations in the interstellar magnetic field and ionized gas density resulting from magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We used a set of statistical tools to analyze images of the spatial gradient of linearly polarized radio emission (|{nabla}P|) for both observational data from a test image of the Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) and isothermal three-dimensional simulations of MHD turbulence. Visually, in both observations and simulations, a complex network of filamentary structures is seen. Our analysis shows that the filaments in |{nabla}P| can be produced both by interacting shocks and random fluctuations characterizing the non-differentiable field of MHD turbulence. The latter dominates for subsonic turbulence, while the former is only present in supersonic turbulence. We show that supersonic and subsonic turbulence exhibit different distributions as well as different morphologies in the maps of |{nabla}P|. Particularly, filaments produced by shocks show a characteristic 'double jump' profile at the sites of shock fronts resulting from delta function-like increases in the density and/or magnetic field, while those produced by subsonic turbulence show a single jump profile. In order to quantitatively characterize these differences, we use the topology tool known as the genus curve as well as the probability distribution function moments of the image distribution. We find that higher values for the moments correspond to cases of |{nabla}P| with larger sonic Mach numbers. The genus analysis of the supersonic simulations of |{nabla}P| reveals a 'swiss cheese' topology, while the subsonic cases have characteristics of a 'clump' topology. Based on the analysis of the genus and the higher order moments, the SGPS test region data have a distribution and morphology that match subsonic- to transonic-type turbulence, which confirms what is now

New Fellows and Honorary Fellow

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Fellowship. Fellow Profile. Elected: 2011 Section: Physics. Das, Prof. Amita Ph.D. (IIT, Kanpur). Date of birth: 3 August 1965. Specialization: Strongly Coupled & Dusty Plasma Systems, Laser Plasma Interactions, Plasma Physics, Turbulence, Electron Magnetohydrodynamics Address: Institute for Plasma Research, ...

SIMULATIONS OF THE KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY DRIVEN BY CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS IN THE TURBULENT CORONA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gómez, Daniel O.; DeLuca, Edward E. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Mininni, Pablo D. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2016-02-20

Recent high-resolution Atmospheric Imaging Assembly/Solar Dynamics Observatory images show evidence of the development of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability, as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) expand in the ambient corona. A large-scale magnetic field mostly tangential to the interface is inferred, both on the CME and on the background sides. However, the magnetic field component along the shear flow is not strong enough to quench the instability. There is also observational evidence that the ambient corona is in a turbulent regime, and therefore the criteria for the development of the instability are a priori expected to differ from the laminar case. To study the evolution of the KH instability with a turbulent background, we perform three-dimensional simulations of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations. The instability is driven by a velocity profile tangential to the CME–corona interface, which we simulate through a hyperbolic tangent profile. The turbulent background is generated by the application of a stationary stirring force. We compute the instability growth rate for different values of the turbulence intensity, and find that the role of turbulence is to attenuate the growth. The fact that KH instability is observed sets an upper limit on the correlation length of the coronal background turbulence.

Turbulent Equilibria for Charged Particles in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Peter

2017-04-01

The solar wind electron distribution function is apparently composed of several components including non-thermal tail population. The electron distribution that contains energetic tail feature is well fitted with the kappa distribution function. The solar wind protons also possess quasi power-law tail distribution function that is well fitted with an inverse power law model. The present paper discusses the latest theoretical development regarding the dynamical steady-state solution of electrons and Langmuir turbulence that are in turbulent equilibrium. According to such a theory, the Maxwellian and kappa distribution functions for the electrons emerge as the only two possible solution that satisfy the steady-state weak turbulence plasma kinetic equation. For the proton inverse power-law tail problem, a similar turbulent equilibrium solution can be conceived of, but instead of high-frequency Langmuir fluctuation, the theory involves low-frequency kinetic Alfvenic turbulence. The steady-state solution of the self-consistent proton kinetic equation and wave kinetic equation for Alfvenic waves can be found in order to obtain a self-consistent solution for the inverse power law tail distribution function.

Broad wavenumber turbulence and transport during Ohmic and electron cyclotron heating in the DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhodes, T L; Peebles, W A; DeBoo, J C; Prater, R; Kinsey, J E; Staebler, G M; Candy, J; Austin, M E; Bravenec, R V; Burrell, K H; De Grassie, J S; Doyle, E J; Gohil, P; Greenfield, C M; Groebner, R J; Lohr, J; Makowski, M A; Nguyen, X V; Petty, C C; Solomon, W M; John, H E St; Zeeland, M A Van; Wang, G.; Zeng, L

2007-01-01

The response of plasma parameters and broad wavenumber turbulence (1-39 cm -1 , kρ s = 0.1-10, relevant to ion temperature gradient, trapped electron mode and electron temperature gradient mode turbulence, here ρ s = ion gyroradius) to auxiliary electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is reported on. One fluid thermal fluxes and diffusivities increase appreciably with ECH. Significant changes to the density fluctuations over the full range of measured wavenumbers are observed, with an increase for lower wavenumbers and a more spatially complicated response at high k. Spatially resolved high k measurements (k = 39 cm -1 , kρ s = 4-10) show a varying response to ECH, with n-bar decreasing at r/a = 0.35 and increasing at r/a = 0.6 and 1. These variations were found to have a positive correlation with ∇T e evaluated at nearby locations, consistent with a ∇T e drive. Comparison of the changes in high k fluctuation levels with linear gyrokinetic growth rates show qualitative agreement at the innermost location, r/a = 0.35 and disagreement at r/a = 0.6

Collective CO2 laser scattering on moving discharge structures in the submillimeter range in a magnetohydrodynamic generator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Haas, J.C.M.; Schenkelaars, H.J.W.; vd Mortel, P.J.; Schram, D.C.; Veefkind, A.

1986-01-01

Collective scattering of CO/sub 2/ laser light on electrons is used to determine the radial scale length of the discharge structures occurring in a closed cycle magnetohydrodynamic generator. Heterodyne detection of scattered radiation is used to obtain a spatial resolution in the submillimeter

Environmental Development Plan (EDP): magnetohydrodynamics program, FY 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-03-01

This magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) EDP identifies and examines the environmental, health, and safety issues concerning the development of the ERDA Magnetohydrodynamics Program, the environmental activities needed to resolve these issues, applicable ongoing and completed research, and a time-phased action plan for the evaluation and mitigation of environmental impacts. A schedule for environmental research, assessment, and other activities is laid out. The purpose of the EDP is to identify environmental issues and to specify actions to ensure the environmental acceptability of commercial energy technologies being developed by ERDA. The EDP also will assist in coordinating ERDA's environmental activities with those of other government agencies. This document addresses the following technologies associated with ERDA's MHD program: (1) open-cycle magnetohydrodynamics; (2) closed-cycle plasma magnetohydrodynamics; and (3) closed-cycle liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics. The proposed environmental action plan is designed to meet the following objectives: (1) develop methods for monitoring and measuring emissions; (2) characterize air emissions, water effluents, and solid wastes from MHD; (3) determine potential environmental impacts and health hazards associated with MHD; (4) model pollutant transport and transformation; (5) ensure adequate control of pollutant emissions; (6) identify and minimize occupational health and safety hazards; (7) prepare NEPA compliance documents; and (8) assess the environmental, health, and safety impacts of the commercialized industry. This EDP will be updated and revised annually to take into account the progress of technologies toward commercialization, the environmental work accomplished, and the resolution of outstanding environmental issues concerning the technologies

Compression of turbulent magnetized gas in giant molecular clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Birnboim, Yuval; Federrath, Christoph; Krumholz, Mark

2018-01-01

Interstellar gas clouds are often both highly magnetized and supersonically turbulent, with velocity dispersions set by a competition between driving and dissipation. This balance has been studied extensively in the context of gases with constant mean density. However, many astrophysical systems are contracting under the influence of external pressure or gravity, and the balance between driving and dissipation in a contracting, magnetized medium has yet to be studied. In this paper, we present three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of compression in a turbulent, magnetized medium that resembles the physical conditions inside molecular clouds. We find that in some circumstances the combination of compression and magnetic fields leads to a rate of turbulent dissipation far less than that observed in non-magnetized gas, or in non-compressing magnetized gas. As a result, a compressing, magnetized gas reaches an equilibrium velocity dispersion much greater than would be expected for either the hydrodynamic or the non-compressing case. We use the simulation results to construct an analytic model that gives an effective equation of state for a coarse-grained parcel of the gas, in the form of an ideal equation of state with a polytropic index that depends on the dissipation and energy transfer rates between the magnetic and turbulent components. We argue that the reduced dissipation rate and larger equilibrium velocity dispersion has important implications for the driving and maintenance of turbulence in molecular clouds and for the rates of chemical and radiative processes that are sensitive to shocks and dissipation.

A global wave-driven magnetohydrodynamic solar model with a unified treatment of open and closed magnetic field topologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oran, R.; Van der Holst, B.; Landi, E.; Jin, M.; Sokolov, I. V.; Gombosi, T. I., E-mail: oran@umich.edu [Atmospheric, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105 (United States)

2013-12-01

We describe, analyze, and validate the recently developed Alfvén Wave Solar Model, a three-dimensional global model starting from the top of the chromosphere and extending into interplanetary space (out to 1-2 AU). This model solves the extended, two-temperature magnetohydrodynamics equations coupled to a wave kinetic equation for low-frequency Alfvén waves. In this picture, heating and acceleration of the plasma are due to wave dissipation and to wave pressure gradients, respectively. The dissipation process is described by a fully developed turbulent cascade of counterpropagating waves. We adopt a unified approach for calculating the wave dissipation in both open and closed magnetic field lines, allowing for a self-consistent treatment in any magnetic topology. Wave dissipation is the only heating mechanism assumed in the model; no geometric heating functions are invoked. Electron heat conduction and radiative cooling are also included. We demonstrate that the large-scale, steady state (in the corotating frame) properties of the solar environment are reproduced, using three adjustable parameters: the Poynting flux of chromospheric Alfvén waves, the perpendicular correlation length of the turbulence, and a pseudoreflection coefficient. We compare model results for Carrington rotation 2063 (2007 November-December) with remote observations in the extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray ranges from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and Hinode spacecraft and with in situ measurements by Ulysses. The results are in good agreement with observations. This is the first global simulation that is simultaneously consistent with observations of both the thermal structure of the lower corona and the wind structure beyond Earth's orbit.

Astrophysical gyrokinetics: turbulence in pressure-anisotropic plasmas at ion scales and beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Kunz, M. W.; Abel, I. G.; Klein, K. G.

2018-04-01

We present a theoretical framework for describing electromagnetic kinetic turbulence in a multi-species, magnetized, pressure-anisotropic plasma. The turbulent fluctuations are assumed to be small compared to the mean field, to be spatially anisotropic with respect to it and to have frequencies small compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. At scales above the ion-Larmor radius, the theory reduces to the pressure-anisotropic generalization of kinetic reduced magnetohydrodynamics (KRMHD) formulated by Kunz et al. (J. Plasma Phys., vol. 81, 2015, 325810501). At scales at and below the ion-Larmor radius, three main objectives are achieved. First, we analyse the linear response of the pressure-anisotropic gyrokinetic system, and show it to be a generalization of previously explored limits. The effects of pressure anisotropy on the stability and collisionless damping of Alfvénic and compressive fluctuations are highlighted, with attention paid to the spectral location and width of the frequency jump that occurs as Alfvén waves transition into kinetic Alfvén waves. Secondly, we derive and discuss a very general gyrokinetic free-energy conservation law, which captures both the KRMHD free-energy conservation at long wavelengths and dual cascades of kinetic Alfvén waves and ion entropy at sub-ion-Larmor scales. We show that non-Maxwellian features in the distribution function change the amount of phase mixing and the efficiency of magnetic stresses, and thus influence the partitioning of free energy amongst the cascade channels. Thirdly, a simple model is used to show that pressure anisotropy, even within the bounds imposed on it by firehose and mirror instabilities, can cause order-of-magnitude variations in the ion-to-electron heating ratio due to the dissipation of Alfvénic turbulence. Our theory provides a foundation for determining how pressure anisotropy affects turbulent fluctuation spectra, the differential heating of particle species and the ratio of parallel

Convection causes enhanced magnetic turbulence in accretion disks in outburst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirose, Shigenobu [Department of Mathematical Science and Advanced Technology, JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0001 (Japan); Blaes, Omer; Coleman, Matthew S. B. [Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Krolik, Julian H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Sano, Takayoshi, E-mail: shirose@jamstec.go.jp [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2014-05-20

We present the results of local, vertically stratified, radiation magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shearing box simulations of magneto-rotational instability (MRI) turbulence appropriate for the hydrogen ionizing regime of dwarf nova and soft X-ray transient outbursts. We incorporate the frequency-integrated opacities and equation of state for this regime, but neglect non-ideal MHD effects and surface irradiation, and do not impose net vertical magnetic flux. We find two stable thermal equilibrium tracks in the effective temperature versus surface mass density plane, in qualitative agreement with the S-curve picture of the standard disk instability model. We find that the large opacity at temperatures near 10{sup 4} K, a corollary of the hydrogen ionization transition, triggers strong, intermittent thermal convection on the upper stable branch. This convection strengthens the magnetic turbulent dynamo and greatly enhances the time-averaged value of the stress to thermal pressure ratio α, possibly by generating vertical magnetic field that may seed the axisymmetric MRI, and by increasing cooling so that the pressure does not rise in proportion to the turbulent dissipation. These enhanced stress to pressure ratios may alleviate the order of magnitude discrepancy between the α-values observationally inferred in the outburst state and those that have been measured from previous local numerical simulations of magnetorotational turbulence that lack net vertical magnetic flux.

Temporal evolutions of electron temperature and density of turbulently-heated tokamak plasmas in TRIAM-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiraki, N; Nakamura, K; Nakamura, Y; Itoh, S [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Research Inst. for Applied Mechanics

1981-04-01

The temporal evolution of the electron temperature and density are measured in a turbulent heating experiment in TRIAM-1. Skin-like profiles of the electron temperature and density are clearly observed. The anomality in the electrical resistivity of the plasma in this skin-layer is estimated, and the plasma heating in this skin-layer is regarded as being due to anomalous joule heating arising from this anomalous resistivity. The ratio of drift velocity to electron thermal velocity in the layer is also calculated, and it is shown that the conditions needed to make the current-driven ion-acoustic instability triggerable are satisfied.

Analysis of chaos in plasma turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, T.S.; Michelsen, Poul; Juul Rasmussen, J.

1996-01-01

-stationary turbulent state is reached in a finite time, independent of the initial conditions. Different regimes of the turbulent state can be obtained by varying the coupling parameter C, related to the parallel electron dynamics. The turbulence is described by using particle tracking and tools from chaos analysis...

Sausage instabilities in electron current channels and the problem of fast ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, A.

2002-01-01

In the fast ignition concept of laser fusion, an intense picosecond laser pulse incident on an overdense pellet is absorbed by nonlinear mechanisms and gets converted into inward propagating fast electron currents. PIC simulations show that the return shielding currents due to cold plasma interact with the incoming currents and intense Weibel, tearing and coalescence instabilities take place, which organize the current into a few current channels. The stability of these current channels is thus a topic of great interest. We have carried out linear and nonlinear studies of 2 - dimensional sausage instabilities of a slab model of the current channels in the framework of electron magnetohydrodynamic fluid approximation. The analytic calculations and numerical simulations for some simple velocity profiles show the presence of linear instability driven by velocity shear. Nonlinear studies on the saturation of instabilities and their reaction back on the relaxation of the velocity profile have also been made. A discussion of the consequences of such EMHD turbulence induced relaxation and stopping of fast electrons, for the fast ignition concept will be presented. (author)

TURBULENCE AND DYNAMO IN GALAXY CLUSTER MEDIUM: IMPLICATIONS ON THE ORIGIN OF CLUSTER MAGNETIC FIELDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Hao; Collins, David C.; Norman, Michael L.; Li Hui; Li Shengtai

2009-01-01

We present self-consistent cosmological magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations that simultaneously follow the formation of a galaxy cluster and the magnetic field ejection by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We find that the magnetic fields ejected by the AGNs, though initially distributed in relatively small volumes, can be transported throughout the cluster and be further amplified by the intracluster medium (ICM) turbulence during the cluster formation process. The ICM turbulence is shown to be generated and sustained by the frequent mergers of smaller halos. Furthermore, a cluster-wide dynamo process is shown to exist in the ICM and amplify the magnetic field energy and flux. The total magnetic energy in the cluster can reach ∼10 61 erg while micro Gauss (μG) fields can distribute over ∼ Mpc scales throughout the whole cluster. This finding shows that magnetic fields from AGNs, being further amplified by the ICM turbulence through small-scale dynamo processes, can be the origin of cluster-wide magnetic fields.

MHD turbulence in the solar wind: evolution and anisotropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horbury, T. S.; Forman, M. A.; Oughton, S.

2005-01-01

Spacecraft measurements in the solar wind offer the opportunity to study magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a collisionless plasma in great detail. We review some of the key results of the study of this medium: the presence of large amplitude Alfven waves propagating predominantly away from the Sun; the existence of an active turbulent cascade; and intermittency similar to that in neutral fluids. The presence of a magnetic field leads to anisotropy of the fluctuations, which are predominantly perpendicular to this direction, as well as anisotropy of the spectrum. Some models suggest that MHD turbulence can evolve to a state with power predominantly in wave vectors either parallel to the magnetic field (slab fluctuations) or approximately perpendicular to it (2D). We present results of a new, wavelet-based analysis of magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind, and demonstrate that the 2D component has a spectral index near the Kolmogorov value of 5/3, while slab fluctuations have a spectral index near 2. We also estimate the relative power levels in slab and 2D fluctuations, as well as the level of compressive fluctuations. Deviations of the data from the simple slab/2D model suggest the presence of power in intermediate directions and we compare our data with critical balance models. (Author)

Ion-acoustic plasma turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bychenkov, V.Y.; Silin, V.P.

1982-01-01

A theory is developed of the nonlinear state that is established in a plasma as a result of development of ion-acoustic instability. Account is taken simultaneously of the linear induced scattering of the waves by the ions and of the quasilinear relaxation of the electrons by the ion-acoustic pulsations. The distribution of the ion-acoustic turbulence in frequency and in angle is obtained. An Ohm's law is established and expressions are obtained for the electronic heat flux and for the relaxation time of the electron temperature in a turbulent plasma. Anomalously large absorption and scattering of the electromagnetic waves by the ion-acoustic pulsations is predicted

Energy partitioning constraints at kinetic scales in low-β turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Daniel J.; F.-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Shuster, Jason; Avanov, Levon A.; Boardsen, Scott A.; Stawarz, Julia E.; Schwartz, Steven J.; Schiff, Conrad; Lavraud, Benoit; Saito, Yoshifumi; Paterson, William R.; Giles, Barbara L.; Pollock, Craig J.; Strangeway, Robert J.; Russell, Christopher T.; Torbert, Roy B.; Moore, Thomas E.; Burch, James L.

2018-02-01

Turbulence is a fundamental physical process through which energy injected into a system at large scales cascades to smaller scales. In collisionless plasmas, turbulence provides a critical mechanism for dissipating electromagnetic energy. Here, we present observations of plasma fluctuations in low-β turbulence using data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in Earth's magnetosheath. We provide constraints on the partitioning of turbulent energy density in the fluid, ion-kinetic, and electron-kinetic ranges. Magnetic field fluctuations dominated the energy density spectrum throughout the fluid and ion-kinetic ranges, consistent with previous observations of turbulence in similar plasma regimes. However, at scales shorter than the electron inertial length, fluctuation power in electron kinetic energy significantly exceeded that of the magnetic field, resulting in an electron-motion-regulated cascade at small scales. This dominance is highly relevant for the study of turbulence in highly magnetized laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.

Multi-scale-nonlinear interactions among macro-MHD mode, micro-turbulence, and zonal flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizawa, Akihiro; Nakajima, Noriyoshi

2007-01-01

This is the first numerical simulation demonstrating that macro-magnetohydrodynamic (macro-MHD) mode is exited as a result of multi-scale interaction in a quasi-steady equilibrium formed by a balance between zonal flow and micro-turbulence via reduced-two-fluid simulation. Only after obtaining the equilibrium which includes zonal flow and the turbulence caused by kinetic ballooning mode is this simulation of macro-MHD mode, double tearing mode, accomplished. In the quasi-steady equilibrium a macro-fluctuation which has the same helicity as that of double tearing mode is a part of the turbulence until it grows as a macro-MHD mode finally. When the macro-MHD grows it effectively utilize free energy of equilibrium current density gradient because of positive feedback loop between suppression of zonal flow and growth of the macro-fluctuation causing magnetic reconnection. Thus once the macro-MHD grows from the quasi-equilibrium, it does not go back. This simulation is more comparable with experimental observation of growing macro-fluctuation than traditional MHD simulation of linear instabilities in a static equilibrium. (author)

Small-scale kinematic dynamo and non-dynamo in inertial-range turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyink, Gregory L; Neto, Antonio F

2010-01-01

We investigate the Lagrangian mechanism of the kinematic 'fluctuation' magnetic dynamo in a turbulent plasma flow at small magnetic Prandtl numbers. The combined effect of turbulent advection and plasma resistivity is to carry infinitely many field lines to each space point, with the resultant magnetic field at that point given by the average over all the individual line vectors. As a consequence of the roughness of the advecting velocity, this remains true even in the limit of zero resistivity. We show that the presence of the dynamo effect requires sufficient angular correlation of the passive line vectors that arrive simultaneously at the same space point. We illustrate this in detail for the Kazantsev-Kraichnan model of the kinematic dynamo with a Gaussian advecting velocity that is spatially rough and white noise in time. In the regime where dynamo action fails, we also obtain the precise rate of decay of the magnetic energy. These exact results for the model are obtained by a generalization of the 'slow-mode expansion' of Bernard, Gawedzki and Kupiainen to non-Hermitian evolution. Much of our analysis applies also to magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.

Broad wavenumber turbulence and transport during Ohmic and electron cyclotron heating in the DIII-D tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhodes, T L [Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (United States); Peebles, W A [Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (United States); DeBoo, J C [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Prater, R [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Kinsey, J E [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Staebler, G M [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Candy, J [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Austin, M E [University of Texas-Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Bravenec, R V [University of Texas-Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Burrell, K H [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); De Grassie, J S [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Doyle, E J [Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (United States); Gohil, P; Greenfield, C M; Groebner, R J; Lohr, J [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Makowski, M A [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States); Nguyen, X V [Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (United States); Petty, C C [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Solomon, W M [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543-0451 (United States); John, H E St; Zeeland, M A Van [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States); Wang, G.; Zeng, L [Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (United States)

2007-12-15

The response of plasma parameters and broad wavenumber turbulence (1-39 cm{sup -1}, k{rho}{sub s} = 0.1-10, relevant to ion temperature gradient, trapped electron mode and electron temperature gradient mode turbulence, here {rho}{sub s} = ion gyroradius) to auxiliary electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is reported on. One fluid thermal fluxes and diffusivities increase appreciably with ECH. Significant changes to the density fluctuations over the full range of measured wavenumbers are observed, with an increase for lower wavenumbers and a more spatially complicated response at high k. Spatially resolved high k measurements (k = 39 cm{sup -1}, k{rho}{sub s} = 4-10) show a varying response to ECH, with n-bar decreasing at r/a = 0.35 and increasing at r/a = 0.6 and 1. These variations were found to have a positive correlation with {nabla}T{sub e} evaluated at nearby locations, consistent with a {nabla}T{sub e} drive. Comparison of the changes in high k fluctuation levels with linear gyrokinetic growth rates show qualitative agreement at the innermost location, r/a = 0.35 and disagreement at r/a = 0.6.

BEYOND THE MALTESE CROSS: GEOMETRY OF TURBULENCE BETWEEN 0.2 AND 1 au

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdini, Andrea [Lesia, Observatoire de Paris, Muedon (France); LPP, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France); Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France); Grappin, Roland [LPP, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France)

2016-11-10

The spectral anisotropy of turbulent structures has been measured in the solar wind since 1990, relying on the assumption of axisymmetry about the mean magnetic field, B {sub 0}. However, several works indicate that this hypothesis might be partially wrong, thus raising two questions: (i) is it correct to interpret measurements at 1 au (the so-called Maltese cross) in term of a sum of slab and two-dimensional (2D) turbulence; and (ii) what information is really contained in the Maltese cross? We solve direct numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic equations including the transverse stretching exerted by the solar wind flow and study the genuine 3D anisotropy of turbulence as well as that one resulting from the assumption of axisymmetry about B {sub 0}. We show that the evolution of the turbulent spectrum from 0.2 to 1 au depends strongly on its initial anisotropy. An axisymmetric spectrum with respect to B {sub 0} keeps its axisymmetry, i.e., resists stretching perpendicular to radial, while an isotropic spectrum becomes essentially axisymmetric with respect to the radial direction. We conclude that close to the Sun, slow-wind turbulence has a spectrum that is axisymmetric around B {sub 0} and the measured 2D component at 1 au describes the real shape of turbulent structures. In contrast, fast-wind turbulence has a more isotropic spectrum at the source and becomes radially symmetric at 1 au. Such structure is hidden by the symmetrization applied to the data that instead returns a slab geometry.

PROTON HEATING IN SOLAR WIND COMPRESSIBLE TURBULENCE WITH COLLISIONS BETWEEN COUNTER-PROPAGATING WAVES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Jiansen; Tu, Chuanyi; Wang, Linghua; Pei, Zhongtian [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 (China); Marsch, Eckart [Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24118 Kiel (Germany); Chen, Christopher H. K. [Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Zhang, Lei [Sate Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Salem, Chadi S.; Bale, Stuart D., E-mail: jshept@gmail.com [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2015-11-10

Magnetohydronamic turbulence is believed to play a crucial role in heating laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas. However, the precise connection between the turbulent fluctuations and the particle kinetics has not yet been established. Here we present clear evidence of plasma turbulence heating based on diagnosed wave features and proton velocity distributions from solar wind measurements by the Wind spacecraft. For the first time, we can report the simultaneous observation of counter-propagating magnetohydrodynamic waves in the solar wind turbulence. As opposed to the traditional paradigm with counter-propagating Alfvén waves (AWs), anti-sunward AWs are encountered by sunward slow magnetosonic waves (SMWs) in this new type of solar wind compressible turbulence. The counter-propagating AWs and SWs correspond, respectively, to the dominant and sub-dominant populations of the imbalanced Elsässer variables. Nonlinear interactions between the AWs and SMWs are inferred from the non-orthogonality between the possible oscillation direction of one wave and the possible propagation direction of the other. The associated protons are revealed to exhibit bi-directional asymmetric beams in their velocity distributions: sunward beams appear in short, narrow patterns and anti-sunward in broad extended tails. It is suggested that multiple types of wave–particle interactions, i.e., cyclotron and Landau resonances with AWs and SMWs at kinetic scales, are taking place to jointly heat the protons perpendicular and in parallel.

THE TURBULENT ORIGIN OF OUTFLOW AND SPIN MISALIGNMENT IN MULTIPLE STAR SYSTEMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Offner, Stella S. R.; Lee, Katherine I.; Arce, Héctor G.; Fielding, Drummond B. [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Dunham, Michael M., E-mail: soffner@astro.umass.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2016-08-10

The protostellar outflows of wide-separation forming binaries frequently appear misaligned. We use magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the alignment of protostellar spin and molecular outflows for forming binary pairs. We show that the protostellar pairs, which form from turbulent fragmentation within a single parent core, have randomly oriented angular momentum. Although the pairs migrate to closer separations, their spins remain partially misaligned. We produce {sup 12}CO(2-1) synthetic observations of the simulations and characterize the outflow orientation in the emission maps. The CO-identified outflows exhibit a similar random distribution and are also statistically consistent with the observed distribution of molecular outflows. We conclude that the observed misalignment provides a clear signature of binary formation via turbulent fragmentation. The persistence of misaligned outflows and stellar spins following dynamical evolution may provide a signature of binary origins for more evolved multiple star systems.

THE TURBULENT ORIGIN OF OUTFLOW AND SPIN MISALIGNMENT IN MULTIPLE STAR SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Offner, Stella S. R.; Lee, Katherine I.; Arce, Héctor G.; Fielding, Drummond B.; Dunham, Michael M.

2016-01-01

The protostellar outflows of wide-separation forming binaries frequently appear misaligned. We use magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the alignment of protostellar spin and molecular outflows for forming binary pairs. We show that the protostellar pairs, which form from turbulent fragmentation within a single parent core, have randomly oriented angular momentum. Although the pairs migrate to closer separations, their spins remain partially misaligned. We produce 12 CO(2-1) synthetic observations of the simulations and characterize the outflow orientation in the emission maps. The CO-identified outflows exhibit a similar random distribution and are also statistically consistent with the observed distribution of molecular outflows. We conclude that the observed misalignment provides a clear signature of binary formation via turbulent fragmentation. The persistence of misaligned outflows and stellar spins following dynamical evolution may provide a signature of binary origins for more evolved multiple star systems.

Relaxation model for extended magnetohydrodynamics: Comparison to magnetohydrodynamics for dense Z-pinches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seyler, C. E.; Martin, M. R.

2011-01-01

It is shown that the two-fluid model under a generalized Ohm's law formulation and the resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) can both be described as relaxation systems. In the relaxation model, the under-resolved stiff source terms constrain the dynamics of a set of hyperbolic equations to give the correct asymptotic solution. When applied to the collisional two-fluid model, the relaxation of fast time scales associated with displacement current and finite electron mass allows for a natural transition from a system where Ohm's law determines the current density to a system where Ohm's law determines the electric field. This result is used to derive novel algorithms, which allow for multiscale simulation of low and high frequency extended-MHD physics. This relaxation formulation offers an efficient way to implicitly advance the Hall term and naturally simulate a plasma-vacuum interface without invoking phenomenological models. The relaxation model is implemented as an extended-MHD code, which is used to analyze pulsed power loads such as wire arrays and ablating foils. Two-dimensional simulations of pulsed power loads are compared for extended-MHD and MHD. For these simulations, it is also shown that the relaxation model properly recovers the resistive-MHD limit.

The infinite interface limit of multiple-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, G. R.; Dewar, R. L.; Hole, M. J. [Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, ACT 0200 (Australia); Hudson, S. R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2013-03-15

We show the stepped-pressure equilibria that are obtained from a generalization of Taylor relaxation known as multi-region, relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRXMHD) are also generalizations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (ideal MHD). We show this by proving that as the number of plasma regions becomes infinite, MRXMHD reduces to ideal MHD. Numerical convergence studies illustrating this limit are presented.

Turbulent Magnetic Relaxation in Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Science.gov (United States)

Zrake, Jonathan; Arons, Jonathan

2017-09-01

We present a model for magnetic energy dissipation in a pulsar wind nebula. A better understanding of this process is required to assess the likelihood that certain astrophysical transients may be powered by the spin-down of a “millisecond magnetar.” Examples include superluminous supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and anticipated electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave detections of binary neutron star coalescence. Our model leverages recent progress in the theory of turbulent magnetic relaxation to specify a dissipative closure of the stationary magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wind equations, yielding predictions of the magnetic energy dissipation rate throughout the nebula. Synchrotron losses are self-consistently treated. To demonstrate the model’s efficacy, we show that it can reproduce many features of the Crab Nebula, including its expansion speed, radiative efficiency, peak photon energy, and mean magnetic field strength. Unlike ideal MHD models of the Crab (which lead to the so-called σ-problem), our model accounts for the transition from ultra to weakly magnetized plasma flow and for the associated heating of relativistic electrons. We discuss how the predicted heating rates may be utilized to improve upon models of particle transport and acceleration in pulsar wind nebulae. We also discuss implications for the Crab Nebula’s γ-ray flares, and point out potential modifications to models of astrophysical transients invoking the spin-down of a millisecond magnetar.

Turbulent Magnetic Relaxation in Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zrake, Jonathan [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Arons, Jonathan [Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2017-09-20

We present a model for magnetic energy dissipation in a pulsar wind nebula. A better understanding of this process is required to assess the likelihood that certain astrophysical transients may be powered by the spin-down of a “millisecond magnetar.” Examples include superluminous supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and anticipated electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave detections of binary neutron star coalescence. Our model leverages recent progress in the theory of turbulent magnetic relaxation to specify a dissipative closure of the stationary magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wind equations, yielding predictions of the magnetic energy dissipation rate throughout the nebula. Synchrotron losses are self-consistently treated. To demonstrate the model’s efficacy, we show that it can reproduce many features of the Crab Nebula, including its expansion speed, radiative efficiency, peak photon energy, and mean magnetic field strength. Unlike ideal MHD models of the Crab (which lead to the so-called σ -problem), our model accounts for the transition from ultra to weakly magnetized plasma flow and for the associated heating of relativistic electrons. We discuss how the predicted heating rates may be utilized to improve upon models of particle transport and acceleration in pulsar wind nebulae. We also discuss implications for the Crab Nebula’s γ -ray flares, and point out potential modifications to models of astrophysical transients invoking the spin-down of a millisecond magnetar.

Acceleration of particles by electron plasma waves in a moderate magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.F.

1976-01-01

A general scheme is established to examine any magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) configuration for its acceleration potential including the effects of various types of plasma waves. The analysis is restricted to plasma waves in a magnetic field with electron cyclotron frequency less than, but comparable to, the electron plasma frequency (moderate field). The general role of electron plasma waves is examined in this paper independent of a specific MHD configuration or generating mechanism in the weak turbulence limit. The evolution of arbitrary wave spectra in a non-relativistic plasma is examined, and it is shown that the nonlinear process of induced scattering on the polarization clouds of ions leads to the collapse of the waves to an almost one-dimensional spectrum directed along the magnetic field. The subsequent acceleration of non-relativistic and relativistic particles is considered. It is shown for non-relativistic particles that when the wave distribution has a negative slope the acceleration is retarded for lower velocities and enhanced for higher velocities compared to acceleration by an isotropic distribution of electron plasma waves in a magnetic field. This change in behaviour is expected to affect the development of wave spectra and the subsequent acceleration spectrum. (Auth.)

Magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, P.

1979-01-01

By using measurements with the University of Iowa plasma wave experiment on the Imp 6 satellite a study has been conducted of the spectrum of electrostatic plasma waves in the terrestrial magnetosheath. Electrostatic plasma wave turbulence is almost continuously present throughout the magnetosheath with broadband (20 Hz to 70 kHz) rms field intensities typically 0.01--1.0 mV m -1 . Peak intensities of about 1.0 mV m -1 near the electron plasma frequency (30--60 kHz) have been detected occasionally. Two or three components can usually be identified in the spectrum of magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence: a high-frequency (> or =30kHz) component peaking at the electron plasma frequency f/sub p/e, a low-frequency component with a broad intensity maximum below the nominal ion plasma frequency f/sub p/i (approx. f/sub p/e/43), and a less well defined intermediate component in the range f/sub p/i < f< f/sub p/e. The intensity distribution of magnetosheath electrostatic turbulence clearly shows that the low-frequency component is associated with the bow shock, suggesting that the ion heating begun at the shock continues into the downstream magnetosheath. Electrostatic waves below 1 kHz are polarized along the magnetic field direction, a result consistent with the polarization of electrostatic waves at the shock. The high- and intermediate-frequency components are features of the magnetosheath spectrum which are not characteristic of the shock spectrum but are often detected in the upstream solar wind. The intensity distribution of electrostatic turbulence at the magnetosheath plasma frequency has no apparent correlation with the shock, indicating that electron plasma oscillations are a general feature of the magnetosheath. The plasma wave noise shows a tendency to decrease toward the dawn and dusk regions, consistent with a general decrease in turbulence away from the subsolar magnetosheath

Fractional Transport in Strongly Turbulent Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Isliker, Heinz; Vlahos, Loukas; Constantinescu, Dana

2017-07-01

We analyze statistically the energization of particles in a large scale environment of strong turbulence that is fragmented into a large number of distributed current filaments. The turbulent environment is generated through strongly perturbed, 3D, resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulations, and it emerges naturally from the nonlinear evolution, without a specific reconnection geometry being set up. Based on test-particle simulations, we estimate the transport coefficients in energy space for use in the classical Fokker-Planck (FP) equation, and we show that the latter fails to reproduce the simulation results. The reason is that transport in energy space is highly anomalous (strange), the particles perform Levy flights, and the energy distributions show extended power-law tails. Newly then, we motivate the use and derive the specific form of a fractional transport equation (FTE), we determine its parameters and the order of the fractional derivatives from the simulation data, and we show that the FTE is able to reproduce the high energy part of the simulation data very well. The procedure for determining the FTE parameters also makes clear that it is the analysis of the simulation data that allows us to make the decision whether a classical FP equation or a FTE is appropriate.

Multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics with flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, G. R., E-mail: graham.dennis@anu.edu.au; Dewar, R. L.; Hole, M. J. [Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, ACT 0200 (Australia); Hudson, S. R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2014-04-15

We present an extension of the multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) equilibrium model that includes plasma flow. This new model is a generalization of Woltjer's model of relaxed magnetohydrodynamics equilibria with flow. We prove that as the number of plasma regions becomes infinite, our extension of MRxMHD reduces to ideal MHD with flow. We also prove that some solutions to MRxMHD with flow are not time-independent in the laboratory frame, and instead have 3D structure which rotates in the toroidal direction with fixed angular velocity. This capability gives MRxMHD potential application to describing rotating 3D MHD structures such as 'snakes' and long-lived modes.

Kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic simulation study of fast ions and toroidal Alfven eigenmodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todo, Y.; Sato, T.

2001-01-01

Particle-magnetohydrodynamic and Fokker-Planck-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fast ions and toroidicity-induced Alfven eigenmodes (TAE modes) have been carried out. Alpha particle losses induced by TAE mode are investigated with particle-magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Trapped particles near the passing-trapped boundary in the phase space are also lost appreciably in addition to the counter-passing particles. In Fokker-Planck-magnetohydrodynamic simulation source and slowing-down of fast ions are considered. A coherent pulsating behavior of multiple TAE modes, which occurs in neutral beam injection experiments, is observed when the slowing-down time is much longer than the damping time of the TAE modes and the fast-ion pressure is sufficiently high. For a slowing-down time comparable to the damping time, the TAE modes reach steady saturation levels. (author)

Kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic simulation study of fast ions and toroidal Alfven eigenmodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todo, Y.; Sato, T.

1999-01-01

Particle-magnetohydrodynamic and Fokker-Planck-magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fast ions and toroidicity-induced Alfven eigenmodes (TAE modes) have been carried out. Alpha particle losses induced by TAE mode are investigated with particle-magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Trapped particles near the passing-trapped boundary in the phase space are also lost appreciably in addition to the counter-passing particles. In Fokker-Planck-magnetohydrodynamic simulation source and slowing-down of fast ions are considered. A coherent pulsating behavior of multiple TAE modes, which occurs in neutral beam injection experiments, is observed when the slowing-down time is much longer than the damping time of the TAE modes and the fast-ion pressure is sufficiently high. For a slowing-down time comparable to the damping time, the TAE modes reach steady saturation levels. (author)

Variational formulation of relaxed and multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Dewar, R. L.; Yoshida, Z.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Hudson, S. R.

2015-12-01

> Ideal magnetohydrodynamics (IMHD) is strongly constrained by an infinite number of microscopic constraints expressing mass, entropy and magnetic flux conservation in each infinitesimal fluid element, the latter preventing magnetic reconnection. By contrast, in the Taylor relaxation model for formation of macroscopically self-organized plasma equilibrium states, all these constraints are relaxed save for the global magnetic fluxes and helicity. A Lagrangian variational principle is presented that leads to a new, fully dynamical, relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (RxMHD), such that all static solutions are Taylor states but also allows state with flow. By postulating that some long-lived macroscopic current sheets can act as barriers to relaxation, separating the plasma into multiple relaxation regions, a further generalization, multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) is developed.

Radiation-magnetohydrodynamics of fusion plasmas on parallel supercomputers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasar, O.; Moses, G.A.; Tautges, T.J.

1993-01-01

A parallel computational model to simulate fusion plasmas in the radiation-magnetohydrodynamics (R-MHD) framework is presented. Plasmas are often treated in a fluid dynamics context (magnetohydrodynamics, MHD), but when the flow field is coupled with the radiation field it falls into a more complex category, radiation magnetohydrodynamics (R-MHD), where the interaction between the flow field and the radiation field is nonlinear. The solution for the radiation field usually dominates the R-MHD computation. To solve for the radiation field, one usually chooses the S N discrete ordinates method (a deterministic method) rather than the Monte Carlo method if the geometry is not complex. The discrete ordinates method on a massively parallel processor (Intel iPSC/860) is implemented. The speedup is 14 for a run on 16 processors and the performance is 3.7 times better than a single CRAY YMP processor implementation. (orig./DG)

BOOK REVIEW: Nonlinear Magnetohydrodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Shafranov, V.

1998-08-01

electron temperature in the central region of the plasma column (internal disruptions), (b) The most dangerous major disruptions, (c) The edge localized mode (ELM). The author analyses in detail the Kadomtsev reconnection model of the sawtooth collapse, as a basis for understanding all the different relaxation processes in tokamaks. He pays attention to the explanation of the difference between the Kadomtsev reconnection model of sawtooth collapse and the observed partial reconnection with a non-flat final q(r) profile inside the magnetic surface q = 1. Considering major disruptions he gives a clear qualitative picture of this threatening phenomenon, beginning with the shrinking of the temperature and current density profiles, followed by the (m, n) = (2,1) tearing mode instability and ending with multihelicity tearing instabilities leading to stochastic field lines and small scale turbulent processes. In connection with the ELMs observed after the L-H transition, the author explains initially the nature of the improved `high confinement' regime (H mode) developed from the `low confinement' regime (L mode) when the input power exceeds a threshold level at appropriate boundary conditions. The ELMs are considered as `a relaxation of the steep pressure gradient at the plasma edge' due to ballooning instability. The characteristic features of the giant ELMs (type 1) occurring at high plasma heating power and of the faster type III ELMs, which were the first to be observed, are presented in lucid form. At the end of Chapter 8, in Table 8.1, the main MHD properties of the disruptive processes in tokamak plasmas are summarized. In Chapter 9, the dynamical processes in toroidal pinches with stabilization of large scale perturbations by a weak (mainly internal) toroidal magnetic field, having the reverse direction to the current channel, are considered. In this system 3-D turbulence redistributes the total flux, conserved owing to the metallic wall in accordance with Taylor

Magnetohydrodynamic generation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masai, Tadahisa; Ishibashi, Eiichi; Kojima, Akihiro.

1967-01-01

The present invention relates to a magneto-hydrodynamic generation method which increases the conductivity of active gas and the generated energy. In the conventional method of open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic generation, the working fluid does not possess a favorable electric conductivity since the collision cross section is large when the combustion is carried out in a condition of excess oxygen. Furthermore, combustion under a condition of oxygen shortage is uncapable of completely converting the generated energy. The air preheater or boiler is not sufficient to collect the waste gas resulting in damage and other economic disadvantages. In the present invention, the combustion gas caused by excess fuel in the combuster is supplied to the generator as the working gas, to which air or fully oxidized air is added to be reheated. While incomplete gas used for heat collection is not adequate, the unburned damage may be eliminated by combusting again and increasing the gas temperature and heat collection rate. Furthermore, a diffuser is mounted at the rear side of the generator to decrease the gas combustion rate. Thus, even when directly absorbing the preheated fully oxidized air or the ordinary air, the boiler is free from damage caused by combustion delay or impulsive force. (M. Ishida)

Radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the formation of hot accretion disk coronae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Yan-Fei [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Stone, James M. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Davis, Shane W. [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Toronto, ON M5S3H4 (Canada)

2014-04-01

A new mechanism to form a magnetic pressure supported, high temperature corona above the photosphere of an accretion disk is explored using three dimensional radiation magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The thermal properties of the disk are calculated self-consistently by balancing radiative cooling through the surfaces of the disk with heating due to dissipation of turbulence driven by magneto-rotational instability (MRI). As has been noted in previous work, we find the dissipation rate per unit mass increases dramatically with height above the mid-plane, in stark contrast to the α-disk model which assumes this quantity is a constant. Thus, we find that in simulations with a low surface density (and therefore a shallow photosphere), the fraction of energy dissipated above the photosphere is significant (about 3.4% in our lowest surface density model), and this fraction increases as surface density decreases. When a significant fraction of the accretion energy is dissipated in the optically thin photosphere, the gas temperature increases substantially and a high temperature, magnetic pressure supported corona is formed. The volume-averaged temperature in the disk corona is more than 10 times larger than at the disk mid-plane. Moreover, gas temperature in the corona is strongly anti-correlated with gas density, which implies the corona formed by MRI turbulence is patchy. This mechanism to form an accretion disk corona may help explain the observed relation between the spectral index and luminosity from active galactic nucleus (AGNs), and the soft X-ray excess from some AGNs. It may also be relevant to spectral state changes in X-ray binaries.

Wave turbulence in magnetized plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Galtier

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the recent progress on wave turbulence for magnetized plasmas (MHD, Hall MHD and electron MHD in the incompressible and compressible cases. The emphasis is made on homogeneous and anisotropic turbulence which usually provides the best theoretical framework to investigate space and laboratory plasmas. The solar wind and the coronal heating problems are presented as two examples of application of anisotropic wave turbulence. The most important results of wave turbulence are reported and discussed in the context of natural and simulated magnetized plasmas. Important issues and possible spurious interpretations are also discussed.

Plasma Wave Turbulence and Particle Heating Caused by Electron Beams, Radiation, and Pinches.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-01-01

34Vlasov turbulence, this means that Poisson’s equation for F(k;t )m dr exp(- k-r)(g (r,t)-’(0,t)) the field fluctuations must be taken into account ...effect can work in principle for a narrow band cm -. , and therefore an electron plasma frequency off, = 35 width spectrum. In Sec. IV, we discuss some...sufficiently intense to saturate the beam-unstable modes. Such levels appear to produce either fundmental or harmonic emission." 1 Both have been

Role of Turbulent Damping in Cosmic Ray Galactic Winds

Science.gov (United States)

Holguin, Francisco; Ruszkowski, Mateusz; Lazarian, Alex; Yang, H. Y. Karen

2018-06-01

Large-scale galactic winds driven by stellar feedback are one phenomenon that influences the dynamical and chemical evolution of a galaxy, pushing and redistributing material throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) and galactic halo. A detailed understanding of the exact physical mechanisms responsible for these winds is lacking. Non-thermal feedback from galactic cosmic rays (CR), high-energy charged particles accelerated in supernovae and young stars, can impact the efficiency in accelerating the wind. In the self-confinement model, CR stream along magnetic field lines at the Alfven speed due to scattering off self-excited Aflv{é}n waves. However, magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence stirred up by stellar feedback dissipates these confining waves, allowing CR to be super Aflvenic. Previous simulations relying on a simplified model of transport have shown that super-Alfv{é}nic streaming of CRs can launch a stronger wind. We perform three-dimensional MHD simulations of a section of a galactic disk, including CR streaming dependent on the local environment, using a realistic model of turbulent dissipation of Alfven waves presented in Lazarian (2016). In this implementation, the CR streaming speed can be super Alfv{é}nic depending on local conditions. We compare results for Alfv{é}nic and locally determined streaming, and find that gas/CR distributions and instantaneous mass loading factor of the wind are different depending on the level of turbulence.Lazarian, A. “Damping of Alfven waves by turbulence and its consequences: from cosmic-ray streaming to launching winds.” ApJ. Vol. 833, Num. 2. (2016).

Magnetohydrodynamics in rectangular ducts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenhart, L.

1994-04-01

Magnetohydrodynamic flow in straight ducts or bends is a key issue, which has to be investigated for developing self-cooled liquid metal blankets of fusion reactors. The code presented solves the full set of governing equations and simulates all phenomena of such flows, including inertial effects. The range of application is limited by computer storage only. (orig./WL)

Dust trapping by vortices in transitional disks: evidence for non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects in protoplanetary disks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Zhaohuan; Stone, James M.

2014-01-01

We study particle trapping at the edge of a gap opened by a planet in a protoplanetary disk. In particular, we explore the effects of turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability on particle trapping, using global three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations including Lagrangian dust particles. We study disks either in the ideal MHD limit or dominated by ambipolar diffusion (AD) which plays an essential role at the outer regions of a protoplanetary disk. With ideal MHD, strong turbulence (the equivalent viscosity parameter α ∼ 10 –2 ) in disks prevents vortex formation at the edge of the gap opened by a 9 M J planet, and most particles (except the particles that drift fastest) pile up at the outer gap edge almost axisymmetrically. When AD is considered, turbulence is significantly suppressed (α ≲ 10 –3 ), and a large vortex forms at the edge of the planet induced gap, which survives ∼1000 orbits. The vortex can efficiently trap dust particles that span 3 orders of magnitude in size within 100 planetary orbits. We have also carried out two-dimensional hydrodynamical (HD) simulations using viscosity as an approximation to MHD turbulence. These HD simulations can reproduce vortex generation at the gap edge as seen in MHD simulations. Finally, we use our simulation results to generate synthetic images for ALMA dust continuum observations on Oph IRS 48 and HD 142527, which show good agreement with existing observations. Predictions for future ALMA cycle 2 observations have been made. We conclude that the asymmetry in ALMA observations can be explained by dust trapping vortices and the existence of vortices could be the evidence that the outer protoplanetary disks are dominated by AD with α < 10 –3 at the disk midplane.

Turbulence and the Formation of Filaments, Loops, and Shock Fronts in NGC 1275

Science.gov (United States)

Falceta-Gonçalves, D.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; Gallagher, J. S.; Lazarian, A.

2010-01-01

NGC 1275, the central galaxy in the Perseus cluster, is the host of gigantic hot bipolar bubbles inflated by active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets observed in the radio as Perseus A. It presents a spectacular Hα-emitting nebulosity surrounding NGC 1275, with loops and filaments of gas extending to over 50 kpc. The origin of the filaments is still unknown, but probably correlates with the mechanism responsible for the giant buoyant bubbles. We present 2.5 and three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the central region of the cluster in which turbulent energy, possibly triggered by star formation and supernovae (SNe) explosions, is introduced. The simulations reveal that the turbulence injected by massive stars could be responsible for the nearly isotropic distribution of filaments and loops that drag magnetic fields upward as indicated by recent observations. Weak shell-like shock fronts propagating into the intracluster medium (ICM) with velocities of 100-500 km s-1 are found, also resembling the observations. The isotropic outflow momentum of the turbulence slows the infall of the ICM, thus limiting further starburst activity in NGC 1275. As the turbulence is subsonic over most of the simulated volume, the turbulent kinetic energy is not efficiently converted into heat and additional heating is required to suppress the cooling flow at the core of the cluster. Simulations combining the MHD turbulence with the AGN outflow can reproduce the temperature radial profile observed around NGC 1275. While the AGN mechanism is the main heating source, the SNe are crucial to isotropize the energy distribution.

MHD turbulent dynamo in astrophysics: Theory and numerical simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Hongsong

2001-10-01

This thesis treats the physics of dynamo effects through theoretical modeling of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) systems and direct numerical simulations of MHD turbulence. After a brief introduction to astrophysical dynamo research in Chapter 1, the following issues in developing dynamic models of dynamo theory are addressed: In Chapter 2, nonlinearity that arises from the back reaction of magnetic field on velocity field is considered in a new model for the dynamo α-effect. The dependence of α-coefficient on magnetic Reynolds number, kinetic Reynolds number, magnetic Prandtl number and statistical properties of MHD turbulence is studied. In Chapter 3, the time-dependence of magnetic helicity dynamics and its influence on dynamo effects are studied with a theoretical model and 3D direct numerical simulations. The applicability of and the connection between different dynamo models are also discussed. In Chapter 4, processes of magnetic field amplification by turbulence are numerically simulated with a 3D Fourier spectral method. The initial seed magnetic field can be a large-scale field, a small-scale magnetic impulse, and a combination of these two. Other issues, such as dynamo processes due to helical Alfvénic waves and the implication and validity of the Zeldovich relation, are also addressed in Appendix B and Chapters 4 & 5, respectively. Main conclusions and future work are presented in Chapter 5. Applications of these studies are intended for astrophysical magnetic field generation through turbulent dynamo processes, especially when nonlinearity plays central role. In studying the physics of MHD turbulent dynamo processes, the following tools are developed: (1)A double Fourier transform in both space and time for the linearized MHD equations (Chapter 2 and Appendices A & B). (2)A Fourier spectral numerical method for direct simulation of 3D incompressible MHD equations (Appendix C).

Anomalous resistivity due to low-frequency turbulence. [of collisionless plasma with limited acceleration of high velocity runaway electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, H. L.; Palmadesso, P. J.

1983-01-01

Large amplitude ion cyclotron waves have been observed on auroral field lines. In the presence of an electric field parallel to the ambient magnetic field these waves prevent the acceleration of the bulk of the plasma electrons leading to the formation of a runaway tail. It is shown that low-frequency turbulence can also limit the acceleration of high-velocity runaway electrons via pitch angle scattering at the anomalous Doppler resonance.

Current-driven turbulence in plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kluiver, H. de.

1977-10-01

Research on plasma heating in linear and toroidal systems using current-driven turbulence is reviewed. The motivation for this research is presented. Relations between parameters describing the turbulent plasma state and macroscopic observables are given. Several linear and toroidal devices used in current-driven turbulence studies are described, followed by a discussion of special diagnostic methods used. Experimental results on the measurement of electron and ion heating, anomalous plasma conductivity and associated turbulent fluctuation spectra are reviewed. Theories on current-driven turbulence are discussed and compared with experiments. It is demonstrated from the experimental results that current-driven turbulence occurs not only for extreme values of the electric field but also for an experimentally much more accessible and wide range of parameters. This forms a basis for a discussion on possible future applications in fusion-oriented plasma research

Multicomponent diffusion in two-temperature magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramshaw, J.D.; Chang, C.H.

1996-01-01

A recent hydrodynamic theory of multicomponent diffusion in multitemperature gas mixtures [J. D. Ramshaw, J. Non-Equilib. Thermodyn. 18, 121 (1993)] is generalized to include the velocity-dependent Lorentz force on charged species in a magnetic field B. This generalization is used to extend a previous treatment of ambipolar diffusion in two-temperature multicomponent plasmas [J. D. Ramshaw and C. H. Chang, Plasma Chem. Plasma Process. 13, 489 (1993)] to situations in which B and the electrical current density are nonzero. General expressions are thereby derived for the species diffusion fluxes, including thermal diffusion, in both single- and two-temperature multicomponent magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). It is shown that the usual zero-field form of the Stefan-Maxwell equations can be preserved in the presence of B by introducing generalized binary diffusion tensors dependent on B. A self-consistent effective binary diffusion approximation is presented that provides explicit approximate expressions for the diffusion fluxes. Simplifications due to the small electron mass are exploited to obtain an ideal MHD description in which the electron diffusion coefficients drop out, resistive effects vanish, and the electric field reduces to a particularly simple form. This description should be well suited for numerical calculations. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Magnetohydrodynamics cellular automata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatori, Tadatsugu.

1990-02-01

There has been a renewal of interest in cellular automata, partly because they give an architecture for a special purpose computer with parallel processing optimized to solve a particular problem. The lattice gas cellular automata are briefly surveyed, which are recently developed to solve partial differential equations such as hydrodynamics or magnetohydrodynamics. A new model is given in the present paper to implement the magnetic Lorentz force in a more deterministic and local procedure than the previous one. (author)

Magnetohydrodynamic cellular automata

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hatori, Tadatsugu [National Inst. for Fusion Science, Nagoya (Japan)

1990-03-01

There has been a renewal of interest in cellular automata, partly because they give an architecture for a special purpose computer with parallel processing optimized to solve a particular problem. The lattice gas cellular automata are briefly surveyed, which are recently developed to solve partial differential equations such as hydrodynamics or magnetohydrodynamics. A new model is given in the present paper to implement the magnetic Lorentz force in a more deterministic and local procedure than the previous one. (author).

Magnetohydrodynamic cellular automata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatori, Tadatsugu

1990-01-01

There has been a renewal of interest in cellular automata, partly because they give an architecture for a special purpose computer with parallel processing optimized to solve a particular problem. The lattice gas cellular automata are briefly surveyed, which are recently developed to solve partial differential equations such as hydrodynamics or magnetohydrodynamics. A new model is given in the present paper to implement the magnetic Lorentz force in a more deterministic and local procedure than the previous one. (author)

Plasma turbulence effects on aurorae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishin, E.V.; Telegin, V.A.

1989-01-01

Analysis of modern state of microprocesses physics in plasma of aurorare, initiated by energetic electron flow intrusion, is presented. It is shown that there is a number of phenomena, which cannot be explained under non-collision (collective) mechanisms of interaction are applied. Effects of plasma turbulence in the area of auroral arcs are considered. Introduction of a new structural element to auroral arc - plasma-turbulence (PT) layer is substantiated. Numerical simulation of electron kinetics, changes in neutral composition, as well as generation of IR- and UV-radiation in PT layer has been realized

Turbulence in a Global Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation of the Earth's Magnetosphere during Northward and Southward Interplanetary Magnetic Field

Science.gov (United States)

El-Alaoui, M.; Richard, R. L.; Ashour-Abdalla, M.; Walker, R. J.; Goldstein, M. L.

2012-01-01

We report the results of MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere for idealized steady solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The simulations feature purely northward and southward magnetic fields and were designed to study turbulence in the magnetotail plasma sheet. We found that the power spectral densities (PSDs) for both northward and southward IMF had the characteristics of turbulent flow. In both cases, the PSDs showed the three scale ranges expected from theory: the energy-containing scale, the inertial range, and the dissipative range. The results were generally consistent with in-situ observations and theoretical predictions. While the two cases studied, northward and southward IMF, had some similar characteristics, there were significant differences as well. For southward IMF, localized reconnection was the main energy source for the turbulence. For northward IMF, remnant reconnection contributed to driving the turbulence. Boundary waves may also have contributed. In both cases, the PSD slopes had spatial distributions in the dissipative range that reflected the pattern of resistive dissipation. For southward IMF there was a trend toward steeper slopes in the dissipative range with distance down the tail. For northward IMF there was a marked dusk-dawn asymmetry with steeper slopes on the dusk side of the tail. The inertial scale PSDs had a dusk-dawn symmetry during the northward IMF interval with steeper slopes on the dawn side. This asymmetry was not found in the distribution of inertial range slopes for southward IMF. The inertial range PSD slopes were clustered around values close to the theoretical expectation for both northward and southward IMF. In the dissipative range, however, the slopes were broadly distributed and the median values were significantly different, consistent with a different distribution of resistivity.

Warm-ion drift Alfven turbulence and the L-H transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, B.

1998-01-01

Computations of fluid drift turbulence treating ions and electrons on equal footing, including both temperatures, are conducted in a model toroidal geometry. The resulting 'ion mixing mode' turbulence bears features of both electron drift-Alfven and ion temperature gradient turbulence, and nonlinear sensitivity to the relative strengths of the density and temperature gradients provides a possible route to the bifurcation needed for the L-H transition. (author)

Magnetohydrodynamics and the thermonuclear problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alfven, H [Department of Electronics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)

1958-07-01

The importance of magnetohydrodynamics and plasma physics for the solution of thermonuclear problem is presented in the paper. Methods for capture of a plasma by a magnetic field are discussed. From the study it is concluded that in principle it is possible to shoot heated plasma into a magnetic field and capture it there. A possible method of capturing plasma which is shot into a magnetic field is illustrated. Magnetohydrodynamic research performed during the last decade in Stockholm is presented. Following a long series of investigations of relatively cool plasmas, it has been started a series of experimental investigations on hot plasmas, concentrating on the fundamental properties of the plasma. New ways of the approach to the thermonuclear problem are analysed. Experiments have been with discharges of a few hundred kiloamps to produce fast-moving magnetized plasmas, in order to investigate whether they could be captured by magnetic fields in the discussed way.

Nonlinear Simulations of Trapped Electron Mode Turbulence in Low Magnetic Shear Stellarators

Science.gov (United States)

Faber, B. J.; Pueschel, M. J.; Terry, P. W.; Hegna, C. C.

2017-10-01

Optimized stellarators, like the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX), often operate with small global magnetic shear to avoid low-order rational surfaces and magnetic islands. Nonlinear, flux-tube gyrokinetic simulations of density-gradient-driven Trapped Electron Mode (TEM) turbulence in HSX shows two distinct spectral fluctuation regions: long-wavelength slab-like TEMs localized by global magnetic shear that extend along field lines and short-wavelength TEMs localized by local magnetic shear to a single helical bad curvature region. The slab-like TEMs require computational domains significantly larger than one poloidal turn and are computationally expensive, making turbulent optimization studies challenging. A computationally more efficient, zero-average-magnetic-shear approximation is shown to sufficiently describe the relevant nonlinear physics and replicate finite-shear computations, and can be exploited in quasilinear models based on linear gyrokinetics as a feasible optimization tool. TEM quasilinear heat fluxes are computed with the zero-shear approximation and compared to experimentally-relevant nonlinear gyrokinetic TEM heat fluxes for HSX. Research supported by U.S. DoE Grants DE-FG02-99ER54546, DE-FG02-93ER54222 and DE-FG02-89ER53291.

Multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics with anisotropy and flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, G. R., E-mail: graham.dennis@anu.edu.au; Dewar, R. L.; Hole, M. J. [Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200 (Australia); Hudson, S. R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2014-07-15

We present an extension of the multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) equilibrium model that includes pressure anisotropy and general plasma flows. This anisotropic extension to our previous isotropic model is motivated by Sun and Finn's model of relaxed anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic equilibria. We prove that as the number of plasma regions becomes infinite, our anisotropic extension of MRxMHD reduces to anisotropic ideal MHD with flow. The continuously nested flux surface limit of our MRxMHD model is the first variational principle for anisotropic plasma equilibria with general flow fields.

BOOK REVIEW: Plasma and Fluid Turbulence: Theory and Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, A.; Itoh, S. I.; Itoh, K.

2003-03-01

extensive description of dynamo theory in Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. This area has applications both in geophysics and plasma confinement by magnetic fields. The most well known example being the reversed field pinch. This part is fundamental in several respects and the principle of relaxation of the turbulence to quasi stationary states that can be predicted theoretically is very elegant. The problem of rotation of magnetized plasmas and its importance for obtaining internal transport barriers is also treated here. This part is entirely described by the one-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. The next part deals with plasma turbulence. It starts from the Braginskii collisional fluid equations. These are then reduced for typical cases of quasi two dimensional plasma turbulence where the magnetic perturbations can be described by a vector potential which is parallel to the unperturbed magnetic field. Also a couple of well known sets of nonlinear electrostatic systems for drift waves are presented as well as a gyro-averaged kinetic description for inhomogeneous plasmas. Then, several low frequency eigenmodes in magnetized plasmas are described and finally the quasilinear theory of transport is presented. The following part deals with strongly nonlinear phenomena in inhomogeneous plasma turbulence. Here, concepts of importance for confinement such as convective cells, zonal flows and streamers are presented. As a natural continuation, renormalization and scale invariance methods for strongly nonlinear plasmas are given. Also non-Markovian properties are discussed. This is natural since turbulence in inhomogeneous plasmas typically has a rather large real eigenfrequency leading to memory of the wave phase. The next part deals with plasma turbulence driven by inhomogeneities. This is followed by a new part on flows where the flows this time are generated by the turbulence which is driven by plasma inhomogeneities. In particular flows driven by such instabilities can

Interactions between two magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, S. H.; Ip, W.-H.

2011-01-01

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) driven by velocity shear is a generator of waves found away from the vicinity of the velocity-shear layers since the fast-mode waves radiated from the surface perturbation can propagate away from the transition layer. Thus the nonlinear evolution associated with KHI is not confined near the velocity-shear layer. To understand the physical processes in multiple velocity-shear layers, the interactions between two KHIs at a pair of tangential discontinuities are studied by two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations. It is shown that the interactions between two neighboring velocity-shear layers are dominated by the propagation of the fast-mode waves radiated from KHIs in a nonuniform medium. That is, the fast-mode Mach number of the surface waves M Fy , a key factor of the nonlinear evolution of KHI, will vary with the nonuniform background plasma velocity due to the existence of two neighboring velocity-shear layers. As long as the M Fy observed in the plasma rest frame across the neighboring velocity-shear layer is larger than one, newly formed fast-mode Mach-cone-like (MCL) plane waves generated by the fast-mode waves can be found in this region. As results of the interactions of two KHIs, reflection and distortion of the MCL plane waves generate the turbulence and increase the plasma temperature, which provide possible mechanisms of heating and accelerating local plasma between two neighboring velocity-shear layers.

The role of zonal flows in the saturation of multi-scale gyrokinetic turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Staebler, G. M.; Candy, J. [General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186 (United States); Howard, N. T. [Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Holland, C. [University of California San Diego, San Diego, California 92093 (United States)

2016-06-15

The 2D spectrum of the saturated electric potential from gyrokinetic turbulence simulations that include both ion and electron scales (multi-scale) in axisymmetric tokamak geometry is analyzed. The paradigm that the turbulence is saturated when the zonal (axisymmetic) ExB flow shearing rate competes with linear growth is shown to not apply to the electron scale turbulence. Instead, it is the mixing rate by the zonal ExB velocity spectrum with the turbulent distribution function that competes with linear growth. A model of this mechanism is shown to be able to capture the suppression of electron-scale turbulence by ion-scale turbulence and the threshold for the increase in electron scale turbulence when the ion-scale turbulence is reduced. The model computes the strength of the zonal flow velocity and the saturated potential spectrum from the linear growth rate spectrum. The model for the saturated electric potential spectrum is applied to a quasilinear transport model and shown to accurately reproduce the electron and ion energy fluxes of the non-linear gyrokinetic multi-scale simulations. The zonal flow mixing saturation model is also shown to reproduce the non-linear upshift in the critical temperature gradient caused by zonal flows in ion-scale gyrokinetic simulations.

The roles of turbulence on plasma heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamura, Takaichi; Kawabe, Takaya

1976-01-01

The relation between the heating rate of plasma particles and the thermalization frequency is established, and the important role of plasma turbulence in the fast thermalization process is underlined. This relation can be applied not only in the case of high current turbulent heating but also when turbulent phenomena occur with other heating means. The experimental results on ion and electron heating during the Mach II experiment are presented. The role of turbulence on particle losses accross the magnetic field is analyzed

A Meshless Method for Magnetohydrodynamics and Applications to Protoplanetary Disks

Science.gov (United States)

McNally, Colin P.

2012-08-01

study. Nonetheless, how the test is posed circumvents the issues raised by tests starting from a sharp contact discontinuity yet it still shows the poor performance of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. We then comment on the connection between this behavior and the underlying lack of zeroth-order consistency in Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics interpolation. In astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and electrodynamics simulations, numerically enforcing the divergence free constraint on the magnetic field has been difficult. We observe that for point-based discretization, as used in finite-difference type and pseudo-spectral methods, the divergence free constraint can be satisfied entirely by a choice of interpolation used to define the derivatives of the magnetic field. As an example we demonstrate a new class of finite-difference type derivative operators on a regular grid which has the divergence free property. This principle clarifies the nature of magnetic monopole errors. The principles and techniques demonstrated in this chapter are particularly useful for the magnetic field, but can be applied to any vector field. Finally, we examine global zoom-in simulations of turbulent magnetorotationally unstable flow. We extract and analyze the high-current regions produced in the turbulent flow. Basic parameters of these regions are abstracted, and we build one dimensional models including non-ideal MHD, and radiative transfer. For sufficiently high temperatures, an instability resulting from the temperature dependence of the Ohmic resistivity is found. This instability concentrates current sheets, resulting in the possibility of rapid heating from temperatures on the order of 600 Kelvin to 2000 Kelvin in magnetorotationally turbulent regions of protoplanetary disks. This is a possible local mechanism for the melting of chondrules and the formation of other high-temperature materials in protoplanetary disks.

Transfer equations for spectral densities of inhomogeneous MHD turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tu, C.-Y.; Marsch, E.

1990-01-01

On the basis of the dynamic equations governing the evolution of magnetohydrodynamic fluctuations expressed in terms of Elsaesser variables and of their correlation functions derived by Marsch and Tu, a new set of equations is presented describing the evolutions of the energy spectrum e ± and of the residual energy spectra e R and e S of MHD turbulence in an inhomogeneous magnetofluid. The nonlinearities associated with triple correlations in these equations are analysed in detail and evaluated approximately. The resulting energy-transfer functions across wavenumber space are discussed. For e ± they are shown to be approximately energy-conserving if the gradients of the flow speed and density are weak. New cascading functions are heuristically determined by an appropriate dimensional analysis and plausible physical arguments, following the standard phenomenology of fluid turbulence. However, for e R the triple correlations do not correspond to an 'energy' conserving process, but also represent a nonlinear source term for e R . If this source term can be neglected, the spectrum equations are found to be closed. The problem of dealing with the nonlinear source terms remains to be solved in future investigations. (author)

Nonlinear electron magnetohydrodynamics physics. IV. Whistler instabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urrutia, J. M.; Stenzel, R. L.; Strohmaier, K. D.

2008-01-01

A very large low-frequency whistler mode is excited with magnetic loop antennas in a uniform laboratory plasma. The wave magnetic field exceeds the ambient field causing in one polarity a field reversal, and a magnetic topology resembling that of spheromaks in the other polarity. These propagating ''whistler spheromaks'' strongly accelerate the electrons and create non-Maxwellian distributions in their toroidal current ring. It is observed that the locally energized electrons in the current ring excite new electromagnetic instabilities and emit whistler modes with frequencies unrelated to the applied frequency. Emissions are also observed from electrons excited in X-type neutral lines around the antenna. The properties of the excited waves such as amplitudes, frequency spectra, field topologies, propagation, polarization, growth, and damping have been investigated. The waves remain linear (B wave 0 ) and convert a small part of the electron kinetic energy into wave magnetic energy (B wave 2 /2μ 0 e )

Tearing instabilities in turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizawa, A.; Nakajima, N.

2009-01-01

perturbation of tearing mode. The latter is small scale turbulent mixing of magnetic flux and it produces magnetic reconnection due to large non-ideal MHD effects at the resonant surface of tearing instability. The turbulent mixing consists of ExB flow mixing and electron diamagnetic flow mixing. The non-ideal MHD effect by ExB flow mixing is larger than that by electron diamagnetic flow mixing. (author)

Compression of magnetohydrodynamic simulation data using singular value decomposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo Negrete, D. del; Hirshman, S.P.; Spong, D.A.; D'Azevedo, E.F.

2007-01-01

Numerical calculations of magnetic and flow fields in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations can result in extensive data sets. Particle-based calculations in these MHD fields, needed to provide closure relations for the MHD equations, will require communication of this data to multiple processors and rapid interpolation at numerous particle orbit positions. To facilitate this analysis it is advantageous to compress the data using singular value decomposition (SVD, or principal orthogonal decomposition, POD) methods. As an example of the compression technique, SVD is applied to magnetic field data arising from a dynamic nonlinear MHD code. The performance of the SVD compression algorithm is analyzed by calculating Poincare plots for electron orbits in a three-dimensional magnetic field and comparing the results with uncompressed data

Saturation of ion-acoustic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bychenkov, V.Yu.; Gradov, O.M.

1985-01-01

The time evolution of ion-acoustic turbulence is investigated taking into consideration both the scattering of electrons and the induced scattering of waves by the ions. The growth rate of the ion-acoustic turbulence is studied as the function of the wave number, including the long-wave ion sound excitations. It is shown that the relaxation of the ion-acoustic turbulence leads to the quasistationary noise distributions, which are the products of distributions according to the wave number and to the angle. The spectra conform to the stationary theory. (D.Gy.)

Relativistic magnetohydrodynamics as a Hamiltonian system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, D.D.; Kupershmidt, A.

1985-01-01

The equations of ideal relativistic magnetohydrodynamics in the laboratory frame form a noncanonical Hamiltonian system with the same Poisson bracket as for the nonrelativistic system, but with dynamical variables and Hamiltonian obtained via a regular deformation of their nonrelativistic counterparts [fr

Magneto-hydrodynamical model for plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ruikuan; Yang, Jiayan

2017-10-01

Based on the Newton's second law and the Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic field, we establish a new 3-D incompressible magneto-hydrodynamics model for the motion of plasma under the standard Coulomb gauge. By using the Galerkin method, we prove the existence of a global weak solution for this new 3-D model.

Magnetohydrodynamic energy conversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, R.J.

1987-01-01

The object of this book is to present a review of the basic principles and practical aspects of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy conversion. The author has tried to give qualitative semiphysical arguments where possible for the benefit of the reader who is unfamiliar with plasma physics. The aim of MHD energy conversion is to apply to a specific practical goal a part of what has become a vast area of science called plasma physics. The author has attempted to note in the text where a broader view might be fruitful and to give appropriate references

Absorption of turbulent laser plasma radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silin, V.P.

1979-02-01

Some theoretical results relating to the interaction of high-power laser radiation with a plasma are presented including the development of a theory of parametric instabilities in an inhomogeneous laser plasma which shows that the size of the spatial region in which the turbulent state develops is comparable with the characteristic dimension of a several-fold fluctuation in the plasma density close to its critical value. The conditions are identified under which parametric turbulence gives an anomalous effective collision frequency substantially greater than the normal electron-ion collision frequency. Even during the build-up of strong parametric turbulence, conditions are found for the development of anomalous dissipation which results in heating of the bulk of the electrons. Under opposite conditions, the dynamic behaviour due to the influence of the ponderomotive forces associated with the p component of the radiation field shows that under slow plasma flow conditions, a considerable proportion of the laser energy absorbed by the plasma is transferred to the fast electrons. Suppression of the Cherenkov mechanism for generation of the fast electron component is observed on transition to fast plasma flow conditions. (author)

Initial liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic thin film flow experiments in the MeGA-loop facility at UCLA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morley, N.B.; Gaizer, A.A.; Tillack, M.S.; Abdou, M.A.

1995-01-01

Free surface thin film flows of liquid metal were investigated experimentally in the presence of a coplanar magnetic field. This investigation was performed in a new magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow facility, the MeGA-loop, utilizing a low melting temperature lead-bismuth alloy as the working metal. Owing to the relatively low magnetic field produced by the present field coil system, the ordinary hydrodynamic and low MHD interaction regimes only were investigated. At the high flow speeds necessary for self cooling, the importance of a well designed and constructed channel becomes obvious. Partial MHD drag, increasing the film height, is observed as Haβ 2 becomes greater than unity. MHD laminarization of the turbulent film flows is observed when Haβ/Re>0.002, but fully laminar flow was not reached. Suggestions for facility upgrades to achieve greater MHD interaction are presented in the context of these initial results. (orig.)

Statistical Mechanics of Turbulent Dynamos

Science.gov (United States)

Shebalin, John V.

2014-01-01

Incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and magnetic dynamos, which occur in magnetofluids with large fluid and magnetic Reynolds numbers, will be discussed. When Reynolds numbers are large and energy decays slowly, the distribution of energy with respect to length scale becomes quasi-stationary and MHD turbulence can be described statistically. In the limit of infinite Reynolds numbers, viscosity and resistivity become zero and if these values are used in the MHD equations ab initio, a model system called ideal MHD turbulence results. This model system is typically confined in simple geometries with some form of homogeneous boundary conditions, allowing for velocity and magnetic field to be represented by orthogonal function expansions. One advantage to this is that the coefficients of the expansions form a set of nonlinearly interacting variables whose behavior can be described by equilibrium statistical mechanics, i.e., by a canonical ensemble theory based on the global invariants (energy, cross helicity and magnetic helicity) of ideal MHD turbulence. Another advantage is that truncated expansions provide a finite dynamical system whose time evolution can be numerically simulated to test the predictions of the associated statistical mechanics. If ensemble predictions are the same as time averages, then the system is said to be ergodic; if not, the system is nonergodic. Although it had been implicitly assumed in the early days of ideal MHD statistical theory development that these finite dynamical systems were ergodic, numerical simulations provided sufficient evidence that they were, in fact, nonergodic. Specifically, while canonical ensemble theory predicted that expansion coefficients would be (i) zero-mean random variables with (ii) energy that decreased with length scale, it was found that although (ii) was correct, (i) was not and the expected ergodicity was broken. The exact cause of this broken ergodicity was explained, after much

Hall-magnetohydrodynamic waves in flowing ideal incompressible solar-wind plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhelyazkov, I

2010-01-01

It is well established now that the solar atmosphere, from the photosphere to the corona and the solar wind, is a highly structured medium. Satellite observations have confirmed the presence of steady flows there. Here, we investigate the propagation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) eigenmodes (kink and sausage surface waves) travelling along an ideal incompressible flowing plasma cylinder (flux tube) surrounded by a flowing plasma environment in the framework of the Hall magnetohydrodynamics. The propagation characteristics of the waves are studied in a reference frame moving with the mass flow outside the tube. In general, the flows change the waves' phase velocities compared with their magnitudes in a static MHD flux tube and the Hall effect extends the number of the possible wave dispersion curves. It turns out that while the kink waves, considered in the context of the standard magnetohydrodynamics, are unstable against the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, they become stable when the Hall term in the generalized Ohm's law is taken into account. The sausage waves are stable in both considerations. All results concerning the waves' propagation and their stability/instability status are obtained on the basis of the linearized Hall-magnetohydrodynamic equations and are applicable mainly to the solar wind plasmas.

Correlation Scales of the Turbulent Cascade at 1 au

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Charles W.; Vasquez, Bernard J.; Coburn, Jesse T.; Forman, Miriam A.; Stawarz, Julia E.

2018-05-01

We examine correlation functions of the mixed, third-order expressions that, when ensemble-averaged, describe the cascade of energy in the inertial range of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Unlike the correlation function of primitive variables such as the magnetic field, solar wind velocity, temperature, and density, the third-order expressions decorrelate at a scale that is approximately 20% of the lag. This suggests the nonlinear dynamics decorrelate in less than one wavelength. Therefore, each scale can behave differently from one wavelength to the next. In the same manner, different scales within the inertial range can behave independently at any given time or location. With such a cascade that can be strongly patchy and highly variable, it is often possible to obtain negative cascade rates for short periods of time, as reported earlier for individual samples of data.

Measurement of beam driven hydrodynamic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norem, J.; Black, E.; Bandura, L.; Errede, D.; Cummings, M. A. C.

2003-01-01

Cooling intense muon beams in liquid hydrogen absorbers introduces kW of heating to the cold fluid, which will drive turbulent flow. The amount of turbulence may be sufficient to help cool the liquid, but calculations are difficult. We have used a 20 MeV electron beam in a water tank to look at the scale of the beam driven convection and turbulence. The density and flow measurements are made with schlieren and Ronchi systems. We describe the optical systems and the turbulence measured. These data are being used to calibrate hydrodynamic calculations of convection driven and forced flow cooling in muon cooling absorbers

Relaxation oscillations induced by amplitude-dependent frequency in dissipative trapped electron mode turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, P.W.; Ware, A.S.; Newman, D.E.

1994-01-01

A nonlinear frequency shift in dissipative trapped electron mode turbulence is shown to give rise to a relaxation oscillation in the saturated power density spectrum. A simple non-Markovian closure for the coupled evolution of ion momentum and electron density response is developed to describe the oscillations. From solutions of a nonlinear oscillator model based on the closure, it is found that the oscillation is driven by the growth rate, as modified by the amplitude-dependent frequency shift, with inertia provided by the memory of the growth rate of prior amplitudes. This memory arises from time-history integrals common to statistical closures. The memory associated with a finite time of energy transfer between coupled spectrum components does not sustain the oscillation in the simple model. Solutions of the model agree qualitatively with the time-dependent numerical solutions of the original dissipative trapped electron model, yielding oscillations with the proper phase relationship between the fluctuation energy and the frequency shift, the proper evolution of the wave number spectrum shape and particle flux, and a realistic period

Magnetohydrodynamics and Plasma Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Kleidis, Kostas; Kuiroukidis, Apostolos; Papadopoulos, Demetrios; Vlahos, Loukas

2007-09-01

We study the linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, both in the Newtonian and the general-relativistic limit, as regards a viscous magnetized fluid of finite conductivity and discuss instability criteria. In addition, we explore the excitation of cosmological perturbations in anisotropic spacetimes, in the presence of an ambient magnetic field. Acoustic, electromagnetic (e/m) and fast-magnetosonic modes, propagating normal to the magnetic field, can be excited, resulting in several implications of cosmological significance.

Nonlinear theory of trapped electron temperature gradient driven turbulence in flat density H-mode plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahm, T.S.

1990-12-01

Ion temperature gradient turbulence based transport models have difficulties reconciling the recent DIII-D H-mode results where the density profile is flat, but χ e > χ i in the core region. In this work, a nonlinear theory is developed for recently discovered ion temperature gradient trapped electron modes propagating in the electron diamagnetic direction. This instability is predicted to be linearly unstable for L Ti /R approx-lt κ θ ρ s approx-lt (L Ti /R) 1/4 . They are also found to be strongly dispersive even at these long wavelengths, thereby suggesting the importance of the wave-particle-wave interactions in the nonlinear saturation phase. The fluctuation spectrum and anomalous fluxes are calculated. In accordance with the trends observed in DIII-D, the predicted electron thermal diffusivity can be larger than the ion thermal diffusivity. 17 refs., 3 figs

Linear and nonlinear stability in resistive magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasso, H.

1994-01-01

A sufficient stability condition with respect to purely growing modes is derived for resistive magnetohydrodynamics. Its open-quotes nearnessclose quotes to necessity is analysed. It is found that for physically reasonable approximations the condition is in some sense necessary and sufficient for stability against all modes. This, together with hermiticity makes its analytical and numerical evaluation worthwhile for the optimization of magnetic configurations. Physically motivated test functions are introduced. This leads to simplified versions of the stability functional, which makes its evaluation and minimization more tractable. In the case of special force-free fields the simplified functional reduces to a good approximation of the exact stability functional derived by other means. It turns out that in this case the condition is also sufficient for nonlinear stability. Nonlinear stability in hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics is discussed especially in connection with open-quotes unconditionalclose quotes stability and with severe limitations on the Reynolds number. Two examples in magnetohydrodynamics show that the limitations on the Reynolds numbers can be removed but unconditional stability is preserved. Practical stability needs to be treated for limited levels of perturbations or for conditional stability. This implies some knowledge of the basin of attraction of the unperturbed solution, which is a very difficult problem. Finally, a special inertia-caused Hopf bifurcation is identified and the nature of the resulting attractors is discussed. 23 refs

Turbulence near the wall in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nedospasov, A.V.

1989-01-01

Causes of plasma turbulence in the shadow of poloidal limiter of tokamak are discussed. Current to limiter along the magnetic field plays the determining role. In this case the plasma on the external surrounding of torr is unstable relatively to channeled perturbations. Conditions of strong and weak recycling in limiter are considered. It is shown that in case of strong recycling, the amplitude and scale of turbulence pulsations and turbulent temperature conductivity of the plasma can be determined by low temperature of electrons near the limiter surface

Energetics of turbulent transport processes in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haas, F.A.; Thyagaraja, A.

1987-01-01

The effect of electromagnetic turbulence on electrons and ions under Tokamak conditions is considered using a kinetic description. Taking the magnetic fluctuation spectrum as given, the density fluctuation spectrum is self-consistently calculated taking account of quasi-neutrality. The calculation is valid for arbitrary collisionality and appropriate to low frequencies typical of experiment. In addition to the usual enhancement of the radial electron energy transport, it is found that the turbulent fluctuations can heat the plasma at rates comparable to ordinary ohmic heating under well-defined conditions. Interestingly, electromagnetic turbulence appears to imply only an insignificant correction to the toroidal resistance of the plasma as estimated from Spitzer resistivity. The scalings of anomalous transport, fluctuations and heating with temperature and plasma volume are investigated. The assumption that the magnetic fluctuation spectrum of the turbulence is invariant under a wide range of conditions is shown to result in interesting consequences for JET-like plasmas. (author)

Regulation of ETG turbulence by TEM driven zonal flows

Science.gov (United States)

Asahi, Yuuichi; Ishizawa, Akihiro; Watanabe, Tomohiko; Tsutsui, Hiroaki; Tsuji-Iio, Shunji

2013-10-01

Anomalous heat transport driven by electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence is investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulations. It is found that the ETG turbulence can be suppressed by zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes (TEMs). The TEMs appear in a statistically steady state of ETG turbulence and generate zonal flows, while its growth rate is much smaller than those of ETGs. The TEM-driven zonal flows with lower radial wave numbers are more strongly generated than those driven by ETG modes, because of the higher zonal flow response to a density source term. An ExB shearing rate of the TEM-driven zonal flows is strong enough to suppress the long-wavelength ETG modes which make the main contribution to the turbulent transport.

Particle reacceleration and apparent radio source structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilek, J.A.

1982-01-01

The radio galaxy model which uses magnetohydrodynamic turbulence generated by surface instabilities to reaccelerate the radiating electrons has striking consequences for apparent source structure. Strong wave damping in the plasma results in a narrow turbulent edge. Particles accelerated in this edge must diffuse across field lines into the radio source; this predicts strong limb brightening in some cases. The structure of this edge and diffusion into the source are described. The relevance of this model to jets, radio tails, and standard double sources is discussed

Gyrokinetic magnetohydrodynamics and the associated equilibria

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, W. W.; Hudson, S. R.; Ma, C. H.

2017-12-01

The gyrokinetic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, related to the recent paper by W. W. Lee ["Magnetohydrodynamics for collisionless plasmas from the gyrokinetic perspective," Phys. Plasmas 23, 070705 (2016)], and their associated equilibria properties are discussed. This set of equations consists of the time-dependent gyrokinetic vorticity equation, the gyrokinetic parallel Ohm's law, and the gyrokinetic Ampere's law as well as the equations of state, which are expressed in terms of the electrostatic potential, ϕ, and the vector potential, A , and support both spatially varying perpendicular and parallel pressure gradients and the associated currents. The corresponding gyrokinetic MHD equilibria can be reached when ϕ→0 and A becomes constant in time, which, in turn, gives ∇.(J∥+J⊥)=0 and the associated magnetic islands, if they exist. Examples of simple cylindrical geometry are given. These gyrokinetic MHD equations look quite different from the conventional MHD equations, and their comparisons will be an interesting topic in the future.

Electron energy spectrum produced in radio sources by turbulent, resonant acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilek, J.A.; Henriksen, R.N.

1984-01-01

We consider relativistic particle acceleration by resonant Alfven waves which are driven internally in a radio source from fully developed fluid turbulence. We find that self-similar behavior as described by Lacombe, f(p)proportionalp - /sup s/ but with sroughly-equal4.5, arises self-consistently when this turbulent wave driving coexists with synchrotron losses. The coupling of the wave and particle distributions provides feedback which drives an arbitrary initial distribution to the form-stable, self-similar form. The model predicts that turbulent plasma in a radio source should evolve toward a synchrotron spectral index, 0.5< or approx. =α< or approx. =1.0 in one particle lifetime, and that the average spectrum of most sources should also be in this range. The theory may also be applicable to other turbulent sites, such as cosmic-ray reaccelertion in the interstellar medium

Correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and improved calculation of turbulent temperature fluctuation levels on ASDEX Upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Creely, A. J.; Freethy, S. J.; Burke, W. M.; Conway, G. D.; Leccacorvi, R.; Parkin, W. C.; Terry, D. R.; White, A. E.

2018-05-01

A newly upgraded correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been installed on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak and has begun to perform experimental measurements of electron temperature fluctuations. CECE diagnostics measure small amplitude electron temperature fluctuations by correlating closely spaced heterodyne radiometer channels. This upgrade expanded the system from six channels to thirty, allowing simultaneous measurement of fluctuation level radial profiles without repeat discharges, as well as opening up the possibility of measuring radial turbulent correlation lengths. Newly refined statistical techniques have been developed in order to accurately analyze the fluctuation data collected from the CECE system. This paper presents the hardware upgrades for this system and the analysis techniques used to interpret the raw data, as well as measurements of fluctuation spectra and fluctuation level radial profiles.

Annual status report, 31 December 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-04-01

The research work of the Institute for Plasma Physics at Rijnhuizen during 1983 is surveyed. The Experimental Division reports on: pinches; turbulent heating in TORTUR, a small tokamak; numerical calculations on cold plasma blankets; electron cyclotron resonance heating; and, diagnostic subsystems. The Theoretical Division reports on: magnetohydrodynamics, wave dynamics and transport problems. Finally, the Department of Technology and Engineering reports on subjects as: high-power engineering, electronic control and computer hardware and software. (Auth.)

Nonlinear simulation of electromagnetic current diffusive interchange mode turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagi, M.; Itoh, S.I.; Fukuyama, A.

1998-01-01

The anomalous transport in toroidal plasmas has been investigated extensively. It is pointed out that the nonlinear instability is important in driving the microturbulence[1], i.e., the self-sustained plasma turbulence. This concept is explained as follows; when the electron motion along the magnetic field line is resisted by the background turbulence, it gives rise to the effective resistivity and enhances the level of the turbulence. The nonlinear simulation of the electrostatic current diffusive interchange mode (CDIM) in the two dimensional sheared slab geometry has been performed as an example. The occurrence of the nonlinear instability and the self-sustainment of the plasma turbulence were confirmed by this simulation[2]. On the other hand, the electromagnetic turbulence is sustained in the high pressure limit. The possibility of the self-organization with more variety has been pointed out[3]. It is important to study the electromagnetic turbulence based on the nonlinear simulation. In this paper, the model equation for the electrostatic CDIM turbulence[2] is extended for both electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence. (1) Not only E x B convective nonlinearity but also the electromagnetic nonlinearity which is related to the parallel flow are incorporated into the model equation. (2) The electron and ion pressure evolution equations are solved separately, making it possible to distinguish the electron and ion thermal diffusivities. The two dimensional nonlinear simulation of the electromagnetic CDIM is performed based on the extended fluid model. This paper is organized as follows. The model equation is explained in section II. The result of simulation is shown in section III. The conclusion and discussion are given in section IV. (author)

Viscosity and Vorticity in Reduced Magneto-Hydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joseph, Ilon [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-08-12

Magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) critically relies on viscous forces in order for an accurate determination of the electric eld. For each charged particle species, the Braginskii viscous tensor for a magnetized plasma has the decomposition into matrices with special symmetries.

Axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic equilibria in local polar coordinates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clemente, R.A.

1982-01-01

The Grad--Shafranov equation for an ideal magnetohydrodynamic axisymmetric toroidal configuration is solved analytically in a local polar coordinate system using a novel method which produces solutions valid up to the second order in the inverse aspect ratio expansion

OBSERVATION OF UNIVERSALITY IN THE GENERALIZED SIMILARITY OF EVOLVING SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AS SEEN BY ULYSSES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, S. C.; Nicol, R. M.; Leonardis, E.; Kiyani, K.; Carbone, V.

2009-01-01

We perform statistical analysis of the fluctuating magnetic field observed in-situ by the Ulysses spacecraft, from the perspective of quantitative characterization of the evolving magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We focus on two successive polar passes around solar minimum which provide extended intervals of quiet, fast solar wind at a range of radial distances and latitudes: the south polar pass of 1994 and the north polar pass of 1995. Fully developed inertial range turbulence has a characteristic statistical similarity property of quantities that characterize the flow, such as the magnetic field components B k (t), so that the pth moment of fluctuations has power-law dependence on scale τ such that k (t + τ) - B k (t)| p > ∼ τ ζ(p) . We instead find a generalized similarity k (t + τ) - B k (t)| p > ∼ g(τ/τ 0 ) ζ(p) consistent with extended self-similarity; and in particular all of these Ulysses observations, from both polar passes, share the same single function g(τ/τ 0 ). If these observations are indeed characteristic of MHD turbulence evolving in-situ, then this quantifies for the first time a key aspect of the universal nature of evolving MHD turbulence in a system of finite size, with implications both for theoretical development, and for our understanding of the evolving solar wind.

MMS Observation of Magnetic Reconnection in the Turbulent Magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Vörös, Z.; Yordanova, E.; Varsani, A.; Genestreti, K. J.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V.; Li, W.; Graham, D. B.; Norgren, C.; Nakamura, R.; Narita, Y.; Plaschke, F.; Magnes, W.; Baumjohann, W.; Fischer, D.; Vaivads, A.; Eriksson, E.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Marklund, G.; Ergun, R. E.; Leitner, M.; Leubner, M. P.; Strangeway, R. J.; Le Contel, O.; Pollock, C.; Giles, B. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.; Avanov, L. A.; Dorelli, J. C.; Gershman, D. J.; Paterson, W. R.; Lavraud, B.; Saito, Y.

2017-11-01

In this paper we use the full armament of the MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) spacecraft to study magnetic reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-parallel bow shock. Contrarily to the magnetopause and magnetotail cases, only a few observations of reconnection in the magnetosheath have been reported. The case study in this paper presents, for the first time, both fluid-scale and kinetic-scale signatures of an ongoing reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath. The spacecraft are crossing the reconnection inflow and outflow regions and the ion diffusion region (IDR). Inside the reconnection outflows D shape ion distributions are observed. Inside the IDR mixing of ion populations, crescent-like velocity distributions and ion accelerations are observed. One of the spacecraft skims the outer region of the electron diffusion region, where parallel electric fields, energy dissipation/conversion, electron pressure tensor agyrotropy, electron temperature anisotropy, and electron accelerations are observed. Some of the difficulties of the observations of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma are also outlined.

Magnetohydrodynamic Augmented Propulsion Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Litchford, Ron J.; Cole, John; Lineberry, John; Chapman, Jim; Schmidt, Harold; Cook, Stephen (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A fundamental obstacle to routine space access is the specific energy limitations associated with chemical fuels. In the case of vertical take-off, the high thrust needed for vertical liftoff and acceleration to orbit translates into power levels in the 10 GW range. Furthermore, useful payload mass fractions are possible only if the exhaust particle energy (i.e., exhaust velocity) is much greater than that available with traditional chemical propulsion. The electronic binding energy released by the best chemical reactions (e.g., LOX/LH2 for example, is less than 2 eV per product molecule (approx. 1.8 eV per H2O molecule), which translates into particle velocities less than 5 km/s. Useful payload fractions, however, will require exhaust velocities exceeding 15 km/s (i.e., particle energies greater than 20 eV). As an added challenge, the envisioned hypothetical RLV (reusable launch vehicle) should accomplish these amazing performance feats while providing relatively low acceleration levels to orbit (2-3g maximum). From such fundamental considerations, it is painfully obvious that planned and current RLV solutions based on chemical fuels alone represent only a temporary solution and can only result in minor gains, at best. What is truly needed is a revolutionary approach that will dramatically reduce the amount of fuel and size of the launch vehicle. This implies the need for new compact high-power energy sources as well as advanced accelerator technologies for increasing engine exhaust velocity. Electromagnetic acceleration techniques are of immense interest since they can be used to circumvent the thermal limits associated with conventional propulsion systems. This paper describes the Magnetohydrodynamic Augmented Propulsion Experiment (MAPX) being undertaken at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). In this experiment, a 1-MW arc heater is being used as a feeder for a 1-MW magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accelerator. The purpose of the experiment is to demonstrate

Transitional-turbulent spots and turbulent-turbulent spots in boundary layers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiaohua; Moin, Parviz; Wallace, James M; Skarda, Jinhie; Lozano-Durán, Adrián; Hickey, Jean-Pierre

2017-07-03

Two observations drawn from a thoroughly validated direct numerical simulation of the canonical spatially developing, zero-pressure gradient, smooth, flat-plate boundary layer are presented here. The first is that, for bypass transition in the narrow sense defined herein, we found that the transitional-turbulent spot inception mechanism is analogous to the secondary instability of boundary-layer natural transition, namely a spanwise vortex filament becomes a [Formula: see text] vortex and then, a hairpin packet. Long streak meandering does occur but usually when a streak is infected by a nearby existing transitional-turbulent spot. Streak waviness and breakdown are, therefore, not the mechanisms for the inception of transitional-turbulent spots found here. Rather, they only facilitate the growth and spreading of existing transitional-turbulent spots. The second observation is the discovery, in the inner layer of the developed turbulent boundary layer, of what we call turbulent-turbulent spots. These turbulent-turbulent spots are dense concentrations of small-scale vortices with high swirling strength originating from hairpin packets. Although structurally quite similar to the transitional-turbulent spots, these turbulent-turbulent spots are generated locally in the fully turbulent environment, and they are persistent with a systematic variation of detection threshold level. They exert indentation, segmentation, and termination on the viscous sublayer streaks, and they coincide with local concentrations of high levels of Reynolds shear stress, enstrophy, and temperature fluctuations. The sublayer streaks seem to be passive and are often simply the rims of the indentation pockets arising from the turbulent-turbulent spots.

Gyrokinetic simulation of microtearing turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doerk, Hauke

2013-01-01

In modern fusion experiments, plasma turbulence is responsible for the radial heat transport and thus determines the plasma confinement within the magnetic field of tokamak devices. Deeper theoretical understanding is needed to explain today's and future fusion experiments. The goal of fusion research is to establish nuclear fusion as a safe and sustainable energy source. In future fusion power plants, and also in large fusion experiments like the presently constructed ITER, plasma heating predominantly affects the electron species. The reason is of fundamental nature: the collisional cross section of fast ions that are produced by the heating systems is larger for thermal electrons than for thermal ions. It is thus essential to correctly predict electron thermal transport, but the overall picture still continues to evolve. Besides microinstabilities on the electron gyroradius scales, also a stochastized magnetic field can contribute to enhanced electron transport. Already since the 1970's, the so-called microtearing instability is discussed as a source of stochastic fields. This microinstability deserves its name for breaking up the magnetic field structure by forming small-scale magnetic islands. The linear microtearing instability and its nonlinear, turbulent behavior is investigated in this thesis by means of numerical simulations with the gyrokinetic turbulence code Gene. The underlying gyrokinetic equations are not only appropriate to predict turbulent transport, but also describe neoclassical transport that is drift-kinetic in nature. Besides revealing interesting physics on long time scales, solving the neoclassical equation serves as an excellent test for the numerical implementation of the collision operator in Gene. Focusing on the local limit, it is found that a modification of this implementation that considers certain symmetries is necessary to obtain a satisfactory agreement with the well-established drift-kinetic neoclassical code Neo. Also the

Magnetohydrodynamic flow phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerbeth, G.; Mutschke, G.; Eckert, S.

1995-01-01

The MHD group of the Institute of Safety Research performs basic studies on fluid dynamics and heat/mass transfer in fluids, particularly for electrically conducting fluids (liquid metals) exposed to external magnetic fields (Magnetohydrodynamics - MHD). Such a contactless influence on transport phenomena is of principal importance for a variety of applied problems including safety and design aspects in liquid metal cooled fusion reactors, fast reactors, and chemical systems. Any electrically conducting flow can be influenced without any contact by means of an external electromagnetic field. This, of course, can change the known hydromechanically flow patterns considerably. In the following two examples of such magnetic field influence are presented. (orig.)

Evolution of three-dimensional relativistic current sheets and development of self-generated turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Takamoto, M.

2018-05-01

In this paper, the temporal evolution of three-dimensional relativistic current sheets in Poynting-dominated plasma is studied for the first time. Over the past few decades, a lot of efforts have been conducted on studying the evolution of current sheets in two-dimensional space, and concluded that sufficiently long current sheets always evolve into the so-called plasmoid chain, which provides a fast reconnection rate independent of its resistivity. However, it is suspected that plasmoid chain can exist only in the case of two-dimensional approximation, and would show transition to turbulence in three-dimensional space. We performed three-dimensional numerical simulation of relativistic current sheet using resistive relativistic magnetohydrodynamic approximation. The results showed that the three-dimensional current sheets evolve not into plasmoid chain but turbulence. The resulting reconnection rate is 0.004, which is much smaller than that of plasmoid chain. The energy conversion from magnetic field to kinetic energy of turbulence is just 0.01 per cent, which is much smaller than typical non-relativistic cases. Using the energy principle, we also showed that the plasmoid is always unstable for a displacement in the opposite direction to its acceleration, probably interchange-type instability, and this always results in seeds of turbulence behind the plasmoids. Finally, the temperature distribution along the sheet is discussed, and it is found that the sheet is less active than plasmoid chain. Our finding can be applied for many high-energy astrophysical phenomena, and can provide a basic model of the general current sheet in Poynting-dominated plasma.

Effects of anisotropies in turbulent magnetic diffusion in mean-field solar dynamo models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pipin, V. V. [Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk 664033 (Russian Federation); Kosovichev, A. G. [Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2014-04-10

We study how anisotropies of turbulent diffusion affect the evolution of large-scale magnetic fields and the dynamo process on the Sun. The effect of anisotropy is calculated in a mean-field magnetohydrodynamics framework assuming that triple correlations provide relaxation to the turbulent electromotive force (so-called the 'minimal τ-approximation'). We examine two types of mean-field dynamo models: the well-known benchmark flux-transport model and a distributed-dynamo model with a subsurface rotational shear layer. For both models, we investigate effects of the double- and triple-cell meridional circulation, recently suggested by helioseismology and numerical simulations. To characterize the anisotropy effects, we introduce a parameter of anisotropy as a ratio of the radial and horizontal intensities of turbulent mixing. It is found that the anisotropy affects the distribution of magnetic fields inside the convection zone. The concentration of the magnetic flux near the bottom and top boundaries of the convection zone is greater when the anisotropy is stronger. It is shown that the critical dynamo number and the dynamo period approach to constant values for large values of the anisotropy parameter. The anisotropy reduces the overlap of toroidal magnetic fields generated in subsequent dynamo cycles, in the time-latitude 'butterfly' diagram. If we assume that sunspots are formed in the vicinity of the subsurface shear layer, then the distributed dynamo model with the anisotropic diffusivity satisfies the observational constraints from helioseismology and is consistent with the value of effective turbulent diffusion estimated from the dynamics of surface magnetic fields.

HEATING AND ACCELERATION OF THE FAST SOLAR WIND BY ALFVÉN WAVE TURBULENCE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Ballegooijen, A. A.; Asgari-Targhi, M. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2016-04-20

We present numerical simulations of reduced magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) turbulence in a magnetic flux tube at the center of a polar coronal hole. The model for the background atmosphere is a solution of the momentum equation and includes the effects of wave pressure on the solar wind outflow. Alfvén waves are launched at the coronal base and reflect at various heights owing to variations in Alfvén speed and outflow velocity. The turbulence is driven by nonlinear interactions between the counterpropagating Alfvén waves. Results are presented for two models of the background atmosphere. In the first model the plasma density and Alfvén speed vary smoothly with height, resulting in minimal wave reflections and low-energy dissipation rates. We find that the dissipation rate is insufficient to maintain the temperature of the background atmosphere. The standard phenomenological formula for the dissipation rate significantly overestimates the rate derived from our RMHD simulations, and a revised formula is proposed. In the second model we introduce additional density variations along the flux tube with a correlation length of 0.04 R {sub ⊙} and with relative amplitude of 10%. These density variations simulate the effects of compressive MHD waves on the Alfvén waves. We find that such variations significantly enhance the wave reflection and thereby the turbulent dissipation rates, producing enough heat to maintain the background atmosphere. We conclude that interactions between Alfvén and compressive waves may play an important role in the turbulent heating of the fast solar wind.

Dissipation of Turbulence in the Solar Wind as Measured by Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Melvyn

2012-01-01

Turbulence in fluids and plasmas is a scale-dependent process that generates fluctuations towards ever-smaller scales until dissipation occurs. Recent Cluster observations in the solar wind demonstrate the existence of a cascade of magnetic energy from the scale of the proton Larmor radius, where kinetic properties of ions invalidate fluid approximations, down to the electron Larmor radius, where electrons become demagnetized. The cascade is quasi-two-dimensional and has been interpreted as consisting of highly oblique kinetic Alfvenic fluctuations that dissipate near at the electron gyroradius scale via proton and electron Landau damping. Here we investigate for the first time the spatial properties of the turbulence at these scales. We report the presence of thin current sheets and discontinuities with spatial sizes greater than or approximately equal to the proton Larmor radius. These isolated structures may be manifestations of intermittency, and such would localize sites of turbulent dissipation. Studying the relationship between turbulent dissipation, reconnection and intermittency is crucial for understanding the dynamics of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.

Turbulence and energy confinement in TORE SUPRA ohmic discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbet, X.; Payan, J.; Laviron, C.; Devynck, P.; Saha, S.K.; Capes, H.; Chen, X.P.; Coulon, J.P.; Gil, C.; Harris, G.; Hutter, T.; Pecquet, A.L.

1992-06-01

Results on confinement and turbulence from a set of ohmic discharges in Tore Supra are discussed. The attention is focused on the saturation of the energy confinement time and it is emphasized that this saturation could be explained by a saturation of the electron heat diffusivity. Ion behaviour is indeed governed by dilution and equipartition effects. Although the ion heat transport is never neoclassical, there is no enhanced degradation at the saturation. This behaviour is confirmed by turbulence measurements given by CO 2 laser coherent scattering. The density fluctuations level follows the electron heat diffusivity variations with the average density. Waves propagating in the ion diamagnetic direction are always present in turbulence frequency spectra. Thus, the saturation cannot be explained by the onset of an ion turbulence. The existence of an ion turbulence at the edge at all densities cannot be excluded. However, this ion feature in scattering spectra could be explained by a Doppler shift associated to an inversion point of the radial electric field at the edge

On the correlation of heat transfer in turbulent boundary layers subjected to free-stream turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrett, M.J.; Hollingsworth, D.K.

1999-07-01

The turbulent flow of a fluid bounded by a heated surface is a wonderfully complex yet derisively mundane phenomenon. Despite its commonness in natural and man-made environments, the authors struggle to accurately predict its behavior in many simple situations. A complexity encountered in a number of flows is the presence of free-stream turbulence. A turbulent free-stream typically yields increased surface friction and heat transfer. Turbulent boundary layers with turbulent free-streams are encountered in gas-turbine engines, rocket nozzles, electronic-cooling passages, geophysical flows, and numerous other dynamic systems. Here, turbulent boundary layers were subjected to grid-generated free-stream turbulence to study the effects of length scale and intensity on heat transfer. The research focused on correlating heat transfer without the use of conventional boundary-layer Reynolds numbers. The boundary-layers studied ranged from 400 to 2,700 in momentum-thickness Reynolds number and from 450 to 1,900 in enthalpy-thickness Reynolds number. Free-stream turbulence intensities varied from 0.1 to 8.0%. The turbulent-to-viscous length-scale ratios presented are the smallest found in the heat-transfer literature; the ratios spanned from 100 to 1000. The turbulent-to-thermal ratios (using enthalpy thickness as the thermal scale) are also the smallest reported; the ratios ranged from 3.2 to 12.3. A length-scale dependence was identified in a Stanton number based on a near-wall streamwise velocity fluctuation. A new near-wall Stanton number was introduced; this parameter was regarded as a constant in a two-region boundary-layer model. The new model correlated heat-transfer to within 7%.

FAST MAGNETIC FIELD AMPLIFICATION IN THE EARLY UNIVERSE: GROWTH OF COLLISIONLESS PLASMA INSTABILITIES IN TURBULENT MEDIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falceta-Gonçalves, D. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Kowal, G. [Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Arlindo Bettio, 1000, São Paulo, SP 03828-000 (Brazil)

2015-07-20

In this work we report on a numerical study of the cosmic magnetic field amplification due to collisionless plasma instabilities. The collisionless magnetohydrodynamic equations derived account for the pressure anisotropy that leads, in specific conditions, to the firehose and mirror instabilities. We study the time evolution of seed fields in turbulence under the influence of such instabilities. An approximate analytical time evolution of the magnetic field is provided. The numerical simulations and the analytical predictions are compared. We found that (i) amplification of the magnetic field was efficient in firehose-unstable turbulent regimes, but not in the mirror-unstable models; (ii) the growth rate of the magnetic energy density is much faster than the turbulent dynamo; and (iii) the efficient amplification occurs at small scales. The analytical prediction for the correlation between the growth timescales and pressure anisotropy is confirmed by the numerical simulations. These results reinforce the idea that pressure anisotropies—driven naturally in a turbulent collisionless medium, e.g., the intergalactic medium, could efficiently amplify the magnetic field in the early universe (post-recombination era), previous to the collapse of the first large-scale gravitational structures. This mechanism, though fast for the small-scale fields (∼kpc scales), is unable to provide relatively strong magnetic fields at large scales. Other mechanisms that were not accounted for here (e.g., collisional turbulence once instabilities are quenched, velocity shear, or gravitationally induced inflows of gas into galaxies and clusters) could operate afterward to build up large-scale coherent field structures in the long time evolution.

A new maser effect in plasma turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nambu, M.

1983-01-01

The present state of understanding of a new maser effect is reviewed. The new maser effect, the idea that the resonant electrons in a turbulent plasma can radiate amplified electromagnetic radiation, does not require population inversion of electrons. The new maser effect always coexists with Landau (or cyclotron) damping; thus it is a fundamental effect in plasma turbulence. In nuclear fusion, magnetic confinement will be at a disadvantage due to the enhanced radiation losses in the long wave length region, while inertial confinement will be improved by the laser effect in the X-ray region. (author)

The formation of massive molecular filaments and massive stars triggered by a magnetohydrodynamic shock wave

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Tsuyoshi; Hennebelle, Patrick; Fukui, Yasuo; Matsumoto, Tomoaki; Iwasaki, Kazunari; Inutsuka, Shu-ichiro

2018-05-01

Recent observations suggest an that intensive molecular cloud collision can trigger massive star/cluster formation. The most important physical process caused by the collision is a shock compression. In this paper, the influence of a shock wave on the evolution of a molecular cloud is studied numerically by using isothermal magnetohydrodynamics simulations with the effect of self-gravity. Adaptive mesh refinement and sink particle techniques are used to follow the long-time evolution of the shocked cloud. We find that the shock compression of a turbulent inhomogeneous molecular cloud creates massive filaments, which lie perpendicularly to the background magnetic field, as we have pointed out in a previous paper. The massive filament shows global collapse along the filament, which feeds a sink particle located at the collapse center. We observe a high accretion rate \\dot{M}_acc> 10^{-4} M_{⊙}yr-1 that is high enough to allow the formation of even O-type stars. The most massive sink particle achieves M > 50 M_{⊙} in a few times 105 yr after the onset of the filament collapse.

Behaviour of turbulence models near a turbulent/non-turbulent interface revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrey, P.; Aupoix, B.

2006-01-01

The behaviour of turbulence models near a turbulent/non-turbulent interface is investigated. The analysis holds as well for two-equation as for Reynolds stress turbulence models using Daly and Harlow diffusion model. The behaviour near the interface is shown not to be a power law, as usually considered, but a more complex parametric solution. Why previous works seemed to numerically confirm the power law solution is explained. Constraints for turbulence modelling, i.e., for ensuring that models have a good behaviour near a turbulent/non-turbulent interface so that the solution is not sensitive to small turbulence levels imposed in the irrotational flow, are drawn

Intrinsic non-inductive current driven by ETG turbulence in tokamaks

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Rameswar; Kaw, P. K.; Singh, R.; Gürcan, Ã.-. D.

2017-10-01

Motivated by observations and physics understanding of the phenomenon of intrinsic rotation, it is suggested that similar considerations for electron dynamics may result in intrinsic current in tokamaks. We have investigated the possibility of intrinsic non-inductive current in the turbulent plasma of tokamaks. Ohm's law is generalized to include the effect of turbulent fluctuations in the mean field approach. This clearly leads to the identification of sources and the mechanisms of non-inductive current drive by electron temperature gradient turbulence. It is found that a mean parallel electro-motive force and hence a mean parallel current can be generated by (1) the divergence of residual current flux density and (2) a non-flux like turbulent source from the density and parallel electric field correlations. Both residual flux and the non-flux source require parallel wave-number k∥ symmetry breaking for their survival which can be supplied by various means like mean E × B shear, turbulence intensity gradient, etc. Estimates of turbulence driven current are compared with the background bootstrap current in the pedestal region. It is found that turbulence driven current is nearly 10% of the bootstrap current and hence can have a significant influence on the equilibrium current density profiles and current shear driven modes.

Waves and discontinuities in relativistic and anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cissoko, Mahdy

1975-01-01

This work is devoted to the relativistic study of a non-dissipative anisotropic fluid diagram of infinite conductivity. Such a fluid diagram is constructed in part one. Starting from a macroscopic viewpoint a hydrothermodynamic study of the fluid diagram considered is carried out and the fundamental differential system of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics is deduced. Part two concerns the study of characteristic varieties and propagation of waves for a polytropic anisotropic fluid diagram. Three types of characteristic varieties are revealed: entropy waves (or material waves), magnetosonic waves and Alfven waves. The propagation rates of Alfven and magnetosonic waves are situated with respect to each other. The study of wave cones showed up on the one hand certain special features of wave propagation in anisotropic magnetohydrodynamics and on the other hand the hyperbolic nature of differential operators associated with the various waves [fr

TEM turbulence optimisation in stellarators

Science.gov (United States)

Proll, J. H. E.; Mynick, H. E.; Xanthopoulos, P.; Lazerson, S. A.; Faber, B. J.

2016-01-01

With the advent of neoclassically optimised stellarators, optimising stellarators for turbulent transport is an important next step. The reduction of ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence has been achieved via shaping of the magnetic field, and the reduction of trapped-electron mode (TEM) turbulence is addressed in the present paper. Recent analytical and numerical findings suggest TEMs are stabilised when a large fraction of trapped particles experiences favourable bounce-averaged curvature. This is the case for example in Wendelstein 7-X (Beidler et al 1990 Fusion Technol. 17 148) and other Helias-type stellarators. Using this knowledge, a proxy function was designed to estimate the TEM dynamics, allowing optimal configurations for TEM stability to be determined with the STELLOPT (Spong et al 2001 Nucl. Fusion 41 711) code without extensive turbulence simulations. A first proof-of-principle optimised equilibrium stemming from the TEM-dominated stellarator experiment HSX (Anderson et al 1995 Fusion Technol. 27 273) is presented for which a reduction of the linear growth rates is achieved over a broad range of the operational parameter space. As an important consequence of this property, the turbulent heat flux levels are reduced compared with the initial configuration.

Simulation Of Microtearing Turbulence In NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guttenfelder, W.; Candy, J.; Kaye, S.M.; Nevins, W.M.; Wanag, E.; Zhang, J.; Bell, R.E.; Crocker, N.A.; Hammett, G.W.; LeBlanc, B.P.; Mikkelsen, D.R.; Ren, Y.; Yuh, H.

2012-01-01

Thermal energy confinement times in NSTX dimensionless parameter scans increase with decreasing collisionality. While ion thermal transport is neoclassical, the source of anomalous electron thermal transport in these discharges remains unclear, leading to considerable uncertainty when extrapolating to future ST devices at much lower collisionality. Linear gyrokinetic simulations find microtearing modes to be unstable in high collisionality discharges. First non-linear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing turbulence in NSTX show they can yield experimental levels of transport. Magnetic flutter is responsible for almost all the transport (∼98%), perturbed field line trajectories are globally stochastic, and a test particle stochastic transport model agrees to within 25% of the simulated transport. Most significantly, microtearing transport is predicted to increase with electron collisionality, consistent with the observed NSTX confinement scaling. While this suggests microtearing modes may be the source of electron thermal transport, the predictions are also very sensitive to electron temperature gradient, indicating the scaling of the instability threshold is important. In addition, microtearing turbulence is susceptible to suppression via sheared E-B flows as experimental values of E-B shear (comparable to the linear growth rates) dramatically reduce the transport below experimental values. Refinements in numerical resolution and physics model assumptions are expected to minimize the apparent discrepancy. In cases where the predicted transport is strong, calculations suggest that a proposed polarimetry diagnostic may be sensitive to the magnetic perturbations associated with the unique structure of microtearing turbulence.

Spectral line profiles in weakly turbulent plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capes, H.; Voslamber, D.

1976-07-01

The unified theory of line broadening by electron perturbers is generalized to include the case of a weakly turbulent plasma. The collision operator in the line shape expression is shown to be the sum of two terms, both containing effects arising from the non-equilibrium nature of the plasma. One of the two terms represents the influence of individual atom-particle interactions occuring via the nonequilibrium dielectric plasma medium. The other term is due to the interaction of the atom with the turbulent waves. Both terms contain damping and diffusion effects arising from the plasma turbulence

Relabeling symmetries in hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padhye, N.; Morrison, P.J.

1996-04-01

Lagrangian symmetries and concomitant generalized Bianchi identities associated with the relabeling of fluid elements are found for hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). In hydrodynamics relabeling results in Ertel's theorem of conservation of potential vorticity, while in MHD it yields the conservation of cross helicity. The symmetries of the reduction from Lagrangian (material) to Eulerian variables are used to construct the Casimir invariants of the Hamiltonian formalism

The roles of turbulence on plasma heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamura, Takaichi; Kawabe, Takaya.

1976-06-01

In this paper, the characteristic features of the turbulent heating are reviewed, which is considered to be one of the strong candidates of the further heating method in fusion reactor systems, referring to the works in the Institute of Plasma Physics, Nagoya University. The roles of turbulence in plasma heating including toroidal plasma heating are discussed from several points of view. The relation between the heating rate of plasma particles and the thermalization (randomization) frequency is theoretically investigated and the role of plasma turbulence in the fast thermalization is shown. The experimental results on fluctuation and heating of electrons and ions in turbulently heated plasmas are presented. The influence of turbulence, which is responsible for the particle heating, on the diffusion across the confinement magnetic field is considered for the application in the toroidal plasmas. It is pointed out that the turbulent fields in the fast turbulent heating give only a minor effect to the loss of particles across the magnetic field. It can be said that the enhanced fluctuation in turbulent plasma gives its field energy to the plasma particles while it can play the role of the fast thermalization of the ordered motion of particles that is produced in the plasma by some acceleration process. (Kato, T.)

Evolution of turbulence in the expanding solar wind, a numerical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Yue; Grappin, Roland; Verdini, Andrea

2014-01-01

We study the evolution of turbulence in the solar wind by solving numerically the full three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations embedded in a radial mean wind. The corresponding equations (expanding box model or EBM) have been considered earlier but never integrated in 3D simulations. Here, we follow the development of turbulence from 0.2 AU up to about 1.5 AU. Starting with isotropic spectra scaling as k –1 , we observe a steepening toward a k –5/3 scaling in the middle of the wave number range and formation of spectral anisotropies. The advection of a plasma volume by the expanding solar wind causes a non-trivial stretching of the volume in directions transverse to radial and the selective decay of the components of velocity and magnetic fluctuations. These two effects combine to yield the following results. (1) Spectral anisotropy: gyrotropy is broken, and the radial wave vectors have most of the power. (2) Coherent structures: radial streams emerge that resemble the observed microjets. (3) Energy spectra per component: they show an ordering in good agreement with the one observed in the solar wind at 1 AU. The latter point includes a global dominance of the magnetic energy over kinetic energy in the inertial and f –1 range and a dominance of the perpendicular-to-the-radial components over the radial components in the inertial range. We conclude that many of the above properties are the result of evolution during transport in the heliosphere, and not just the remnant of the initial turbulence close to the Sun.

Physics of increased edge electron temperature and density turbulence during ELM-free QH-mode operation on DIII-D

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, C.; Rhodes, T. L.; Staebler, G. M.; Yan, Z.; McKee, G. R.; Smith, S. P.; Osborne, T. H.; Peebles, W. A.

2018-05-01

For the first time, we report increased edge electron temperature and density turbulence levels ( T˜ e and n˜ e) in Edge Localized Mode free Quiescent H-mode (ELM-free QH-mode) plasmas as compared to the ELMing time period. ELMs can severely damage plasma facing components in fusion plasma devices due to their large transient energy transport, making ELM-free operation a highly sought after goal. The QH-mode is a candidate for this goal as it is ELM-free for times limited only by hardware constraints. It is found that the driving gradients decrease during the QH-mode compared to the ELMing phase, however, a significant decrease in the ExB shearing rate is also observed that taken together is consistent with the increased turbulence. These results are significant as the prediction and control of ELM-free H-mode regimes are crucial for the operation of future fusion devices such as ITER. The changes in the linear growth rates calculated by CGYRO [Candy et al., J. Comput. Phys. 324, 73 (2016)] and the measured ExB shearing rate between ELMing and QH-mode phases are qualitatively consistent with these turbulence changes. Comparison with ELMing and 3D fields ELM suppressed H-mode finds a similar increase in T˜ e and n˜ e, however, with distinctly different origins, the increased driving gradients rather than the changes in the ExB shearing rate in 3D fields ELM suppressed the H-mode. However, linear gyrokinetic calculation results are generally consistent with the increased turbulence in both ELM-controlled discharges.

On the Statistical Properties of Turbulent Energy Transfer Rate in the Inner Heliosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Sorriso-Valvo, Luca; Carbone, Francesco; Perri, Silvia; Greco, Antonella; Marino, Raffaele; Bruno, Roberto

2018-01-01

The transfer of energy from large to small scales in solar wind turbulence is an important ingredient of the long-standing question of the mechanism of the interplanetary plasma heating. Previous studies have shown that magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is statistically compatible with the observed solar wind heating as it expands in the heliosphere. However, in order to understand which processes contribute to the plasma heating, it is necessary to have a local description of the energy flux across scales. To this aim, it is customary to use indicators such as the magnetic field partial variance of increments (PVI), which is associated with the local, relative, scale-dependent magnetic energy. A more complete evaluation of the energy transfer should also include other terms, related to velocity and cross-helicity. This is achieved here by introducing a proxy for the local, scale-dependent turbulent energy transfer rate ɛ_{Δ t}(t), based on the third-order moment scaling law for MHD turbulence. Data from Helios 2 are used to determine the statistical properties of such a proxy in comparison with the magnetic and velocity fields PVI, and the correlation with local solar wind heating is computed. PVI and ɛ_{Δ t}(t) are generally well correlated; however, ɛ_{Δ t}(t) is a very sensitive proxy that can exhibit large amplitude values, both positive and negative, even for low amplitude peaks in the PVI. Furthermore, ɛ_{Δ t}(t) is very well correlated with local increases of the temperature when large amplitude bursts of energy transfer are localized, thus suggesting an important role played by this proxy in the study of plasma energy dissipation.

On the Existence of the Kolmogorov Inertial Range in the Terrestrial Magnetosheath Turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, S. Y.; Yuan, Z. G. [School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan (China); Hadid, L. Z.; Sahraoui, F. [Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique-UPMC, Palaiseau (France); Deng, X. H., E-mail: shiyonghuang@whu.edu.cn [Institute of Space Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang (China)

2017-02-10

In the solar wind, power spectral density (PSD) of the magnetic field fluctuations generally follow the so-called Kolmogorov spectrum f {sup −5/3} in the inertial range, where the dynamics is thought to be dominated by nonlinear interactions between counter-propagating incompressible Alfvén wave parquets. These features are thought to be ubiquitous in space plasmas. The present study gives a new and more complex picture of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence as observed in the terrestrial magnetosheath. The study uses three years of in situ data from the Cluster mission to explore the nature of the magnetic fluctuations at MHD scales in different locations within the magnetosheath, including flanks and subsolar regions. It is found that the magnetic field fluctuations at MHD scales generally have a PSD close to f {sup −1} (shallower than the Kolmogorov one f {sup −5/3}) down to the ion characteristic scale, which recalls the energy-containing scales of solar wind turbulence. The Kolmogorov spectrum is observed only away from the bow shock toward the flank and the magnetopause regions in 17% of the analyzed time intervals. Measuring the magnetic compressibility, it is shown that only a fraction (35%) of the observed Kolmogorov spectra was populated by shear Alfvénic fluctuations, whereas the majority of the events (65%) was found to be dominated by compressible magnetosonic-like fluctuations, which contrasts with well-known turbulence properties in the solar wind. This study gives a first comprehensive view of the origin of the f {sup −1} and the transition to the Kolmogorov inertial range; both questions remain controversial in solar wind turbulence.

Direct numerical simulation of MHD heat transfer in high Reynolds number turbulent channel flows for Prandtl number of 25

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Yoshinobu; Kunugi, Tomoaki

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • For the first time, the MHD heat transfer DNS database corresponding to the typical nondimensional parameters of the fusion blanket design using molten salt, were established. • MHD heat transfer correlation was proposed and about 20% of the heat transfer degradation was evaluated under the design conditions. • The contribution of the turbulent diffusion to heat transfer is increased drastically with increasing Hartmann number. - Abstract: The high-Prandtl number passive scalar transport of the turbulent channel flow imposed a wall-normal magnetic field is investigated through the large-scale direct numerical simulation (DNS). All essential turbulence scales of velocities and temperature are resolved by using 2048 × 870 × 1024 computational grid points in stream, vertical, and spanwise directions. The heat transfer phenomena for a Prandtl number of 25 were observed under the following flow conditions: the bulk Reynolds number of 14,000 and Hartman number of up to 28. These values were equivalent to the typical nondimensional parameters of the fusion blanket design proposed by Wong et al. As a result, a high-accuracy DNS database for the verification of magnetohydrodynamic turbulent heat transfer models was established for the first time, and it was confirmed that the heat transfer correlation for a Prandtl number of 5.25 proposed by Yamamoto and Kunugi was applicable to the Prandtl number of 25 used in this study

Direct numerical simulation of MHD heat transfer in high Reynolds number turbulent channel flows for Prandtl number of 25

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, Yoshinobu, E-mail: yamamotoy@yamanashi.ac.jp [Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu 400-8511 (Japan); Kunugi, Tomoaki [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyoto University Yoshida, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

2015-01-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • For the first time, the MHD heat transfer DNS database corresponding to the typical nondimensional parameters of the fusion blanket design using molten salt, were established. • MHD heat transfer correlation was proposed and about 20% of the heat transfer degradation was evaluated under the design conditions. • The contribution of the turbulent diffusion to heat transfer is increased drastically with increasing Hartmann number. - Abstract: The high-Prandtl number passive scalar transport of the turbulent channel flow imposed a wall-normal magnetic field is investigated through the large-scale direct numerical simulation (DNS). All essential turbulence scales of velocities and temperature are resolved by using 2048 × 870 × 1024 computational grid points in stream, vertical, and spanwise directions. The heat transfer phenomena for a Prandtl number of 25 were observed under the following flow conditions: the bulk Reynolds number of 14,000 and Hartman number of up to 28. These values were equivalent to the typical nondimensional parameters of the fusion blanket design proposed by Wong et al. As a result, a high-accuracy DNS database for the verification of magnetohydrodynamic turbulent heat transfer models was established for the first time, and it was confirmed that the heat transfer correlation for a Prandtl number of 5.25 proposed by Yamamoto and Kunugi was applicable to the Prandtl number of 25 used in this study.

Asymptotic study of a magneto-hydro-dynamic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benameur, J.; Ibrahim, S.; Majdoub, M.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we study the convergence of solutions of a Magneto-Hydro-Dynamic system. On the torus T 3 , the proof is based on Schochet's methods, whereas in the case of the whole space R 3 , we use Strichartz's type estimates. (author)

In Situ Magnetohydrodynamic Energy Generation for Planetary Entry Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, H. K.; Braun, R. D.

2014-06-01

This work aims to study the suitability of multi-pass entry trajectories for harnessing of vehicle kinetic energy through magnetohydrodynamic power generation from the high temperature entry plasma. Potential mission configurations are analyzed.

Comparison of a simulated velocity profile of a turbulent boundary layer with measurements obtained by Femtosecond Laser Electronic Excitation Tagging (FLEET)

Science.gov (United States)

New-Tolley, Matthew; Zhang, Yibin; Shneider, Mikhail; Miles, Richard

2017-11-01

Accurate velocimetry measurements of turbulent flows are essential for improving our understanding of turbulent phenomena and validating numerical approaches. Femtosecond Laser Electronic Excitation Tagging (FLEET) is an unseeded molecular tagging method for velocimetry measurements in flows which contain nitrogen. A femtosecond laser pulse is used to ionize and dissociate nitrogen molecules within its focal zone. The decaying plasma fluoresces in the visible and infrared spectrum over a period of microseconds which allows the displacement of the tagged region to be photographed to determine velocity. This study compares the experimental and numerical advection of the tagged region in a turbulent boundary layer generated by a supersonic flow over a flat plate. The tagged region in the simulation is approximated as an infinitely thin cylinder while the flow field is generated using the steady state boundary layer equations with an algebraic turbulence model. This approximation is justified by previous computational analyses, using an unsteady three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver, which indicate that the radial perturbations of the tagged region are negligible compared to its translation. This research was conducted with government support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Dr. Ivett Leyva and the Army Research Office under Dr. Matthew Munson.

The plasma transport equations derived by multiple time-scale expansions and turbulent transport. I. General theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edenstrasser, J.W.

1995-01-01

A multiple time-scale derivative expansion scheme is applied to the dimensionless Fokker--Planck equation and to Maxwell's equations, where the parameter range of a typical fusion plasma was assumed. Within kinetic theory, the four time scales considered are those of Larmor gyration, particle transit, collisions, and classical transport. The corresponding magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) time scales are those of ion Larmor gyration, Alfven, MHD collision, and resistive diffusion. The solution of the zeroth-order equations results in the force-free equilibria and ideal Ohm's law. The solution of the first-order equations leads under the assumption of a weak collisional plasma to the ideal MHD equations. On the MHD-collision time scale, not only the full set of the MHD transport equations is obtained, but also turbulent terms, where the related transport quantities are one order in the expansion parameter larger than those of classical transport. Finally, at the resistive diffusion time scale the known transport equations are arrived at including, however, also turbulent contributions. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Canonical Models of Geophysical and Astrophysical Flows: Turbulent Convection Experiments in Liquid Metals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adolfo Ribeiro

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Planets and stars are often capable of generating their own magnetic fields. This occurs through dynamo processes occurring via turbulent convective stirring of their respective molten metal-rich cores and plasma-based convection zones. Present-day numerical models of planetary and stellar dynamo action are not carried out using fluids properties that mimic the essential properties of liquid metals and plasmas (e.g., using fluids with thermal Prandtl numbers Pr < 1 and magnetic Prandtl numbers Pm ≪ 1. Metal dynamo simulations should become possible, though, within the next decade. In order then to understand the turbulent convection phenomena occurring in geophysical or astrophysical fluids and next-generation numerical models thereof, we present here canonical, end-member examples of thermally-driven convection in liquid gallium, first with no magnetic field or rotation present, then with the inclusion of a background magnetic field and then in a rotating system (without an imposed magnetic field. In doing so, we demonstrate the essential behaviors of convecting liquid metals that are necessary for building, as well as benchmarking, accurate, robust models of magnetohydrodynamic processes in Pm ≪  Pr < 1 geophysical and astrophysical systems. Our study results also show strong agreement between laboratory and numerical experiments, demonstrating that high resolution numerical simulations can be made capable of modeling the liquid metal convective turbulence needed in accurate next-generation dynamo models.

Observations of electron vortex magnetic holes and related wave-particle interactions in the turbulent magnetosheath

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, S.; Sahraoui, F.; Yuan, Z.; He, J.; Zhao, J.; Du, J.; Le Contel, O.; Wang, X.; Deng, X.; Fu, H.; Zhou, M.; Shi, Q.; Breuillard, H.; Pang, Y.; Yu, X.; Wang, D.

2017-12-01

Magnetic hole is characterized by a magnetic depression, a density peak, a total electron temperature increase (with a parallel temperature decrease but a perpendicular temperature increase), and strong currents carried by the electrons. The current has a dip in the core region of the magnetic hole and a peak in the outer region of the magnetic hole. There is an enhancement in the perpendicular electron fluxes at 90° pitch angles inside the magnetic hole, implying that the electrons are trapped within it. The variations of the electron velocity components Vem and Ven suggest that an electron vortex is formed by trapping electrons inside the magnetic hole in the circular cross-section. These observations demonstrate the existence of a new type of coherent structures behaving as an electron vortex magnetic hole in turbulent space plasmas as predicted by recent kinetic simulations. We perform a statistically study using high time solution data from the MMS mission. The magnetic holes with short duration (i.e., < 0.5 s) have their cross section smaller than the ion gyro-radius. Superposed epoch analysis of all events reveals that an increase in the electron density and total temperature, significantly increase (resp. decrease) the electron perpendicular (resp. parallel) temperature, and an electron vortex inside the holes. Electron fluxes at 90° pitch angles with selective energies increase in the KSMHs, are trapped inside KSMHs and form the electron vortex due to their collective motion. All these features are consistent with the electron vortex magnetic holes obtained in 2D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations, indicating that the observed the magnetic holes seem to be best explained as electron vortex magnetic holes. It is furthermore shown that the magnetic holes are likely to heat and accelerate the electrons. We also investigate the coupling between whistler waves and electron vortex magnetic holes. These whistler waves can be locally generated inside electron

Scrape-off layer tokamak plasma turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Bisai, N.; Singh, R.; Kaw, P. K.

2012-05-01

Two-dimensional (2D) interchange turbulence in the scrape-off layer of tokamak plasmas and their subsequent contribution to anomalous plasma transport has been studied in recent years using electron continuity, current balance, and electron energy equations. In this paper, numerically it is demonstrated that the inclusion of ion energy equation in the simulation changes the nature of plasma turbulence. Finite ion temperature reduces floating potential by about 15% compared with the cold ion temperature approximation and also reduces the radial electric field. Rotation of plasma blobs at an angular velocity about 1.5×105 rad/s has been observed. It is found that blob rotation keeps plasma blob charge separation at an angular position with respect to the vertical direction that gives a generation of radial electric field. Plasma blobs with high electron temperature gradients can align the charge separation almost in the radial direction. Influence of high ion temperature and its gradient has been presented.

Study of the plasma edge turbulence in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbet, X.; Laurent, L.; Mourgues, F.; Roubin, J.P.; Samain, A.

1990-01-01

The plasma edge in tokamaks is known to be very turbulent. We investigate here the non linear stability of a test mode in presence of an helical potential perturbation, i.e. a pump mode, which simulates the plasma turbulence. The particle trajectories in this perturbed equilibrium are derived using an hamiltonian formalism. The electrons appear to have trapped trajectories in the potential well of the pump mode, while the ions experience a large convective motion. These two effects have a large influence on the test mode stability. First, non linearly trapped electrons supply an energy source for the test mode. Second, the ion convective motion introduces a radial scale of the test mode larger than the ion Larmor radius, in agreement with experimental data. These two phenomena allow a bifurcation in the turbulence level and provide therefore an explanation for the L-H transition

Turbulent Dynamics of Partially-Ionized Fluids in 2D

Science.gov (United States)

Benavides, S.; Flierl, G.

2017-12-01

Ionization occurs in the upper atmospheres of Hot Jupiters, as well asthe interiors of Gas Giants, leading to Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effectswhich can significantly alter the flow. The interactions of these MHDregions with the non-ionized atmosphere will occur in transitionregions where only a fraction of the fluid is ionized. We areexploring the dynamics of Partially-Ionized MHD (PIMHD) using a twofluid model - one neutral and one ionized and subject to MHD -coupled by a collision, or Joule heating, term proportional to thedifference in velocities. By varying both the ionization fraction aswell as the collision frequency (coupling), we examine the parameterspace of 2D PIMHD turbulence in hopes of better understanding itscharacteristics in certain, possibly realistic, regimes. We payparticular attention to the Joule heating term and its role indissipation and energy exchange between the two species. Thisknowledge will serve as the basis to further studies in which we lookat, in a more realistic setting, the PIMHD dynamics in Gas Giant orHot Jupiter atmospheres.

On Equilibria of the Two-fluid Model in Magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frantzeskakis, Dimitri J.; Stratis, Ioannis G.; Yannacopoulos, Athanasios N.

2004-01-01

We show how the equilibria of the two-fluid model in magnetohydrodynamics can be described by the double curl equation and through the study of this equation we study some properties of these equilibria

Asymptotic study of a magneto-hydro-dynamic system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benameur, J [Institut Preparatoire aux Etudes d' Ingenieurs de Monastir (Tunisia); Ibrahim, S [Faculte des Sciences de Bizerte, Departement de Mathematiques, Bizerte (TN); [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy)]. E-mail: slim.ibrahim@fsb.rnu.tn; Majdoub, M [Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, Departement de Mathematiques, Tunis (Tunisia)

2003-01-01

In this paper, we study the convergence of solutions of a Magneto-Hydro-Dynamic system. On the torus T{sup 3}, the proof is based on Schochet's methods, whereas in the case of the whole space R{sup 3}, we use Strichartz's type estimates. (author)

Turbulence in collisionless plasmas: statistical analysis from numerical simulations with pressure anisotropy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kowal, G [Instituto de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua do Matao 1226, 05508-900, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Falceta-Goncalves, D A; Lazarian, A, E-mail: kowal@astro.iag.usp.br [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)

2011-05-15

In recent years, we have experienced increasing interest in the understanding of the physical properties of collisionless plasmas, mostly because of the large number of astrophysical environments (e.g. the intracluster medium (ICM)) containing magnetic fields that are strong enough to be coupled with the ionized gas and characterized by densities sufficiently low to prevent the pressure isotropization with respect to the magnetic line direction. Under these conditions, a new class of kinetic instabilities arises, such as firehose and mirror instabilities, which have been studied extensively in the literature. Their role in the turbulence evolution and cascade process in the presence of pressure anisotropy, however, is still unclear. In this work, we present the first statistical analysis of turbulence in collisionless plasmas using three-dimensional numerical simulations and solving double-isothermal magnetohydrodynamic equations with the Chew-Goldberger-Low laws closure (CGL-MHD). We study models with different initial conditions to account for the firehose and mirror instabilities and to obtain different turbulent regimes. We found that the CGL-MHD subsonic and supersonic turbulences show small differences compared to the MHD models in most cases. However, in the regimes of strong kinetic instabilities, the statistics, i.e. the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of density and velocity, are very different. In subsonic models, the instabilities cause an increase in the dispersion of density, while the dispersion of velocity is increased by a large factor in some cases. Moreover, the spectra of density and velocity show increased power at small scales explained by the high growth rate of the instabilities. Finally, we calculated the structure functions of velocity and density fluctuations in the local reference frame defined by the direction of magnetic lines. The results indicate that in some cases the instabilities significantly increase the anisotropy of

Turbulence in collisionless plasmas: statistical analysis from numerical simulations with pressure anisotropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowal, G; Falceta-Goncalves, D A; Lazarian, A

2011-01-01

In recent years, we have experienced increasing interest in the understanding of the physical properties of collisionless plasmas, mostly because of the large number of astrophysical environments (e.g. the intracluster medium (ICM)) containing magnetic fields that are strong enough to be coupled with the ionized gas and characterized by densities sufficiently low to prevent the pressure isotropization with respect to the magnetic line direction. Under these conditions, a new class of kinetic instabilities arises, such as firehose and mirror instabilities, which have been studied extensively in the literature. Their role in the turbulence evolution and cascade process in the presence of pressure anisotropy, however, is still unclear. In this work, we present the first statistical analysis of turbulence in collisionless plasmas using three-dimensional numerical simulations and solving double-isothermal magnetohydrodynamic equations with the Chew-Goldberger-Low laws closure (CGL-MHD). We study models with different initial conditions to account for the firehose and mirror instabilities and to obtain different turbulent regimes. We found that the CGL-MHD subsonic and supersonic turbulences show small differences compared to the MHD models in most cases. However, in the regimes of strong kinetic instabilities, the statistics, i.e. the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of density and velocity, are very different. In subsonic models, the instabilities cause an increase in the dispersion of density, while the dispersion of velocity is increased by a large factor in some cases. Moreover, the spectra of density and velocity show increased power at small scales explained by the high growth rate of the instabilities. Finally, we calculated the structure functions of velocity and density fluctuations in the local reference frame defined by the direction of magnetic lines. The results indicate that in some cases the instabilities significantly increase the anisotropy of

Derivation of Inviscid Quasi-geostrophic Equation from Rotational Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Flows

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Young-Sam; Lin, Ying-Chieh; Su, Cheng-Fang

2018-04-01

In this paper, we consider the compressible models of magnetohydrodynamic flows giving rise to a variety of mathematical problems in many areas. We derive a rigorous quasi-geostrophic equation governed by magnetic field from the rotational compressible magnetohydrodynamic flows with the well-prepared initial data. It is a first derivation of quasi-geostrophic equation governed by the magnetic field, and the tool is based on the relative entropy method. This paper covers two results: the existence of the unique local strong solution of quasi-geostrophic equation with the good regularity and the derivation of a quasi-geostrophic equation.

PHANTOM: Smoothed particle hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics code

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Daniel J.; Wurster, James; Nixon, Chris; Tricco, Terrence S.; Toupin, Stéven; Pettitt, Alex; Chan, Conrad; Laibe, Guillaume; Glover, Simon; Dobbs, Clare; Nealon, Rebecca; Liptai, David; Worpel, Hauke; Bonnerot, Clément; Dipierro, Giovanni; Ragusa, Enrico; Federrath, Christoph; Iaconi, Roberto; Reichardt, Thomas; Forgan, Duncan; Hutchison, Mark; Constantino, Thomas; Ayliffe, Ben; Mentiplay, Daniel; Hirsh, Kieran; Lodato, Giuseppe

2017-09-01

Phantom is a smoothed particle hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics code focused on stellar, galactic, planetary, and high energy astrophysics. It is modular, and handles sink particles, self-gravity, two fluid and one fluid dust, ISM chemistry and cooling, physical viscosity, non-ideal MHD, and more. Its modular structure makes it easy to add new physics to the code.

Investigation of plasma turbulence in a theta-pinch-discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lins, G.

1980-01-01

This thesis is concerned with investigations of plasma turbulence in a 3 KJ Theta-Pinch during implosion by high-frequency Stark-effect and Thomson scattering. The next points are modifications of electron-distribution function by ionization in low preionizized turbulent plasma and energy losses by particle flow and heat flow at the ends. (HT)

Theory of resistivity-gradient-driven turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, L.; Carreras, B.A.; Diamond, P.H.; Callen, J.D.

1984-10-01

A theory of the nonlinear evolution and saturation of resistivity-driven turbulence, which evolves from linear rippling instabilities, is presented. The nonlinear saturation mechanism is identified both analytically and numerically. Saturation occurs when the turbulent diffusion of the resistivity is large enough so that dissipation due to parallel electron thermal conduction balances the nonlinearly modified resistivity gradient driving term. The levels of potential, resistivity, and density fluctuations at saturation are calculated. A combination of computational modeling and analytic treatment is used in this investigation

Multiscale coherent structures in tokamak plasma turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, G. S.; Wan, B. N.; Zhang, W.; Yang, Q. W.; Wang, L.; Wen, Y. Z.

2006-01-01

A 12-tip poloidal probe array is used on the HT-7 superconducting tokamak [Li, Wan, and Mao, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 42, 135 (2000)] to measure plasma turbulence in the edge region. Some statistical analysis techniques are used to characterize the turbulence structures. It is found that the plasma turbulence is composed of multiscale coherent structures, i.e., turbulent eddies and there is self-similarity in a relative short scale range. The presence of the self-similarity is found due to the structural similarity of these eddies between different scales. These turbulent eddies constitute the basic convection cells, so the self-similar range is just the dominant scale range relevant to transport. The experimental results also indicate that the plasma turbulence is dominated by low-frequency and long-wavelength fluctuation components and its dispersion relation shows typical electron-drift-wave characteristics. Some large-scale coherent structures intermittently burst out and exhibit a very long poloidal extent, even longer than 6 cm. It is found that these large-scale coherent structures are mainly contributed by the low-frequency and long-wavelength fluctuating components and their presence is responsible for the observations of long-range correlations, i.e., the correlation in the scale range much longer than the turbulence decorrelation scale. These experimental observations suggest that the coexistence of multiscale coherent structures results in the self-similar turbulent state

A high current density DC magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Homsy, Alexandra; Koster, Sander; Hogen-Koster, S.; Eijkel, Jan C.T.; van den Berg, Albert; Lucklum, F.; Verpoorte, E.; de Rooij, Nico F.

2005-01-01

This paper describes the working principle of a DC magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump that can be operated at high DC current densities (J) in 75-µm-deep microfluidic channels without introducing gas bubbles into the pumping channel. The main design feature for current generation is a micromachined

A high current density DC magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Homsy, A; Koster, Sander; Eijkel, JCT; van den Berg, A; Lucklum, F; Verpoorte, E; de Rooij, NF

2005-01-01

This paper describes the working principle of a DC magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump that can be operated at high DC current densities (J) in 75-mu m-deep microfluidic channels without introducing gas bubbles into the pumping channel. The main design feature for current generation is a

Magnetohydrodynamic free convection in a strong cross field

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuiken, H.K.

1970-01-01

The problem of magnetohydrodynamic free convection of an electrically conducting fluid in a strong cross field is investigated. It is solved by using a singular perturbation technique. The solutions presented cover the range of Prandtl numbers from zero to order one. This includes both the important

Turbulence in Three Dimensional Simulations of Magnetopause Reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, J. F.; Price, L.; Swisdak, M.; Burch, J. L.; Cassak, P.; Dahlin, J. T.; Ergun, R.

2017-12-01

We present two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the 16 October 2015 MMS magnetopause reconnection event. While the two-dimensional simulation is laminar, turbulence develops at both the x-line and along the magnetic separatrices in the three-dimensional simulation. This turbulence is electromagnetic in nature, is characterized by a wavevector k given by kρ e ˜(m_e/m_i)0.25 with ρ e the electron Larmor radius, and appears to have the ion pressure gradient as its source of free energy. Taken together, these results suggest the instability is a variant of the lower-hybrid drift instability. The turbulence produces electric field fluctuations in the out-of-plane direction (the direction of the reconnection electric field) with an amplitude of around ± 10 mV/m, which is much greater than the reconnection electric field of around 0.1 mV/m. Such large values of the out-of-plane electric field have been identified in the MMS data. The turbulence in the simulation controls the scale lengths of the density profile and current layers in asymmetric reconnection, driving them closer to √ {ρ eρ_i } than the ρ e or de scalings seen in 2D reconnection simulations, where de is the electron inertial length. The turbulence is strong enough to make the magnetic field around the reconnection island chaotic and produces both anomalous resistivity and anomalous viscosity. Each contribute significantly to breaking the frozen-in condition in the electron diffusion region. The crescent-shaped features in velocity space seen both in MMS observations and in two-dimensional simulations survive, even in the turbulent environment of the three-dimensional system. We compare and contrast these results to a three-dimensional simulation of the 8 December 2015 MMS magnetopause reconnection event in which the reconnecting and out-of-plane guide fields are comparable. LHDI is still present in this event, although its appearance is modified by the presence of the guide

Theory of magnetohydrodynamic waves: The WKB approximation revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, A.

1992-01-01

Past treatments of the eikonal or WKB theory of the propagation of magnetohydrodynamics waves have assumed a strictly isentropic background. IF in fact there is a gradient in the background entropy, then in second order in the WKB ordering, adiabatic fluctuations (in the Lagrangian sense) are not strictly isentropic in the Eulerian sense. This means that in the second order of the WKB expansion, which determines the variation of wave amplitude along rays, the violation of isentropy must be accounted for. The present paper revisits the derivation of the WKB approximation for small-amplitude magnetohydrodynamic waves, allowing for possible spatial variation of the background entropy. The equation of variation of wave amplitude is rederived; it is a bilinear equation which, it turns out, can be recast in the action conservation form. It is shown that this action conservation equation is in fact equivalent to the action conservation law obtained from Lagrangian treatments

Bidirectional Energy Cascades and the Origin of Kinetic Alfvenic and Whistler Turbulence in the Solar Wind

Science.gov (United States)

Che, H.; Goldstein, M. L.; Vinas, A. F.

2014-01-01

The observed steep kinetic scale turbulence spectrum in the solar wind raises the question of how that turbulence originates. Observations of keV energetic electrons during solar quiet time suggest them as a possible source of free energy to drive kinetic turbulence. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we explore how the free energy released by an electron two-stream instability drives Weibel-like electromagnetic waves that excite wave-wave interactions. Consequently, both kinetic Alfvénic and whistler turbulence are excited that evolve through inverse and forward magnetic energy cascades.

EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC TURBULENCE IN THE NEOCLASSICAL OHM's LAW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HINTON, F.L; WALTZ, R.E; CANDY, J.

2003-01-01

OAK-B135 An Ohm's law for tokamak plasmas has been derived, which includes the effect of electromagnetic turbulence as well as the neoclassical conductivity and bootstrap current. The most important current-driving effects of the turbulence have been identified, expressions for the driven (dynamo) current have been derived and these have been evaluated using the GYRO electromagnetic turbulence code. The most important current drive mechanism, the divergence of the radial flux of parallel electron momentum induced by magnetic flutter, drives a current density which have positive peaks on low order rational surfaces, with compensating negative dips nearby, thus driving zero total current. Another current drive mechanism, the beating of the parallel electric field fluctuations with the electron density fluctuations, drives a current density which is much smaller than that driven by the magnetic flutter mechanism, but could drive a nonzero total current

Self-generated zonal flows in the plasma turbulence driven by trapped-ion and trapped-electron instabilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drouot, T.; Gravier, E.; Reveille, T.; Collard, M. [Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198 CNRS - Université de Lorraine, 54 506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex (France)

2015-10-15

This paper presents a study of zonal flows generated by trapped-electron mode and trapped-ion mode micro turbulence as a function of two plasma parameters—banana width and electron temperature. For this purpose, a gyrokinetic code considering only trapped particles is used. First, an analytical equation giving the predicted level of zonal flows is derived from the quasi-neutrality equation of our model, as a function of the density fluctuation levels and the banana widths. Then, the influence of the banana width on the number of zonal flows occurring in the system is studied using the gyrokinetic code. Finally, the impact of the temperature ratio T{sub e}/T{sub i} on the reduction of zonal flows is shown and a close link is highlighted between reduction and different gyro-and-bounce-average ion and electron density fluctuation levels. This reduction is found to be due to the amplitudes of gyro-and-bounce-average density perturbations n{sub e} and n{sub i} gradually becoming closer, which is in agreement with the analytical results given by the quasi-neutrality equation.

Species Entropies in the Kinetic Range of Collisionless Plasma Turbulence: Particle-in-cell Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Gary, S. Peter; Zhao, Yinjian; Hughes, R. Scott; Wang, Joseph; Parashar, Tulasi N.

2018-06-01

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the forward cascade of decaying turbulence in the relatively short-wavelength kinetic range have been carried out as initial-value problems on collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized electron-ion plasma models. The simulations have addressed both whistler turbulence at β i = β e = 0.25 and kinetic Alfvén turbulence at β i = β e = 0.50, computing the species energy dissipation rates as well as the increase of the Boltzmann entropies for both ions and electrons as functions of the initial dimensionless fluctuating magnetic field energy density ε o in the range 0 ≤ ε o ≤ 0.50. This study shows that electron and ion entropies display similar rates of increase and that all four entropy rates increase approximately as ε o , consistent with the assumption that the quasilinear premise is valid for the initial conditions assumed for these simulations. The simulations further predict that the time rates of ion entropy increase should be substantially greater for kinetic Alfvén turbulence than for whistler turbulence.

Plasma pressure tensor effects on reconnection: Hybrid and Hall-magnetohydrodynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Lin; Winske, Dan

2003-01-01

Collisionless reconnection is studied using two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid (particle ions, massless fluid electrons) and Hall-magnetohydrodynamics (Hall-MHD) simulations. Both use the full electron pressure tensor instead of a localized resistivity in Ohm's law to initiate reconnection; an initial perturbation or boundary driving to the equilibrium is used. The initial configurations include one-dimensional (1-D) and 2-D current sheets both with and without a guide field. Electron dynamics from the two calculations are compared, and overall agreement is found between the calculations in both reconnection rate and global configuration [L. Yin et al., J. Geophys. Res. 106, 10761 (2001)]. It is shown that the electron drifts in the small-transverse-scale fields near the X point cause the electron motion to decouple from the ion motion, and that reconnection occurs due to electron viscous effects contained in the off-diagonal terms of the electron pressure tensor. Comparing the hybrid and Hall-MHD simulations shows that effects of the off-diagonal terms in the ion pressure tensor, i.e., the ion gyro-radius effects, are necessary in order to model correctly the ion out-of-plane motion. It is shown that these effects can be modeled efficiently in a particle Hall-MHD simulation in which particle ions are used in a predictor/corrector manner to implement ion gyro-radius corrections [L. Yin et al., Phys. Plasmas 9, 2575 (2002)]. For modeling reconnection in large systems, a new integrated approach is examined in which Hall-MHD calculations using a full electron pressure tensor model is embedded inside a MHD simulation. The embedded simulation of current sheet thinning and reconnection dynamics in a realistic 2-D magnetotail equilibrium exhibits smooth transitions of plasma and field quantities between the two regions, with small-scale physics represented well in the compressed current sheet and in the near-X-point region

Magnetohydrodynamic studies of the strong Focus device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vezin, Robert

1971-01-01

The POTTER magnetohydrodynamic code is used. It consists of a two-dimensional fluid model with two temperatures Te, Ti and transverse transport coefficients for a fully ionized plasma. Applied to the FOCUS geometry used at Limeil, it gives temperatures consistent with the BENNETT law but much lower than those evaluated experimentally by the X-ray absorbing foils technique. (author) [fr

Numerical evaluation of high energy particle effects in magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, R.B.; Wu, Y.

1994-03-01

The interaction of high energy ions with magnetohydrodynamic modes is analyzed. A numerical code is developed which evaluates the contribution of the high energy particles to mode stability using orbit averaging of motion in either analytic or numerically generated equilibria through Hamiltonian guiding center equations. A dispersion relation is then used to evaluate the effect of the particles on the linear mode. Generic behavior of the solutions of the dispersion relation is discussed and dominant contributions of different components of the particle distribution function are identified. Numerical convergence of Monte-Carlo simulations is analyzed. The resulting code ORBIT provides an accurate means of comparing experimental results with the predictions of kinetic magnetohydrodynamics. The method can be extended to include self consistent modification of the particle orbits by the mode, and hence the full nonlinear dynamics of the coupled system

Numerical study of turbulence-influence mechanism on arc characteristics in an air direct current circuit breaker

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Mingliang; Yang, Fei; Rong, Mingzhe; Wu, Yi; Qi, Yang; Cui, Yufei; Liu, Zirui; Guo, Anxiang

2016-04-01

This paper focuses on the numerical investigation of arc characteristics in an air direct current circuit breaker (air DCCB). Using magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) theory, 3D laminar model and turbulence model are constructed and calculated. The standard k-epsilon model is utilized to consider the turbulence effect in the arc chamber of the DCCB. Several important phenomena are found: the arc column in the turbulence-model case is more extensive, moves much more slowly than the counterpart in the laminar-model case, and shows stagnation at the entrance of the chamber, unlike in the laminar-model case. Moreover, the arc voltage in the turbulence-model case is much lower than in the laminar-model case. However, the results in the turbulence-model case show a much better agreement with the results of the breaking experiments under DC condition than in the laminar-model case, which is contradictory to the previous conclusions from the arc researches of both the low-voltage circuit breaker and the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) nozzle. First, in the previous air-arc research of the low-voltage circuit breaker, it is assumed that the air plasma inside the chamber is in the state of laminar, and the laminar-model application gives quite satisfactory results compared with the experiments, while in this paper, the laminar-model application works badly. Second, the turbulence-model application in the arc research of the SF6-nozzle performs much better and gives higher arc voltage than the laminar-model application does, whereas in this paper, the turbulence-model application predicts lower arc voltage than the laminar-model application does. Based on the analysis of simulation results in detail, the mechanism of the above phenomena is revealed. The transport coefficients are strongly changed by turbulence, which will enhance the arc diffusion and make the arc volume much larger. Consequently, the arc appearance and the distribution of Lorentz force in the turbulence-model case

Numerical study of turbulence-influence mechanism on arc characteristics in an air direct current circuit breaker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Mingliang; Yang, Fei, E-mail: yfei2007@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Rong, Mingzhe; Wu, Yi; Qi, Yang; Cui, Yufei [State Key Lab of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an Shaanxi 710049 (China); Liu, Zirui [State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Company, Xi' an, Shaanxi (China); Guo, Anxiang [Electric Power Research Institute of State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Company, Xi' an, Shaanxi (China)

2016-04-15

This paper focuses on the numerical investigation of arc characteristics in an air direct current circuit breaker (air DCCB). Using magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) theory, 3D laminar model and turbulence model are constructed and calculated. The standard k-epsilon model is utilized to consider the turbulence effect in the arc chamber of the DCCB. Several important phenomena are found: the arc column in the turbulence-model case is more extensive, moves much more slowly than the counterpart in the laminar-model case, and shows stagnation at the entrance of the chamber, unlike in the laminar-model case. Moreover, the arc voltage in the turbulence-model case is much lower than in the laminar-model case. However, the results in the turbulence-model case show a much better agreement with the results of the breaking experiments under DC condition than in the laminar-model case, which is contradictory to the previous conclusions from the arc researches of both the low-voltage circuit breaker and the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) nozzle. First, in the previous air-arc research of the low-voltage circuit breaker, it is assumed that the air plasma inside the chamber is in the state of laminar, and the laminar-model application gives quite satisfactory results compared with the experiments, while in this paper, the laminar-model application works badly. Second, the turbulence-model application in the arc research of the SF6-nozzle performs much better and gives higher arc voltage than the laminar-model application does, whereas in this paper, the turbulence-model application predicts lower arc voltage than the laminar-model application does. Based on the analysis of simulation results in detail, the mechanism of the above phenomena is revealed. The transport coefficients are strongly changed by turbulence, which will enhance the arc diffusion and make the arc volume much larger. Consequently, the arc appearance and the distribution of Lorentz force in the turbulence-model case

Edge Turbulence Imaging on NSTX and Alcator C-Mod

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

S.J. Zweben; R.A. Maqueda; J.L. Terry; B. Bai; C.J. Boswell; C.E. Bush; D. D'Ippolito; E.D. Fredrickson; M. Greenwald; K. Hallatschek; S. Kaye; B. LaBombard; R. Maingi; J. Myra; W.M. Nevins; B.N. Rogers; D.P. Stotler; J. Wilgen; and X.Q. Xu

2002-01-01

Edge turbulence images have been made using an ultra-high speed CCD camera on both NSTX and Alcator C-Mod. In both cases, the D-alpha or HeI (587.6 nm) line emission from localized deuterium or helium gas puffs was viewed along a local magnetic field line near the outer midplane. Fluctuations in this line emission reflect fluctuations in electron density and/or electron temperature through the atomic excitation rates, which can be modeled using the DEGAS-2 code. The 2-D structure of the measured turbulence can be compared with theoretical simulations based on 3-D fluid models

Edge turbulence control on the KT-5C tokamak by feedback using electrostatic probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai Kan; Wang Cheng; Wen Yizi; Yu Changxuan; Wan Shude; Liu Wandong; Xu Zhizhan

1998-01-01

Experiments on edge turbulence control have been performed on the KT-5C tokamak by feedback using two sets of electrostatic probes as the driving probe and detective probe. The results indicate that the feedback can enhance or reduce the turbulence amplitude depending upon the phase shift and gain of the feedback network. When the feedback with 90 degree phase shift and with certain loop gain is applied, the spectrum component of turbulence is reduced obviously and the fluctuation amplitude of the electron density and electron temperature become lower by about 25%. consistently the particle flux across the magnetic field induced by the electrostatic fluctuation also decreases by about 25%. On the other hand, the feedback with 0 degree or 180 degree or -90 degree phase shift can enhance the amplitude of the edge turbulence. These results indicate a nonlinear mechanism of the influence of feedback on the edge turbulence, which to some extent also reflect a specific nonlinear characteristic of the edge turbulence

Boundary Plasma Turbulence Simulations for Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, X.; Umansky, M.; Dudson, B.; Snyder, P.

2008-05-01

The boundary plasma turbulence code BOUT models tokamak boundary-plasma turbulence in a realistic divertor geometry using modified Braginskii equations for plasma vorticity, density (ni), electron and ion temperature (T e ; T i ) and parallel momenta. The BOUT code solves for the plasma fluid equations in a three dimensional (3D) toroidal segment (or a toroidal wedge), including the region somewhat inside the separatrix and extending into the scrape-off layer; the private flux region is also included. In this paper, a description is given of the sophisticated physical models, innovative numerical algorithms, and modern software design used to simulate edge-plasmas in magnetic fusion energy devices. The BOUT code's unique capabilities and functionality are exemplified via simulations of the impact of plasma density on tokamak edge turbulence and blob dynamics

Suppressing electron turbulence and triggering internal transport barriers with reversed magnetic shear in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, J. L. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Bell, R.; Guttenfelder, W.; Hammett, G. W.; Kaye, S. M.; LeBlanc, B.; Mikkelsen, D. R. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Candy, J. [General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186 (United States); Smith, D. R. [Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Yuh, H. Y. [Nova Photonics Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

2012-05-15

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)] can achieve high electron plasma confinement regimes that are super-critically unstable to the electron temperature gradient driven (ETG) instability. These plasmas, dubbed electron internal transport barriers (e-ITBs), occur when the magnetic shear becomes strongly negative. Using the gyrokinetic code GYRO [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)], the first nonlinear ETG simulations of NSTX e-ITB plasmas reinforce this observation. Local simulations identify a strongly upshifted nonlinear critical gradient for thermal transport that depends on magnetic shear. Global simulations show e-ITB formation can occur when the magnetic shear becomes strongly negative. While the ETG-driven thermal flux at the outer edge of the barrier is large enough to be experimentally relevant, the turbulence cannot propagate past the barrier into the plasma interior.

Capacitor discharges, magnetohydrodynamics, X-rays, ultrasonics

CERN Document Server

Früngel, Frank B A

1965-01-01

High Speed Pulse Technology, Volume 1: Capacitor Discharges - Magnetohydrodynamics - X-Rays - Ultrasonics deals with the theoretical and engineering problems that arise in the capacitor discharge technique.This book discusses the characteristics of dielectric material, symmetrical switch tubes with mercury filling, and compensation conductor forms. The transformed discharge for highest current peaks, ignition transformer for internal combustion engines, and X-ray irradiation of subjects in mechanical motion are also elaborated. This text likewise covers the transformed capacitor discharge in w

Self-organizing magnetohydrodynamic plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T.; Horiuchi, R.; Watanabe, K.; Hayashi, T.; Kusano, K.

1990-09-01

In a resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) plasma, both the magnetic energy and the magnetic helicity dissipate with the resistive time scale. When sufficiently large free magnetic energy does exist, however, an ideal current driven instability is excited whereby magnetic reconnection is driven at a converging point of induced plasma flows which does exist in a bounded compressible plasma. At a reconnection point excess free energy (entropy) is rapidly dissipated by ohmic heating and lost by radiation, while magnetic helicity is completely conserved. The magnetic topology is largely changed by reconnection and a new ordered structure with the same helicity is created. It is discussed that magnetic reconnection plays a key role in the MHD self-organization process. (author)

Introduction to magnetohydrodynamics

CERN Document Server

Thompson, Ian

2016-01-01

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) plays a crucial role in astrophysics, planetary magnetism, engineering and controlled nuclear fusion. This comprehensive textbook emphasizes physical ideas, rather than mathematical detail, making it accessible to a broad audience. Starting from elementary chapters on fluid mechanics and electromagnetism, it takes the reader all the way through to the latest ideas in more advanced topics, including planetary dynamos, stellar magnetism, fusion plasmas and engineering applications. With the new edition, readers will benefit from additional material on MHD instabilities, planetary dynamos and applications in astrophysics, as well as a whole new chapter on fusion plasma MHD. The development of the material from first principles and its pedagogical style makes this an ideal companion for both undergraduate students and postgraduate students in physics, applied mathematics and engineering. Elementary knowledge of vector calculus is the only prerequisite.

Annual status report 31 December 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-04-01

The research work of the Institute for Plasma Physics at Rijnhuizen during 1984 is surveyed. The Experimental Division reports on: pinches; turbulent heating in TORTUR, a small tokamak; numerical calculations on cold plasma blankets; electron cyclotron resonance heating; and, diagnostic subsystems. The Theoretical Division reports on: magnetohydrodynamics, wave dynamics and transport problems. Finally, the groups of the Department of Technology and Engineering report on subjects as: design, construction and maintenance of instruments and apparatus, for instance the high-voltage supply of SPICA II and TORTUR III, electronic control and computer hardware and software

Acceleration of auroral electrons by waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, D.S.

1983-06-01

The evolution of the auroral electron distribution function as the electrons traverse a region of plasma turbulence is discussed. Electron measurements are used to illustrate that if the energy densities of the waves associated with the turbulence are distributed in a particular way, various features of the electron distributions can be accounted for by changes in the details of the wave spectra without changes in the overall form. (author)

Relativistic plasma turbulence and its application to pulsar phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinata, S.

1976-01-01

A turbulent plasma model of pulsars which has the potential of providing a self-regulatory mechanism for producing an electron-positron plasma over the polar caps, as well as the coherency of the radio wave emission, is analyzed. Turbulent plasma properties including the kinetic and electrostatic energy densities, the wavelength of the most unstable mode, and the effective collision frequency due to the excited electric field, are obtained and applied to the pulsar situation. Since these properties depend on the momentum distribution of the plasma particles, model calculations have been carried out with simple momentum distribution functions. The radio luminosity due to turbulence (bunching or otherwise) turned out to be either insufficient or unclear at the moment for these simple momentum distributions. This indicates that a further investigation of turbulence processes with the self-consistently determined momentum distribution is needed. This is left for future analysis, because entirely different processes (e.g. trapping) are likely to dominate the physics as is demonstrated for one of the model distribution functions. In addition to the above mentioned model, we examine some wave propagation properties in a relativistic electron-positron plasma immersed in a strong magnetic field

Theory of incremental turbulent transport in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Similon, P.L.

1991-01-01

The goal of this research is to understand how the various aspect of turbulent transport operate in tokamaks, in the presence of low frequency fluctuations such as drift waves or trapped electron modes

Ideal Magnetohydrodynamic Stability of the NCSX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, Guo Yong; Isaev, Maxim Yu; Ku, Long-Poe; Mikhailov, M.; Redi, M.H; Sanchez, Raul; Subbotin, A; Hirshman, Steven Paul; Cooper, W. Anthony; Monticello, D.; Reiman, A.H.; Zarnstorff, M.C.

2007-01-01

The ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) is extensively analyzed using the most advanced three-dimensional MHD codes. It is shown that the NCSX is stable to finite-n MHD modes, including the vertical mode, external kink modes and ballooning modes. However, high-n external kink modes that peak near the plasma edge are found to be weakly unstable. A global calculation shows that finite-n ballooning modes are significantly more stable than the local infinite-n modes

Double layers formed by beam driven ion-acoustic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludwig, G.O.; Ferreira, J.L.; Montes, A.

1987-01-01

Small amplitude steady-state ion-acoustic layers are observed to form in a plasma traversed by a beam of cold electrons. The importance of turbulence in maintaining the double layer is demonstrated. The measured wave spectrum is in approximate agrreement with models derived from renormalized turbulence theory. The general features of the double layer are compared with results from particle simulation studies. (author) [pt

Double layer formed by beam driven ion-acoustic turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludwig, G.O.; Ferreira, J.L.; Montes, A.

1987-08-01

Small amplitudes steady-state ion-acoustic double layers are observed to form in a plasma transversed by a beam of cold electrons. The importance of turbulence in maintaining the double layer is demonstrated. The measured wave spectrum is in approximate agreement with models deriveted from renornalized turbulence theory. The general features of the double layer are compared with results from particle simulation studies. (author) [pt

Spectral calculations in magnetohydrodynamics using the Jacobi-Davidson method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Belien, A. J. C.; van der Holst, B.; Nool, M.; van der Ploeg, A.; Goedbloed, J. P.

2001-01-01

For the solution of the generalized complex non-Hermitian eigenvalue problems Ax = lambda Bx occurring in the spectral study of linearized resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) a new parallel solver based on the recently developed Jacobi-Davidson [SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 17 (1996) 401] method has

A data parallel pseudo-spectral semi-implicit magnetohydrodynamics code

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keppens, R.; Poedts, S.; Meijer, P. M.; Goedbloed, J. P.; Hertzberger, B.; Sloot, P.

1997-01-01

The set of eight nonlinear partial differential equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is used for time dependent simulations of three-dimensional (3D) fluid flow in a magnetic field. A data parallel code is presented, which integrates the MHD equations in cylindrical geometry, combining a

Concomitant Hamiltonian and topological structures of extended magnetohydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lingam, Manasvi, E-mail: mlingam@princeton.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Department of Physics and Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Miloshevich, George, E-mail: gmilosh@physics.utexas.edu [Department of Physics and Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Morrison, Philip J., E-mail: morrison@physics.utexas.edu [Department of Physics and Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

2016-07-15

Highlights: • Common Hamiltonian structure of the extended MHD models presented. • The generalized helicities of extended MHD shown to be topological invariants analogous to fluid/magnetic helicity. • Generalized helicities can be studied through powerful topological and knot-theoretic methods such as the Jones polynomial. • Each extended MHD model shown to possess two Lie-dragged 2-forms, which are interpreted as the generalized vorticity fluxes. - Abstract: The paper describes the unique geometric properties of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and demonstrates how such features are inherited by extended MHD, viz. models that incorporate two-fluid effects (the Hall term and electron inertia). The generalized helicities, and other geometric expressions for these models are presented in a topological context, emphasizing their universal facets. Some of the results presented include: the generalized Kelvin circulation theorems; the existence of two Lie-dragged 2-forms; and two concomitant helicities that can be studied via the Jones polynomial, which is widely utilized in Chern–Simons theory. The ensuing commonality is traced to the existence of an underlying Hamiltonian structure for all the extended MHD models, exemplified by the presence of a unique noncanonical Poisson bracket, and its associated energy.

The equivalence of perfect fluid space-times and viscous magnetohydrodynamic space-times in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tupper, B.O.J.

1983-01-01

The work of a previous article is extended to show that space-times which are the exact solutions of the field equations for a perfect fluid also may be exact solutions of the field equations for a viscous magnetohydrodynamic fluid. Conditions are found for this equivalence to exist and viscous magnetohydrodynamic solutions are found for a number of known perfect fluid space-times. (author)

Turbulence

CERN Document Server

Bailly, Christophe

2015-01-01

This book covers the major problems of turbulence and turbulent processes, including  physical phenomena, their modeling and their simulation. After a general introduction in Chapter 1 illustrating many aspects dealing with turbulent flows, averaged equations and kinetic energy budgets are provided in Chapter 2. The concept of turbulent viscosity as a closure of the Reynolds stress is also introduced. Wall-bounded flows are presented in Chapter 3, and aspects specific to boundary layers and channel or pipe flows are also pointed out. Free shear flows, namely free jets and wakes, are considered in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 deals with vortex dynamics. Homogeneous turbulence, isotropy, and dynamics of isotropic turbulence are presented in Chapters 6 and 7. Turbulence is then described both in the physical space and in the wave number space. Time dependent numerical simulations are presented in Chapter 8, where an introduction to large eddy simulation is offered. The last three chapters of the book summarize remarka...

Magnetohydrodynamic cosmologies with a Bertotti-Robinson limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portugal, R.; Soares, I.D.

1986-01-01

A class of cosmological solutions of Einstein-Maxwell equations, which have the Bertotti-Robinson model as an asymptotic configuration is presented. The novel feature of the models is the presence of a conductivity current in Maxwell equations characterizing a regime of magnetohydrodynamics. Exact analytical solutions are exhibited and the solutions may be used as the interior model for the collapse of a self-gravitating bounded fluid with electric conductivity. (Author) [pt

Turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces detected in DNS of incompressible turbulent boundary layers

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Watanabe, T.; Zhang, X.; Nagata, K.

2018-03-01

The turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) detected in direct numerical simulations is studied for incompressible, temporally developing turbulent boundary layers at momentum thickness Reynolds number Reθ ≈ 2000. The outer edge of the TNTI layer is detected as an isosurface of the vorticity magnitude with the threshold determined with the dependence of the turbulent volume on a threshold level. The spanwise vorticity magnitude and passive scalar are shown to be good markers of turbulent fluids, where the conditional statistics on a distance from the outer edge of the TNTI layer are almost identical to the ones obtained with the vorticity magnitude. Significant differences are observed for the conditional statistics between the TNTI detected by the kinetic energy and vorticity magnitude. A widely used grid setting determined solely from the wall unit results in an insufficient resolution in a streamwise direction in the outer region, whose influence is found for the geometry of the TNTI and vorticity jump across the TNTI layer. The present results suggest that the grid spacing should be similar for the streamwise and spanwise directions. Comparison of the TNTI layer among different flows requires appropriate normalization of the conditional statistics. Reference quantities of the turbulence near the TNTI layer are obtained with the average of turbulent fluids in the intermittent region. The conditional statistics normalized by the reference turbulence characteristics show good quantitative agreement for the turbulent boundary layer and planar jet when they are plotted against the distance from the outer edge of the TNTI layer divided by the Kolmogorov scale defined for turbulent fluids in the intermittent region.

ALFVEN WAVE REFLECTION AND TURBULENT HEATING IN THE SOLAR WIND FROM 1 SOLAR RADIUS TO 1 AU: AN ANALYTICAL TREATMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandran, Benjamin D. G.; Hollweg, Joseph V.

2009-01-01

We study the propagation, reflection, and turbulent dissipation of Alfven waves in coronal holes and the solar wind. We start with the Heinemann-Olbert equations, which describe non-compressive magnetohydrodynamic fluctuations in an inhomogeneous medium with a background flow parallel to the background magnetic field. Following the approach of Dmitruk et al., we model the nonlinear terms in these equations using a simple phenomenology for the cascade and dissipation of wave energy and assume that there is much more energy in waves propagating away from the Sun than waves propagating toward the Sun. We then solve the equations analytically for waves with periods of hours and longer to obtain expressions for the wave amplitudes and turbulent heating rate as a function of heliocentric distance. We also develop a second approximate model that includes waves with periods of roughly one minute to one hour, which undergo less reflection than the longer-period waves, and compare our models to observations. Our models generalize the phenomenological model of Dmitruk et al. by accounting for the solar wind velocity, so that the turbulent heating rate can be evaluated from the coronal base out past the Alfven critical point-that is, throughout the region in which most of the heating and acceleration occurs. The simple analytical expressions that we obtain can be used to incorporate Alfven-wave reflection and turbulent heating into fluid models of the solar wind.

Tokamak fluidlike equations, with applications to turbulence and transport in H mode discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.B.; Biglari, H.; Carreras, B.A.; Diamond, P.H.; Groebner, R.J.; Kwon, O.J.; Spong, D.A.; Callen, J.D.; Chang, Z.; Hollenberg, J.B.; Sundaram, A.K.; Terry, P.W.; Wang, J.F.

1990-01-01

Significant progress has been made in developing tokamak fluidlike equations which are valid in all collisionality regimes in toroidal devices, and their applications to turbulence and transport in tokamaks. The areas highlighted in this paper include: the rigorous derivation of tokamak fluidlike equations via a generalized Chapman-Enskog procedure in various collisionality regimes and on various time scales; their application to collisionless and collisional drift wave models in a sheared slab geometry; applications to neoclassical drift wave turbulence; i.e. neoclassical ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence and neoclassical electron-drift-wave turbulence; applications to neoclassical bootstrap-current-driven turbulence; numerical simulation of nonlinear bootstrap-current-driven turbulence and tearing mode turbulence; transport in Hot-Ion H mode discharges. 20 refs., 3 figs

Turbulent mass transfer in electrochemical systems: Turbulence for electrochemistry, electrochemistry for turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vorotyntsev, M.A.

1991-01-01

Key problems of turbulent mass transfer at a solid wall are reviewed: closure problem for the concentration field, information on wall turbulence, applications of microelectrodes to study the structure of turbulence, correlation properties of current fluctuations. (author). 26 refs

Destructive interference of TEM and ITG turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merz, F.; Jenko, F.

2009-01-01

Full text: Turbulence driven by ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes and trapped electron modes (TEMs) is generally considered the key mechanism for anomalous transport in fusion devices on ion scales. But while pure ITG and, to a lesser extent, also pure TEM turbulence have been studied in detail over the last years, not much is presently known about nonlinear interactions between ITG modes and TEMs, which are often present simultaneously in experimentally relevant situations. This important issue is addressed by means of linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations with the GENE code. To examine the properties of the (linear) TEM and ITG instabilities in the (realistic) transitional regime, the GENE code is run as eigenvalue solver, which allows for a systematic study of dominant and subdominant modes. Corresponding nonlinear initial value computations show that the particle transport of the turbulent system can be completely suppressed if the two driving instabilities are active simultaneously. The direct comparison of the linear modes and the corresponding turbulent system reveals a coexistence of the two microinstabilities in a transitional regime even at the same wave number. The consequences of this dual turbulence drive for transport modeling is discussed. (author)

Solar neutrino problem accounting for self-consistent magnetohydrodynamics solution for solar magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, O.G.; Pena-Garay, C.; Valle, J.W.F.; Rashba, T.I.; Semikoz, V.B.

2001-01-01

The analysis of the resonant spin-flavour (RSF) solutions to the solar neutrino problem in the framework of the simplest analytical solutions to the solar magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations is presented. We performed the global fit of the recent solar neutrino data, including event rates as well as zenith angle distributions and recoil electron spectra induced by solar neutrino interactions in Superkamiokande. We compare quantitatively our simplest MHD-RSF fit with vacuum oscillation (VAC) and MSW-type (SMA, LMA and LOW) solutions to the solar neutrino problem using a common well-calibrated theoretical calculation and fit procedure and find MHD-RSF fit to be somewhat better than those obtained for the favored neutrino oscillation solutions. We made the predictions for future experiments (e.g., SNO) to disentangle the MHD-RSF scenario from other scenarios

Theoretical studies of turbulence and anomalous transport in toroidal confinement devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, P.W.

1990-01-01

The research performed under this grant during the current year has focused on key issues with respect to turbulence and transport in toroidal confinement devices. This work includes theoretical and computational studies of electron thermal confinement which have concentrated on the role of sheared poloidal flow in suppressing turbulence and transport, trapped ion convective cell turbulence and microtearing turbulence; analytical studies of anomalous particle transport and pinch mechanisms, and comparison with experimental measurement; development of the theory of self-consistent radial transport of field-aligned momentum in the tokamak and RFP; and work on other topics (ion temperature gradient driven turbulence, RFP fluctuation theory, coherent structures). Progress and publications in these areas are briefly summarized in this report. 20 refs

Postcollaptical effects in strong Langmuir turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malkin, V.M.

1989-01-01

The qualitative theory of Langmuir turbulence is constructed, which takes into account the postcollaptical effects. The spectra obtained for Langmuir waves and accelerated electrons differ substantially from those predicted earlier. An interesting feature of new spectra is their dependence on the collapse symmetry. 6 refs

Non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics on a moving mesh

Science.gov (United States)

Marinacci, Federico; Vogelsberger, Mark; Kannan, Rahul; Mocz, Philip; Pakmor, Rüdiger; Springel, Volker

2018-05-01

In certain astrophysical systems, the commonly employed ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) approximation breaks down. Here, we introduce novel explicit and implicit numerical schemes of ohmic resistivity terms in the moving-mesh code AREPO. We include these non-ideal terms for two MHD techniques: the Powell 8-wave formalism and a constrained transport scheme, which evolves the cell-centred magnetic vector potential. We test our implementation against problems of increasing complexity, such as one- and two-dimensional diffusion problems, and the evolution of progressive and stationary Alfvén waves. On these test problems, our implementation recovers the analytic solutions to second-order accuracy. As first applications, we investigate the tearing instability in magnetized plasmas and the gravitational collapse of a rotating magnetized gas cloud. In both systems, resistivity plays a key role. In the former case, it allows for the development of the tearing instability through reconnection of the magnetic field lines. In the latter, the adopted (constant) value of ohmic resistivity has an impact on both the gas distribution around the emerging protostar and the mass loading of magnetically driven outflows. Our new non-ideal MHD implementation opens up the possibility to study magneto-hydrodynamical systems on a moving mesh beyond the ideal MHD approximation.

Effect of Magnetohydrodynamic Couple Stresses on Dynamic Characteristics of Exponential Slider Bearing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.B. Naduvinamani

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The effect of couple stresses on static and dynamic characteristics of exponential slider bearing in the presence of magnetic field considering squeeze action is theoretically analyzed in this paper. The modified magnetohydrodynamic couple stress Reynolds type equation is derived on the basis of Stokes couple stress model and closed form expressions are obtained for static and dynamic character coefficients. Comparing with bearing lubricated with non-conducting Newtonian lubricants, the magnetohydrodynamic couple stress lubrication provides the higher steady load carrying capacity, dynamic stiffness and damping coefficient. The exponential bearing shows higher efficiency for small film thickness at higher value of couple stress parameter and Hartmann number.

Analysis of the magnetohydrodynamic equations and study of the nonlinear solution bifurcations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morros Tosas, J.

1989-01-01

The nonlinear problems related to the plasma magnetohydrodynamic instabilities are studied. A bifurcation theory is applied and a general magnetohydrodynamic equation is proposed. Scalar functions, a steady magnetic field and a new equation for the velocity field are taken into account. A method allowing the obtention of suitable reduced equations for the instabilities study is described. Toroidal and cylindrical configuration plasmas are studied. In the cylindrical configuration case, analytical calculations are performed and two steady bifurcated solutions are found. In the toroidal configuration case, a suitable reduced equation system is obtained; a qualitative approach of a steady solution bifurcation on a toroidal Kink type geometry is carried out [fr

Hyper-resistivity produced by tearing mode turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, H.R.

1986-01-01

Tearing mode turbulence produces a hyper-resistivity or effective anomalous electron viscosity. The hyper-resistivity is calculated for the mean magnetic field quasilinearly, and for long-wavelength modes using the direct interaction approximation. The hyper-resistivity accounts for current relaxation in reversed-field pinch experiments, and gives a magnetic fluctuation sealing of S -1 /sup // 3 . It causes enhanced tearing mode growth rates in the turbulent phase of tokamak disruptions. In astrophysics, it limits magnetic energy growth due to the dynamo effect, and may explain rapid reconnection phenomena such as solar flares

PREFACE: Turbulent Mixing and Beyond Turbulent Mixing and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Abarzhi, Snezhana I.; Gauthier, Serge; Rosner, Robert

2008-10-01

presentations were published in the Book of Abstracts, International Conference `Turbulent Mixing and Beyond', August 18-26, 2007, Copyright 2007 Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, ISBN 92-95003-36-5. This Topical Issue consists of nearly 60 articles accepted for publication in the Conference Proceedings and reflects a substantial part of the Conference contributions. The articles cover a broad variety of TMB-2007 themes and are sorted alphabetically by the last name of the first author within each of the following topics: Canonical Turbulence and Turbulent Mixing (invariant, scaling, spectral properties, scalar transports) Wall-bounded Flows (structure and fundamentals, unsteady boundary layers, super-sonic flows, shock - boundary layer interaction) Interfacial Dynamics (Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities) Unsteady Turbulent Processes (turbulence and turbulent mixing in unsteady, multiphase and anisotropic flows) High Energy Density Physics (laser-material interaction, Z-pinches, laser-driven, heavy-ion and magnetic fusion) Astrophysics (supernovae, interstellar medium, star formation, stellar interiors, early Universe, cosmic micro-wave background) Magneto-hydrodynamics (magneto-convection, magneto-rotational instability, accretion disks, dynamo) Plasmas in Ionosphere (coupled plasmas, anomalous resistance, ionosphere) Physics of Atmosphere (environmental fluid dynamics, forecasting, data analysis, error estimate) Geophysics (turbulent convection in stratified, rotating and active flows) Combustion (dynamics of flames, fires, blast waves and explosions) Mathematical Aspects of Multi-Scale Dynamics (vortex dynamics, singularities, discontinuities, asymptotic dynamics, weak solutions, well- and ill-posedness) Statistical Approaches, Stochastic Processes and Probabilistic Description (uncertainty quantification, anomalous diffusion, long-tail distributions, wavelets) Advanced Numerical Simulations

A ''new'' approach to the quantitative statistical dynamics of plasma turbulence: The optimum theory of rigorous bounds on steady-state transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krommes, J.A.; Kim, Chang-Bae

1990-06-01

The fundamental problem in the theory of turbulent transport is to find the flux Γ of a quantity such as heat. Methods based on statistical closures are mired in conceptual controversies and practical difficulties. However, it is possible to bound Γ by employing constraints derived rigorously from the equations of motion. Brief reviews of the general theory and its application to passive advection are given. Then, a detailed application is made to anomalous resistivity generated by self-consistent turbulence in a reversed-field pinch. A nonlinear variational principle for an upper bound on the turbulence electromotive force for fixed current is formulated from the magnetohydrodynamic equations in cylindrical geometry. Numerical solution of a case constrained solely by energy balance leads to a reasonable bound and nonlinear eigenfunctions that share intriguing features with experimental data: the dominant mode numbers appear to be correct, and field reversal is predicted at reasonable values of the pinch parameter. Although open questions remain upon considering all bounding calculations to date one can conclude, remarkably, that global energy balance constrains transport sufficiently so that bounds derived therefrom are not unreasonable and that bounding calculations are feasible even for involved practical problems. The potential of the method has hardly been tapped; it provides a fertile area for future research. 29 refs

A ''new'' approach to the quantitative statistical dynamics of plasma turbulence: The optimum theory of rigorous bounds on steady-state transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krommes, J.A.; Kim, C.

1990-01-01

The fundamental problem in the theory of turbulent transport is to find the flux Γ of a quantity such as heat. Methods based on statistical closures are mired in conceptual controversies and practical difficulties. However, it is possible to bound Γ by employing constraints derived rigorously from the equations of motion. Brief reviews of the general theory and its application to passive advection are given. Then, a detailed application is made to anomalous resistivity generated by self-consistent turbulence in a reversed-field pinch. A nonlinear variational principle for an upper bound on the turbulent electromotive force for fixed current is formulated from the magnetohydrodynamic equations in cylindrical geometry. Numerical solution of a case constrained solely by energy balance leads to a reasonable bound and nonlinear eigenfunctions that share intriguing features with experimental data: The dominant mode numbers appear to be correct, and field reversal is predicted at reasonable values of the pinch parameter. Although open questions remain, upon considering all bounding calculations to date it can be concluded, remarkably, that global energy balance constrains transport sufficiently so that bounds derived therefrom are not unreasonable and that bounding calculations are feasible even for involved practical problems. The potential of the method has hardly been tapped; it provides a fertile area for future research

Reducing Turbulent Transport in Toroidal Configurations via Shaping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mynick, H.E.; Pomphrey, N.; Xanthopoulos, P.

2011-01-01

Recent progress in reducing turbulent transport in stellarators and tokamaks by 3D shaping using a stellarator optimization code in conjunction with a gyrokinetic code is presented. The original applications of the method focussed on ion temperature gradient transport in a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator design. Here, an examination of both other turbulence channels and other starting configurations is initiated. It is found that the designs evolved for transport from ion temperature gradient turbulence also display reduced transport from other transport channels whose modes are also stabilized by improved curvature, such as electron temperature gradient and ballooning modes. The optimizer is also applied to evolving from a tokamak, finding appreciable turbulence reduction for these devices as well. From these studies, improved understanding is obtained of why the deformations found by the optimizer are beneficial, and these deformations are related to earlier theoretical work in both stellarators and tokamaks.

Nambu brackets in fluid mechanics and magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salazar, Roberto; Kurgansky, Michael V

2010-01-01

Concrete examples of the construction of Nambu brackets for equations of motion (both 3D and 2D) of Boussinesq stratified fluids and also for magnetohydrodynamical equations are given. It serves a generalization of Hamiltonian formulation for the considered equations of motion. Two alternative Nambu formulations are proposed, first by using fluid dynamical (kinetic) helicity and/or enstrophy as constitutive elements and second, by using the existing conservation laws of the governing equation.

TURBULENCE AND RADIO MINI-HALOS IN THE SLOSHING CORES OF GALAXY CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ZuHone, J. A.; Markevitch, M.; Brunetti, G.; Giacintucci, S.

2013-01-01

A number of relaxed, cool-core galaxy clusters exhibit diffuse, steep-spectrum radio sources in their central regions, known as radio mini-halos. It has been proposed that the relativistic electrons responsible for the emission have been reaccelerated by turbulence generated by the sloshing of the cool core gas. We present a high-resolution MHD simulation of gas sloshing in a galaxy cluster coupled with subgrid simulations of relativistic electron acceleration to test this hypothesis. Our simulation shows that the sloshing motions generate turbulence on the order of δv ∼ 50-200 km s –1 on spatial scales of ∼50-100 kpc and below in the cool core region within the envelope of the sloshing cold fronts, whereas outside the cold fronts, there is negligible turbulence. This turbulence is potentially strong enough to reaccelerate relativistic electron seeds (with initial γ ∼ 100-500) to γ ∼ 10 4 via damping of magnetosonic waves and non-resonant compression. The seed electrons could remain in the cluster from, e.g., past active galactic nucleus activity. In combination with the magnetic field amplification in the core, these electrons then produce diffuse radio synchrotron emission that is coincident with the region bounded by the sloshing cold fronts, as indeed observed in X-rays and the radio. The result holds for different initial spatial distributions of pre-existing relativistic electrons. The power and the steep spectral index (α ≈ 1-2) of the resulting radio emission are consistent with observations of mini-halos, though the theoretical uncertainties of the acceleration mechanisms are high. We also produce simulated maps of inverse-Compton hard X-ray emission from the same population of relativistic electrons.

Ideal magnetohydrodynamic stability of axisymmetric mirrors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Ippolito, D.A.; Hafizi, B.; Myra, J.R.

1982-01-01

The governing partial differential equation for general mode-number pressure-driven ballooning modes in a long-thin, axisymmetric plasma is derived within the context of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. It is shown that the equation reduces in special limits to the Hain--Luest equation, the high-m diffuse p(psi) ballooning equation, and the low-m sharp-boundary equation. A low-β analytic solution of the full partial differential equation is presented for quasiflute modes in an idealized tandem mirror model to elucidate the relationship of the various limiting cases

Notes on the eigensystem of magnetohydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roe, P.L.; Balsara, D.S.

1996-01-01

The eigenstructure of the equations governing one-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamics is examined, motivated by the wish to exploit it for construction of high-resolution computational algorithms. The results are given in simple forms that avoid indeterminacy or degeneracy whenever possible. The unavoidable indeterminacy near the magnetosonic (or triple umbilic) state is analyzed and shown to cause no difficulty in evaluating a numerical flux function. The structure of wave paths close to this singularity is obtained, and simple expressions are presented for the structure coefficients that govern wave steepening

Nonlinear Flow Generation By Electrostatic Turbulence In Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W.X.; Diamond, P.H.; Hahm, T.S.; Ethier, S.; Rewoldt, G.; Tang, W.M.

2010-01-01

Global gyrokinetic simulations have revealed an important nonlinear flow generation process due to the residual stress produced by electrostatic turbulence of ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes and trapped electron modes (TEM). In collisionless TEM (CTEM) turbulence, nonlinear residual stress generation by both the fluctuation intensity and the intensity gradient in the presence of broken symmetry in the parallel wave number spectrum is identified for the first time. Concerning the origin of the symmetry breaking, turbulence self-generated low frequency zonal flow shear has been identified to be a key, universal mechanism in various turbulence regimes. Simulations reported here also indicate the existence of other mechanisms beyond E - B shear. The ITG turbulence driven 'intrinsic' torque associated with residual stress is shown to increase close to linearly with the ion temperature gradient, in qualitative agreement with experimental observations in various devices. In CTEM dominated regimes, a net toroidal rotation is driven in the cocurrent direction by 'intrinsic' torque, consistent with the experimental trend of observed intrinsic rotation. The finding of a 'flow pinch' in CTEM turbulence may offer an interesting new insight into the underlying dynamics governing the radial penetration of modulated flows in perturbation experiments. Finally, simulations also reveal highly distinct phase space structures between CTEM and ITG turbulence driven momentum, energy and particle fluxes, elucidating the roles of resonant and non-resonant particles.

Measurement of turbulent electron temperature fluctuations on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak using correlated electron cyclotron emission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freethy, S. J., E-mail: simon.freethy@ipp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, 85748 Garching (Germany); Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Conway, G. D.; Happel, T.; Köhn, A. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, 85748 Garching (Germany); Classen, I.; Vanovac, B. [FOM Institute DIFFER, 5612 AJ Eindhoven (Netherlands); Creely, A. J.; White, A. E. [Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2016-11-15

Turbulent temperature fluctuations are measured on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak using pairs of closely spaced, narrow-band heterodyne radiometer channels and a standard correlation technique. The pre-detection spacing and bandwidth of the radiometer channel pairs is chosen such that they are physically separated less than a turbulent correlation length, but do not overlap. The radiometer has 4 fixed filter frequency channels and two tunable filter channels for added flexibility in the measurement position. Relative temperature fluctuation amplitudes are observed in a helium plasma to be δT/T = (0.76 ± 0.02)%, (0.67 ± 0.02)%, and (0.59 ± 0.03)% at normalised toroidal flux radius of ρ{sub tor} = 0.82, 0.75, and 0.68, respectively.

The transverse field Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in magnetohydrodynamics

KAUST Repository

Wheatley, V.; Samtaney, Ravi; Pullin, D. I.; Gehre, R. M.

2014-01-01

The magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability is investigated for the case where the initial magnetic field is unperturbed and aligned with the mean interface location. For this initial condition, the magnetic field lines penetrate the perturbed density interface, forbidding a tangential velocity jump and therefore the presence of a vortex sheet. Through simulation, we find that the vorticity distribution present on the interface immediately after the shock acceleration breaks up into waves traveling parallel and anti-parallel to the magnetic field, which transport the vorticity. The interference of these waves as they propagate causes the perturbation amplitude of the interface to oscillate in time. This interface behavior is accurately predicted over a broad range of parameters by an incompressible linearized model derived presently by solving the corresponding impulse driven, linearized initial value problem. Our use of an equilibrium initial condition results in interface motion produced solely by the impulsive acceleration. Nonlinear compressible simulations are used to investigate the behavior of the transverse field magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, and the performance of the incompressible model, over a range of shock strengths, magnetic field strengths, perturbation amplitudes and Atwood numbers.

The transverse field Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in magnetohydrodynamics

KAUST Repository

Wheatley, V.

2014-01-10

The magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability is investigated for the case where the initial magnetic field is unperturbed and aligned with the mean interface location. For this initial condition, the magnetic field lines penetrate the perturbed density interface, forbidding a tangential velocity jump and therefore the presence of a vortex sheet. Through simulation, we find that the vorticity distribution present on the interface immediately after the shock acceleration breaks up into waves traveling parallel and anti-parallel to the magnetic field, which transport the vorticity. The interference of these waves as they propagate causes the perturbation amplitude of the interface to oscillate in time. This interface behavior is accurately predicted over a broad range of parameters by an incompressible linearized model derived presently by solving the corresponding impulse driven, linearized initial value problem. Our use of an equilibrium initial condition results in interface motion produced solely by the impulsive acceleration. Nonlinear compressible simulations are used to investigate the behavior of the transverse field magnetohydrodynamic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, and the performance of the incompressible model, over a range of shock strengths, magnetic field strengths, perturbation amplitudes and Atwood numbers.

Electromagnetic Transport From Microtearing Mode Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guttenfelder, W.; Candy, J.; Kaye, S.M.; Nevins, W.M.; Wang, E.; Bell, R.E.; Hammett, G.W.; LeBlanc, B.P.; Mikkelsen, D.R.; Yuh, H.

2011-01-01

This Letter presents non-linear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing mode turbulence. The simulations include collisional and electromagnetic effects and use experimental parameters from a high beta discharge in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). The predicted electron thermal transport is comparable to that given by experimental analysis, and it is dominated by the electromagnetic contribution of electrons free streaming along the resulting stochastic magnetic field line trajectories. Experimental values of flow shear can significantly reduce the predicted transport.

Strange Attractors in Drift Wave Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewandowski, J.L.V.

2003-01-01

A multi-grid part-in-cell algorithm for a shearless slab drift wave model with kinetic electrons is presented. The algorithm, which is based on an exact separation of adiabatic and nonadiabatic electron responses, is used to investigate the presence of strange attractors in drift wave turbulence. Although the simulation model has a large number of degrees of freedom, it is found that the strange attractor is low-dimensional and that it is strongly affected by dissipative (collisional) effects

Nonlinear energy transfer and current sheet development in localized Alfvén wavepacket collisions in the strong turbulence limit

Science.gov (United States)

Verniero, J. L.; Howes, G. G.; Klein, K. G.

2018-02-01

In space and astrophysical plasmas, turbulence is responsible for transferring energy from large scales driven by violent events or instabilities, to smaller scales where turbulent energy is ultimately converted into plasma heat by dissipative mechanisms. The nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, denoted Alfvén wave collisions, drives this turbulent energy cascade, as recognized by early work with incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. Recent work employing analytical calculations and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of Alfvén wave collisions in an idealized periodic initial state have demonstrated the key properties that strong Alfvén wave collisions mediate effectively the transfer of energy to smaller perpendicular scales and self-consistently generate current sheets. For the more realistic case of the collision between two initially separated Alfvén wavepackets, we use a nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation to show here that these key properties persist: strong Alfvén wavepacket collisions indeed facilitate the perpendicular cascade of energy and give rise to current sheets. Furthermore, the evolution shows that nonlinear interactions occur only while the wavepackets overlap, followed by a clean separation of the wavepackets with straight uniform magnetic fields and the cessation of nonlinear evolution in between collisions, even in the gyrokinetic simulation presented here which resolves dispersive and kinetic effects beyond the reach of the MHD theory.

Stirring turbulence with turbulence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cekli, H.E.; Joosten, R.; van de Water, W.

2015-01-01

We stir wind-tunnel turbulence with an active grid that consists of rods with attached vanes. The time-varying angle of these rods is controlled by random numbers. We study the response of turbulence on the statistical properties of these random numbers. The random numbers are generated by the

Evaluation of candidate magnetohydrodynamic materials for the U-02 Phase III test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchant, D.D.; Bates, J.L.

1978-06-01

As part of a cooperative U.S.--U.S.S.R. program, electrode and insulator materials tested at the Westinghouse Electrode Systems Test Facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were evaluated. From this evaluation materials will be selected for use in the third phase of tests being conducted in the U-02 magnetohydrodynamics test facility in the Soviet Union. Electrode and insulator materials were examined with both an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The cathodes were found to behave differently from the anodes; most notably, the cathodes showed greater potassium interaction. The lanthanum chromite-based electrodes (excluding those fabricated by plasma-spraying) are recommended for testing in the U-02 Phase III test. Hotpressed, fused-grained MgO and sintered MgAl 2 O 4 are recommended as insulator materials. The electrode attachment techniques used in the Westinghouse Tests were inadequate and need to be modified for the U-02 test

Topics in strong Langmuir turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skoric, M.M.

1981-01-01

This thesis discusses certain aspects of the turbulence of a fully ionised non-isothermal plasma dominated by the Langmuir mode. Some of the basic properties of strongly turbulent plasmas are reviewed. In particular, interest is focused on the state of Langmuir turbulence, that is the turbulence of a simple externally unmagnetized plasma. The problem of the existence and dynamics of Langmuir collapse is discussed, often met as a non-linear stage of the modulational instability in the framework of the Zakharov equations (i.e. simple time-averaged dynamical equations). Possible macroscopic consequences of such dynamical turbulent models are investigated. In order to study highly non-linear collapse dynamics in its advanced stage, a set of generalized Zakharov equations are derived. Going beyond the original approximation, the author includes the effects of higher electron non-linearities and a breakdown of slow-timescale quasi-neutrality. He investigates how these corrections may influence the collapse stabilisation. Recently, it has been realised that the modulational instability in a Langmuir plasma will be accompanied by the collisionless-generation of a slow-timescale magnetic field. Accordingly, a novel physical situation has emerged which is investigated in detail. The stability of monochromatic Langmuir waves in a self-magnetized Langmuir plasma, is discussed, and the existence of a novel magneto-modulational instability shown. The wave collapse dynamics is investigated and a physical interpretation of the basic results is given. A problem of the transient analysis of an interaction of time-dependent electromagnetic pulses with linear cold plasma media is investigated. (Auth.)

Interferometry and MHD turbulence measurements in toroidal pinches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutt, T.L.; Evans, D.E.; Wilcock, P.D.

1976-01-01

A 10.6 micron interferometer produced 2 to 3 good quality fringes in the HBTX plasma. There is substantial agreement in the electron densities determined by interferometry and by Thomson scattering, but since the former is an absolute measurement and is systematically lower than the Thomson scattering values, the latter may be too great by about 35%. In RF Pinches, turbulence associated with the instability deflects the beam and corrupts the interferogram. However, if the intensity fluctuations induced in this beam by the turbulence, are measured, as is done in the second experiment performed in the FRSX plasma with a HCN laser, the frequency spectrum of the turbulence can be deduced. In this plasma, rms fluctuations in the density were measured by this means to be 20%, and the dominant frequency of the fluctuations multiplied by the tube diameter was approximately Alfven speed, favouring an interpretation of the gross turbulence in this plasma in terms of Alfen waves. (U.K.)

Effects of seed magnetic fields on magnetohydrodynamic implosion structure and dynamics

KAUST Repository

Mostert, W.

2014-12-01

The effects of various seed magnetic fields on the dynamics of cylindrical and spherical implosions in ideal magnetohydrodynamics are investigated. Here, we present a fundamental investigation of this problem utilizing cylindrical and spherical Riemann problems under three seed field configurations to initialize the implosions. The resulting flows are simulated numerically, revealing rich flow structures, including multiple families of magnetohydrodynamic shocks and rarefactions that interact non-linearly. We fully characterize these flow structures, examine their axi- and spherisymmetry-breaking behaviour, and provide data on asymmetry evolution for different field strengths and driving pressures for each seed field configuration. We find that out of the configurations investigated, a seed field for which the implosion centre is a saddle point in at least one plane exhibits the least degree of asymmetry during implosion.

Vanishing Shear Viscosity Limit in the Magnetohydrodynamic Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jishan; Jiang, Song; Nakamura, Gen

2007-03-01

We study an initial boundary value problem for the equations of plane magnetohydrodynamic compressible flows, and prove that as the shear viscosity goes to zero, global weak solutions converge to a solution of the original equations with zero shear viscosity. As a by-product, this paper improves the related results obtained by Frid and Shelukhin for the case when the magnetic effect is neglected.

Microwave Scattering System Design for ρe-Scale Turbulence Measurements on NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.R.; Mazzucato, E.; Munsat, T.; Park, H.; Johnson, D.; Lin, L.; Domier, C.W.; Johnson, M.; Luhmann, N.C. Jr.

2004-01-01

Despite suppression of ρ i -scale turbulent fluctuations, electron thermal transport remains anomalous in NSTX. For this reason, a microwave scattering system will be deployed to directly observe the w and k spectra of ρ e -scale turbulent fluctuations and characterize the effect on electron thermal transport. The scattering system will employ a Gaussian probe beam produced by a high power 280 GHz microwave source. A five-channel heterodyne detection system will measure radial turbulent spectra in the range |k r | = 0-20 cm -1 . Inboard and outboard launch configurations cover most of the normalized minor radius. Improved spatial localization of measurements is achieved with low aspect ratio and high magnetic shear configurations. This paper will address the global design of the scattering system, such as choice of frequency, size, launching system, and detection system

Simulation of microtearing turbulence in national spherical torus experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guttenfelder, W.; Kaye, S. M.; Bell, R. E.; Hammett, G. W.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Mikkelsen, D. R.; Ren, Y. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton New Jersey 08543 (United States); Candy, J. [General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186 (United States); Nevins, W. M.; Wang, E. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 04551 (United States); Zhang, J.; Crocker, N. A. [University of California Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Yuh, H. [Nova Photonics Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

2012-05-15

Thermal energy confinement times in National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) dimensionless parameter scans increase with decreasing collisionality. While ion thermal transport is neoclassical, the source of anomalous electron thermal transport in these discharges remains unclear, leading to considerable uncertainty when extrapolating to future spherical tokamak (ST) devices at much lower collisionality. Linear gyrokinetic simulations find microtearing modes to be unstable in high collisionality discharges. First non-linear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing turbulence in NSTX show they can yield experimental levels of transport. Magnetic flutter is responsible for almost all the transport ({approx}98%), perturbed field line trajectories are globally stochastic, and a test particle stochastic transport model agrees to within 25% of the simulated transport. Most significantly, microtearing transport is predicted to increase with electron collisionality, consistent with the observed NSTX confinement scaling. While this suggests microtearing modes may be the source of electron thermal transport, the predictions are also very sensitive to electron temperature gradient, indicating the scaling of the instability threshold is important. In addition, microtearing turbulence is susceptible to suppression via sheared E Multiplication-Sign B flows as experimental values of E Multiplication-Sign B shear (comparable to the linear growth rates) dramatically reduce the transport below experimental values. Refinements in numerical resolution and physics model assumptions are expected to minimize the apparent discrepancy. In cases where the predicted transport is strong, calculations suggest that a proposed polarimetry diagnostic may be sensitive to the magnetic perturbations associated with the unique structure of microtearing turbulence.

Developments in the theory of trapped particle pressure gradient driven turbulence in tokamaks and stellarators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, P.H.; Biglari, H.; Gang, F.Y.

1991-01-01

Recent advances in the theory of trapped particle pressure gradient driven turbulence are summarized. A novel theory of trapped ion convective cell turbulence is presented. It is shown that non-linear transfer to small scales occurs, and that saturation levels are not unphysically large, as previously thought. As the virulent saturation mechanism of ion Compton scattering is shown to result in weak turbulence at higher frequencies, it is thus likely that trapped ion convective cells are the major agent of tokamak transport. Fluid like trapped electron modes at short wavelengths (k θ ρ i > 1) are shown to drive an inward particle pinch. The characteristics of convective cell turbulence in flat density discharges are described, as is the stability of dissipative trapped electron modes in stellarators, with flexible magnetic field structure. The role of cross-correlations in the dynamics of multifield models of drift wave turbulence is discussed. (author). 32 refs, 8 figs, 1 tab

Alfvén Wave Turbulence as a Coronal Heating Mechanism: Simultaneously Predicting the Heating Rate and the Wave-induced Emission Line Broadening

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oran, R. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139 (United States); Landi, E.; Holst, B. van der; Sokolov, I. V.; Gombosi, T. I., E-mail: roran@mit.edu [Atmospheric, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 (United States)

2017-08-20

We test the predictions of the Alfvén Wave Solar Model (AWSoM), a global wave-driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the solar atmosphere, against high-resolution spectra emitted by the quiescent off-disk solar corona. AWSoM incorporates Alfvén wave propagation and dissipation in both closed and open magnetic field lines; turbulent dissipation is the only heating mechanism. We examine whether this mechanism is consistent with observations of coronal EUV emission by combining model results with the CHIANTI atomic database to create synthetic line-of-sight spectra, where spectral line widths depend on thermal and wave-related ion motions. This is the first time wave-induced line broadening is calculated from a global model with a realistic magnetic field. We used high-resolution SUMER observations above the solar west limb between 1.04 and 1.34 R {sub ⊙} at the equator, taken in 1996 November. We obtained an AWSoM steady-state solution for the corresponding period using a synoptic magnetogram. The 3D solution revealed a pseudo-streamer structure transversing the SUMER line of sight, which contributes significantly to the emission; the modeled electron temperature and density in the pseudo-streamer are consistent with those observed. The synthetic line widths and the total line fluxes are consistent with the observations for five different ions. Further, line widths that include the contribution from the wave-induced ion motions improve the correspondence with observed spectra for all ions. We conclude that the turbulent dissipation assumed in the AWSoM model is a viable candidate for explaining coronal heating, as it is consistent with several independent measured quantities.

EQUILIBRIUM DISKS, MAGNETOROTATIONAL INSTABILITY MODE EXCITATION, AND STEADY-STATE TURBULENCE IN GLOBAL ACCRETION DISK SIMULATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkin, E. R.; Bicknell, G. V.

2013-01-01

Global three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of turbulent accretion disks are presented which start from fully equilibrium initial conditions in which the magnetic forces are accounted for and the induction equation is satisfied. The local linear theory of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) is used as a predictor of the growth of magnetic field perturbations in the global simulations. The linear growth estimates and global simulations diverge when nonlinear motions—perhaps triggered by the onset of turbulence—upset the velocity perturbations used to excite the MRI. The saturated state is found to be independent of the initially excited MRI mode, showing that once the disk has expelled the initially net flux field and settled into quasi-periodic oscillations in the toroidal magnetic flux, the dynamo cycle regulates the global saturation stress level. Furthermore, time-averaged measures of converged turbulence, such as the ratio of magnetic energies, are found to be in agreement with previous works. In particular, the globally averaged stress normalized to the gas pressure P >bar = 0.034, with notably higher values achieved for simulations with higher azimuthal resolution. Supplementary tests are performed using different numerical algorithms and resolutions. Convergence with resolution during the initial linear MRI growth phase is found for 23-35 cells per scale height (in the vertical direction).

Superfluid turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donnelly, R.J.

1988-01-01

Most flows of fluids, in nature and in technology, are turbulent. Since much of the energy expended by machines and devices that involve fluid flows is spent in overcoming drag caused by turbulence, there is a strong motivation to understand the phenomena. Surprisingly, the peculiar, quantum-mechanical form of turbulence that can form in superfluid helium may turn out to be much simpler to understand that the classical turbulence that forms in normal fluids. It now seems that the study of superfluid turbulence may provide simplified model systems for studying some forms of classical turbulence. There are also practical motivations for studying superfluid turbulence. For example, superfuid helium is often used as a coolant in superconducting machinery. Superfluid turbulence is the primary impediment to the transfer of heat by superfluid helium; an understanding of the phenomena may make it possible to design more efficient methods of refrigeration for superconducting devices. 8 figs

Turbulent premixed flames on fractal-grid-generated turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soulopoulos, N; Kerl, J; Sponfeldner, T; Beyrau, F; Hardalupas, Y; Taylor, A M K P [Mechanical Engineering Department, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Vassilicos, J C, E-mail: ns6@ic.ac.uk [Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

2013-12-15

A space-filling, low blockage fractal grid is used as a novel turbulence generator in a premixed turbulent flame stabilized by a rod. The study compares the flame behaviour with a fractal grid to the behaviour when a standard square mesh grid with the same effective mesh size and solidity as the fractal grid is used. The isothermal gas flow turbulence characteristics, including mean flow velocity and rms of velocity fluctuations and Taylor length, were evaluated from hot-wire measurements. The behaviour of the flames was assessed with direct chemiluminescence emission from the flame and high-speed OH-laser-induced fluorescence. The characteristics of the two flames are considered in terms of turbulent flame thickness, local flame curvature and turbulent flame speed. It is found that, for the same flow rate and stoichiometry and at the same distance downstream of the location of the grid, fractal-grid-generated turbulence leads to a more turbulent flame with enhanced burning rate and increased flame surface area. (paper)

An analysis of electro-osmotic and magnetohydrodynamic heat pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, M.A.

1988-01-01

Mechanically simple methods of improving heat transport in heat pipes are investigated. These methods are electro-osmotic and magnetohydrodynamic augmentation. For the electro-osmotic case, a detailed electrokinetic model is used. The electrokinetic model used includes the effects of pore surface curvature and multiple ion diffusivities. The electrokinetic model is extended to approximate the effects of elevated temperature. When the electro-osmotic model is combined with a suitable heat-pipe model, it is found that the electro-osmotic pump should be a thin membrane. Arguments are provided that support the use of a volatile electrolyte. For the magnetohydrodynamic case, a brief investigation is provided. A quasi-one-dimensional hydromagnetic duct flow model is used. This hydromagnetic model is extended to approximate flow effects unique to heat pipes. When combined with a suitable heat pipe model, it is found that there is no performance gain for the case considered. In fact, there are serious pressure-distribution problems that have not been previously recognized. Potential solutions to these pressure-distribution problems are suggested

Results of investigation of magnetohydrodynamic flow round the magnetosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erkaev, N.V.

1988-01-01

Review of the main results of the study on the Earth magnetosphere quasi-stationary magnetohydrodynamic flow-around by the solar wind is given. The principle attenuation is paid to the problem of magnetic and electric fields calculation in the transition layer and at the magnetosphere boundary. Analysis of kinematic approximation and linear diffusion model is conducted. Existence condition for the magnetic barrier region, where kinematic approximation is inapplicable, is determined. Main properties of the solution - gasokinetic pressure decrease and magnetic pressure increase up to maximum at the numerical integration results of magnetohydrodynamic equations within the magnetic barrier range. Calculation problem of reconnection field at the magnetic barrier background is considered as the next step. It is shown, that the introduction of Petchek reconnection model into the problem solution general diagram allows to obtain at the magnetosphere boundary the values of electric and magnetic fields, compatible with the experiment. Problems, linked with choice of reconnection line direction and Petchek condition generalization for the case of the crossed field reconnection, are considered

Center for Extended Magnetohydrodynamics Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramos, Jesus [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2017-02-14

This researcher participated in the DOE-funded Center for Extended Magnetohydrodynamics Modeling (CEMM), a multi-institutional collaboration led by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory with Dr. Stephen Jardin as the overall Principal Investigator. This project developed advanced simulation tools to study the non-linear macroscopic dynamics of magnetically confined plasmas. The collaborative effort focused on the development of two large numerical simulation codes, M3D-C1 and NIMROD, and their application to a wide variety of problems. Dr. Ramos was responsible for theoretical aspects of the project, deriving consistent sets of model equations applicable to weakly collisional plasmas and devising test problems for verification of the numerical codes. This activity was funded for twelve years.

Weak turbulence and broad-spectrum excitation in a nonmagnetized electron beam via second-harmonic generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogdanov, A.T.

1990-01-01

The nonlinear evolution of an initially monoenergetic [ν-bar(t = 0) = (0,0,u)] electron beam propagating in a nonmagnetized dielectric medium of permittivity ε > 1, with initial velocity u ≥ c/√ε (where c is the vacuum speed of light) is investigated. The specific instability of the beam under such conditions is the cause of the generation of a broad spectrum of transverse electromagnetic waves coupled to the simultaneous excitation of the second harmonic of the beam's oscillations, both at the expense of the beam's initial kinetic energy. The system of self-consistent nonlinear equations, describing the particle-field dynamics, is treated in the spirit of the weak-turbulence approach. The integrals of the resulting nonlinear system of equations for the amplitudes of the fields of the electron density are used to evaluate the spectral distribution of the amplitudes in the saturation phase, and hence the efficiency of the transformation of the beam's energy into electromagnetic radiation as a function of the width of the spectrum of the initially present electromagnetic fluctuations. A substantial increase in this efficiency is observed in comparison with the single-mode case. (author)

Magnetic turbulence and anomalous transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbet, X.; Mourgues, F.; Samain, A.

1990-01-01

The self consistency conditions for magnetic turbulence are reviewed. The main features of magnetic topology involving stochastic flux lines are summarized. Two driving sources are considered: thermal effects which require large scale residual islands and electron diamagnetism which involves fluctuation scales smaller than the ion Larmor radius and a β p threshold of order one. Stability criteria and transport coefficients are given

A PROPOSED PARADIGM FOR SOLAR CYCLE DYNAMICS MEDIATED VIA TURBULENT PUMPING OF MAGNETIC FLUX IN BABCOCK–LEIGHTON-TYPE SOLAR DYNAMOS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hazra, Soumitra; Nandy, Dibyendu [Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (India)

2016-11-20

At present, the Babcock–Leighton flux transport solar dynamo models appear to be the most promising models for explaining diverse observational aspects of the sunspot cycle. The success of these flux transport dynamo models is largely dependent upon a single-cell meridional circulation with a deep equatorward component at the base of the Sun’s convection zone. However, recent observations suggest that the meridional flow may in fact be very shallow (confined to the top 10% of the Sun) and more complex than previously thought. Taken together, these observations raise serious concerns on the validity of the flux transport paradigm. By accounting for the turbulent pumping of magnetic flux, as evidenced in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of solar convection, we demonstrate that flux transport dynamo models can generate solar-like magnetic cycles even if the meridional flow is shallow. Solar-like periodic reversals are recovered even when meridional circulation is altogether absent. However, in this case, the solar surface magnetic field dynamics does not extend all the way to the polar regions. Very importantly, our results demonstrate that the Parker–Yoshimura sign rule for dynamo wave propagation can be circumvented in Babcock–Leighton dynamo models by the latitudinal component of turbulent pumping, which can generate equatorward propagating sunspot belts in the absence of a deep, equatorward meridional flow. We also show that variations in turbulent pumping coefficients can modulate the solar cycle amplitude and periodicity. Our results suggest the viability of an alternate magnetic flux transport paradigm—mediated via turbulent pumping—for sustaining solar-stellar dynamo action.

A PROPOSED PARADIGM FOR SOLAR CYCLE DYNAMICS MEDIATED VIA TURBULENT PUMPING OF MAGNETIC FLUX IN BABCOCK–LEIGHTON-TYPE SOLAR DYNAMOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazra, Soumitra; Nandy, Dibyendu

2016-01-01

At present, the Babcock–Leighton flux transport solar dynamo models appear to be the most promising models for explaining diverse observational aspects of the sunspot cycle. The success of these flux transport dynamo models is largely dependent upon a single-cell meridional circulation with a deep equatorward component at the base of the Sun’s convection zone. However, recent observations suggest that the meridional flow may in fact be very shallow (confined to the top 10% of the Sun) and more complex than previously thought. Taken together, these observations raise serious concerns on the validity of the flux transport paradigm. By accounting for the turbulent pumping of magnetic flux, as evidenced in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of solar convection, we demonstrate that flux transport dynamo models can generate solar-like magnetic cycles even if the meridional flow is shallow. Solar-like periodic reversals are recovered even when meridional circulation is altogether absent. However, in this case, the solar surface magnetic field dynamics does not extend all the way to the polar regions. Very importantly, our results demonstrate that the Parker–Yoshimura sign rule for dynamo wave propagation can be circumvented in Babcock–Leighton dynamo models by the latitudinal component of turbulent pumping, which can generate equatorward propagating sunspot belts in the absence of a deep, equatorward meridional flow. We also show that variations in turbulent pumping coefficients can modulate the solar cycle amplitude and periodicity. Our results suggest the viability of an alternate magnetic flux transport paradigm—mediated via turbulent pumping—for sustaining solar-stellar dynamo action.

Three-dimensional kinetic simulations of whistler turbulence in solar wind on parallel supercomputers

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ouliang

The objective of this dissertation is to study the physics of whistler turbulence evolution and its role in energy transport and dissipation in the solar wind plasmas through computational and theoretical investigations. This dissertation presents the first fully three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of whistler turbulence forward cascade in a homogeneous, collisionless plasma with a uniform background magnetic field B o, and the first 3D PIC simulation of whistler turbulence with both forward and inverse cascades. Such computationally demanding research is made possible through the use of massively parallel, high performance electromagnetic PIC simulations on state-of-the-art supercomputers. Simulations are carried out to study characteristic properties of whistler turbulence under variable solar wind fluctuation amplitude (epsilon e) and electron beta (betae), relative contributions to energy dissipation and electron heating in whistler turbulence from the quasilinear scenario and the intermittency scenario, and whistler turbulence preferential cascading direction and wavevector anisotropy. The 3D simulations of whistler turbulence exhibit a forward cascade of fluctuations into broadband, anisotropic, turbulent spectrum at shorter wavelengths with wavevectors preferentially quasi-perpendicular to B o. The overall electron heating yields T ∥ > T⊥ for all epsilone and betae values, indicating the primary linear wave-particle interaction is Landau damping. But linear wave-particle interactions play a minor role in shaping the wavevector spectrum, whereas nonlinear wave-wave interactions are overall stronger and faster processes, and ultimately determine the wavevector anisotropy. Simulated magnetic energy spectra as function of wavenumber show a spectral break to steeper slopes, which scales as k⊥lambda e ≃ 1 independent of betae values, where lambdae is electron inertial length, qualitatively similar to solar wind observations. Specific

Transport of thermal plasma above the auroral ionosphere in the presence of electrostatic ion-cyclotron turbulence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. E. Zakharov

Full Text Available The electron component of intensive electric currents flowing along the geomagnetic field lines excites turbulence in the thermal magnetospheric plasma. The protons are then scattered by the excited electromagnetic waves, and as a result the plasma is stable. As the electron and ion temperatures of the background plasma are approximately equal each other, here electrostatic ion-cyclotron (EIC turbulence is considered. In the nonisothermal plasma the ion-acoustic turbulence may occur additionally. The anomalous resistivity of the plasma causes large-scale differences of the electrostatic potential along the magnetic field lines. The presence of these differences provides heating and acceleration of the thermal and energetic auroral plasma. The investigation of the energy and momentum balance of the plasma and waves in the turbulent region is performed numerically, taking the magnetospheric convection and thermal conductivity of the plasma into account. As shown for the quasi-steady state, EIC turbulence may provide differences of the electric potential of ΔV≈1–10 kV at altitudes of 500 < h < 10 000 km above the Earth's surface. In the turbulent region, the temperatures of the electrons and protons increase only a few times in comparison with the background values.

Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; plasma waves and instabilities

Turbulence in nearly incompressible fluids: density spectrum, flows, correlations and implication to the interstellar medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Dastgeer

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Interstellar scintillation and angular radio wave broadening measurements show that interstellar and solar wind (electron density fluctuations exhibit a Kolmogorov-like k-5/3 power spectrum extending over many decades in wavenumber space. The ubiquity of the Kolmogorov-like interstellar medium (ISM density spectrum led to an explanation based on coupling incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD fluctuations to density fluctuations through a 'pseudosound' relation within the context of 'nearly incompressible' (NI hydrodynamics (HD and MHD models. The NI theory provides a fundamentally different explanation for the observed ISM density spectrum in that the density fluctuations can be a consequence of passive scalar convection due to background incompressible fluctuations. The theory further predicts generation of long-scale structures and various correlations between the density, temperature and the (magneto acoustic as well as convective pressure fluctuations in the compressible ISM fluids in different thermal regimes that are determined purely by the thermal fluctuation level. In this paper, we present the results of our two dimensional nonlinear fluid simulations, exploring various nonlinear aspects that lead to inertial range ISM turbulence within the context of a NI hydrodymanics model. In qualitative agreement with the NI predictions and the in-situ observations, we find that i the density fluctuations exhibit a Kolmogorov-like spectrum via a passive convection in the field of the background incompressible fluctuations, ii the compressible ISM fluctuations form long scale flows and structures, and iii the density and the temperature fluctuations are anti-correlated.

Some axisymmetric equilibria for certain ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamics with incompressible flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M. Moawad

Full Text Available In this paper, the equilibrium properties of some ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD are investigated. The governing equations are taken in the steady state for parallel and non-parallel flow to magnetic filed. The governing equations are reduced to Bernoulli-Grad-Shafranov system. The problem of finding exact equilibria to the governing equations in the presence of incompressible mass flows is studied. Several nonlinear equilibria of the governing equations are obtained with aid of constructed constraints. The obtained results cover several previously configurations and include new considerations about the nonlinearity of magnetic flux stream variables. The possibility of applying the obtained results to magnetic confinement devices are discussed. Keywords: Magnetohydrodynamics, Axisymmetric plasma, Resistivity, Incompressible flows, Exact equilibria, Magnetic confinement devices

Theory of HF induced turbulence in the ionosphere: Status and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Dubois, D. F.

In the past five years the combination of new theoretical concepts and computer simulations along with dramatically improved observational diagnostics appear to have led to a detailed, quantitative, understanding of the properties of the Langmuir turbulence induced in the unpreconditioned ionosphere at Arecibo during the first tens of milliseconds following the turn-on of the HF heater. This is the only observational regime in which the initial ionospheric conditions are known to a high level of confidence. The so called strong Langmuir turbulence (SLT) theory predicts observed features in this early time heating which are completely at odds with the prediction of the traditional weak turbulence approximation. The understanding of the observed signatures for times greater than say 30-50 ms following the onset of heating at Arecibo is still incomplete. The same is apparently true for the observations at Tromso where the unique predictions of SLT theory are not so clearly observed. Density irregularities, induced by heating at Arecibo and perhaps present in the ambient ionosphere at Tromso, appear to control the properties of the turbulence. The proper description of the coexistence of Langmuir turbulence with various density irregularities and accounting for the turbulent modification of the electron velocity distribution are challenges for the theory. In this paper the author reviews, starting from the Vlasov-Poisson equations, the fundamental basis of the reduced models used to describe SLT and suggest improvements to the standard model including a new local quasi linear theory for the treatment of hot electron acceleration and transit time damping or burnout of collapsing Langmuir cavitons.

Turbulence closure: turbulence, waves and the wave-turbulence transition – Part 1: Vanishing mean shear

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Z. Baumert

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This paper extends a turbulence closure-like model for stably stratified flows into a new dynamic domain in which turbulence is generated by internal gravity waves rather than mean shear. The model turbulent kinetic energy (TKE, K balance, its first equation, incorporates a term for the energy transfer from internal waves to turbulence. This energy source is in addition to the traditional shear production. The second variable of the new two-equation model is the turbulent enstrophy (Ω. Compared to the traditional shear-only case, the Ω-equation is modified to account for the effect of the waves on the turbulence time and space scales. This modification is based on the assumption of a non-zero constant flux Richardson number in the limit of vanishing mean shear when turbulence is produced exclusively by internal waves. This paper is part 1 of a continuing theoretical development. It accounts for mean shear- and internal wave-driven mixing only in the two limits of mean shear and no waves and waves but no mean shear, respectively.

The new model reproduces the wave-turbulence transition analyzed by D'Asaro and Lien (2000b. At small energy density E of the internal wave field, the turbulent dissipation rate (ε scales like ε~E². This is what is observed in the deep sea. With increasing E, after the wave-turbulence transition has been passed, the scaling changes to ε~E¹. This is observed, for example, in the highly energetic tidal flow near a sill in Knight Inlet. The new model further exhibits a turbulent length scale proportional to the Ozmidov scale, as observed in the ocean, and predicts the ratio between the turbulent Thorpe and Ozmidov length scales well within the range observed in the ocean.

Nonlinear ion-mixing-mode particle transport in the dissipative trapped electron regime