scholarly journals Dynamic Alignment and Plasmoid Formation in Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. L13
Author(s):  
Alexander Chernoglazov ◽  
Bart Ripperda ◽  
Alexander Philippov
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence ◽  
Current Sheets ◽  
Guide Field ◽  
Tearing Instability ◽  
Decaying Turbulence ◽  
2D And 3D ◽  
Dynamic Alignment ◽  
Dynamic Formation

Abstract We present high-resolution 2D and 3D simulations of magnetized decaying turbulence in relativistic, resistive magnetohydrodynamics. The simulations show dynamic formation of large-scale intermittent long-lived current sheets being disrupted into plasmoid chains by the tearing instability. These current sheets are locations of enhanced magnetic-field dissipation and heating of the plasma. We find magnetic energy spectra ∝k −3/2, together with strongly pronounced dynamic alignment of Elsässer fields and of velocity and magnetic fields, for strong guide-field turbulence, whereas we retrieve spectra ∝k −5/3 for the case of a weak guide-field.

Possibility of an inverse cascade of magnetic helicity in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

1975 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Frisch ◽  
A. Pouquet ◽  
J. LÉOrat ◽  
A. Mazure
Keyword(s):  
Energy Density ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Magnetic Helicity ◽  
Kinetic Energy Density ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence ◽  
Magnetic Energy Density ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Cross Correlations

Some of the consequences of the conservation of magnetic helicity$\int \rm{a.b}\it{d}^{\rm{3}}\rm{r\qquad (a\; =\; vector\; potential\; of\; magnetic\; field\; b)}$for incompressible three-dimensional turbulent MHD flows are investigated. Absolute equilibrium spectra for inviscid infinitely conducting flows truncated at lower and upper wavenumberskminandkmaxare obtained. When the total magnetic helicity approaches an upper limit given by the total energy (kinetic plus magnetic) divided bykmin, the spectra of magnetic energy and helicity are strongly peaked nearkmin; in addition, when the cross-correlations between the velocity and magnetic fields are small, the magnetic energy density nearkmingreatly exceeds the kinetic energy density. Several arguments are presented in favour of the existence of inverse cascades of magnetic helicity towards small wavenumbers leading to the generation of large-scale magnetic energy.

scholarly journals Shock heating in numerical simulations of kink-unstable coronal loops

2015 ◽  
Vol 373 (2042) ◽  
pp. 20140266 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Bareford ◽  
A. W. Hood
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Coronal Loops ◽  
Current Sheets ◽  
Shock Heating ◽  
Strong Current ◽  
Coronal Magnetic Fields ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations ◽  
The Magnetic Field

An analysis of the importance of shock heating within coronal magnetic fields has hitherto been a neglected area of study. We present new results obtained from nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic simulations of straight coronal loops. This work shows how the energy released from the magnetic field, following an ideal instability, can be converted into thermal energy, thereby heating the solar corona. Fast dissipation of magnetic energy is necessary for coronal heating and this requirement is compatible with the time scales associated with ideal instabilities. Therefore, we choose an initial loop configuration that is susceptible to the fast-growing kink, an instability that is likely to be created by convectively driven vortices, occurring where the loop field intersects the photosphere (i.e. the loop footpoints). The large-scale deformation of the field caused by the kinking creates the conditions for the formation of strong current sheets and magnetic reconnection, which have previously been considered as sites of heating, under the assumption of an enhanced resistivity. However, our simulations indicate that slow mode shocks are the primary heating mechanism, since, as well as creating current sheets, magnetic reconnection also generates plasma flows that are faster than the slow magnetoacoustic wave speed.

scholarly journals Kinetic thin current sheets: their formation in relation to magnetotail mesoscale turbulent dynamics

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1353-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Kropotkin ◽  
V. I. Domrin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Neutral Line ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Momentum Balance ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Mhd Turbulence ◽  
Current Sheets ◽  
Hybrid Code

Abstract. Dynamics of the magnetotail plasma sheet (PS) features nonlinear structures on two totally different scales. There are very thin current sheets (CS) on kinetic scale of the ion gyroradius. And there are intense plasma flow and magnetic field variations on mesoscales (a few earth radii); those are interpreted as mostly 2-D MHD turbulence. On the other hand, the specific nature of slow large scale magnetotail evolution leads to large differences in the PS properties and those of the lobe plasma. As a result, while fast reconnection bursts in the tail provide quasi-stationary fast mesoscale reconfigurations in the lobes, they cannot however be accompanied by restructuring of CS on the same fast time scale. Violations of force balance in the PS are thus generated. Simulation using a hybrid code and starting with such imbalance, provides an evidence of very thin kinetic CS structures formation, embedded into the much thicker PS. The momentum balance gets locally restored by means of ion acceleration up to the Alfvénic velocity. The process provides an effective mechanism for transformation of magnetic energy accumulated in the magnetotail, into energy of plasma flows. The fast flows may drive turbulence on shorter spatial scales. In their turn, these motions may serve as an origin for new neutral line generation, and reconnection. Application to substorm phenomenology is discussed.

High-Resolution Three-Dimensional MHD Simulations of Plasmoid Formation in Solar Flares

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Dahlin ◽  
Spiro Antiochos ◽  
C. Richard DeVore
Keyword(s):  
Current Sheet ◽  
Adaptive Mesh Refinement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Adaptive Mesh ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Current Sheets

<p>In highly conducting plasmas, reconnecting current sheets are often unstable to the generation of plasmoids, small-scale magnetic structures that play an important role in facilitating the rapid release of magnetic energy and channeling that energy into accelerated particles. There is ample evidence for plasmoids throughout the heliosphere, from in situ observations of flux ropes in the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres to remote-sensing imaging of plasma ‘blobs’ associated with explosive solar activity such as eruptive flares and coronal jets. Accurate models for plasmoid formation and dynamics must capture the large-scale self-organization responsible for forming the reconnecting current sheet. However, due to the computational difficulty inherent in the vast separation between the global and current sheet scales, previous numerical studies have typically explored configurations with either reduced dimensionality or pre-formed current sheets. We present new three-dimensional MHD studies of an eruptive flare in which the formation of the current sheet and subsequent reconnection and plasmoid formation are captured within a single simulation. We employ Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) to selectively resolve fine-scale current sheet dynamics. Reconnection in the flare current sheet generates many plasmoids that exhibit highly complex, three-dimensional structure. We show how plasmoid formation and dynamics evolve through the course of the flare, especially in response to the weakening of the reconnection “guide field” linked to the global reduction of magnetic shear. We discuss implications of our results for particle acceleration and transport in eruptive flares as well as for observations by Parker Solar Probe and the forthcoming Solar Orbiter.</p>

Line length balancing to evaluate multi-phase submarine landslide development: an example from the Storegga Slide, Norway

2019 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 531-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Bull ◽  
Joseph A. Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Line Length ◽  
Proximal Region ◽  
Submarine Landslide ◽  
Landslide Development ◽  
Multi Phase ◽  
Storegga Slide ◽  
2D And 3D ◽  
3D Seismic Data

AbstractThis study shows how simple structural restoration of a discrete submarine landslide lobe can be applied to large-scale, multi-phase examples to identify different phases of slide-lobe development and evaluate their mode of emplacement. We present the most detailed analysis performed to date on a zone of intense contractional deformation, historically referred to as the compression zone, from the giant, multi-phase Storegga Slide, offshore Norway. 2D and 3D seismic data and bathymetry data show that the zone of large-scale (>650 m thick) contractional deformation can be genetically linked updip with a zone of intense depletion across a distance of 135 km. Quantification of depletion and accumulation along a representative dip-section reveals that significant depletion in the proximal region is not accommodated in the relatively mild amount (c. 5%) of downdip shortening. Dip-section restoration indicates a later, separate stage of deformation may have involved removal of a significant volume of material as part of the final stages of the Storegga Slide, as opposed to the minor volumes reported in previous studies.

The macrodynamics of α-effect dynamos in rotating fluids

1975 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. R. Maekus ◽  
M. R. E. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Finite Amplitude ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Past Study ◽  
Ohmic Loss ◽  
General Will ◽  
Rotating Systems ◽  
Stellar Magnetic Fields

Past study of the large-scale consequences of forced small-scale motions in electrically conducting fluids has led to the ‘α-effect’ dynamos. Various linear kinematic aspects of these dynamos have been explored, suggesting their value in the interpretation of observed planetary and stellar magnetic fields. However, large-scale magnetic fields with global boundary conditions can not be force free and in general will cause large-scale motions as they grow. I n this paper the finite amplitude behaviour of global magnetic fields and the large-scale flows induced by them in rotating systems is investigated. In general, viscous and ohmic dissipative mechanisms both play a role in determining the amplitude and structure of the flows and magnetic fields which evolve. In circumstances where ohmic loss is the principal dissipation, it is found that determination of a geo- strophic flow is an essential part of the solution of the basic stability problem. Nonlinear aspects of the theory include flow amplitudes which are independent of the rotation and a total magnetic energy which is directly proportional to the rotation. Constant a is the simplest example exhibiting the various dynamic balances of this stabilizing mechanism for planetary dynamos. A detailed analysis is made for this case to determine the initial equilibrium of fields and flows in a rotating sphere.

Turbulent dynamo action at low magnetic Reynolds number

1970 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Moffatt
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Dynamo Action ◽  
Ohmic Dissipation ◽  
Magnetic Energy Density ◽  
Magnetic Diffusivity

The effect of turbulence on a magnetic field whose length-scale L is initially large compared with the scale l of the turbulence is considered. There are no external sources for the field, and in the absence of turbulence it decays by ohmic dissipation. It is assumed that the magnetic Reynolds number Rm = u0l/λ (where u0 is the root-mean-square velocity and λ the magnetic diffusivity) is small. It is shown that to lowest order in the small quantities l/L and Rm, isotropic turbulence has no effect on the large-scale field; but that turbulence that lacks reflexional symmetry is capable of amplifying Fourier components of the field on length scales of order Rm−2l and greater. In the case of turbulence whose statistical properties are invariant under rotation of the axes of reference, but not under reflexions in a point, it is shown that the magnetic energy density of a magnetic field which is initially a homogeneous random function of position with a particularly simple spectrum ultimately increases as t−½exp (α2t/2λ3) where α(= O(u02l)) is a certain linear functional of the spectrum tensor of the turbulence. An analogous result is obtained for an initially localized field.

scholarly journals The development of magnetic field line wander by plasma turbulence

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Howes ◽  
Sofiane Bourouaine
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Field Line ◽  
Magnetic Field Line ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Plasma Turbulence ◽  
Alfven Wave ◽  
Astrophysical Plasmas ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to plasma heat. But plasma turbulence also generically leads to a tangling of the magnetic field that threads through the plasma. The resulting wander of the magnetic field lines may significantly impact a number of important physical processes, including the propagation of cosmic rays and energetic particles, confinement in magnetic fusion devices and the fundamental processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. The various potential impacts of magnetic field line wander are reviewed in detail, and a number of important theoretical considerations are identified that may influence the development and saturation of magnetic field line wander in astrophysical plasma turbulence. The results of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence of sub-ion length scales are evaluated to understand the development and saturation of the turbulent magnetic energy spectrum and of the magnetic field line wander. It is found that turbulent space and astrophysical plasmas are generally expected to contain a stochastic magnetic field due to the tangling of the field by strong plasma turbulence. Future work will explore how the saturated magnetic field line wander varies as a function of the amplitude of the plasma turbulence and the ratio of the thermal to magnetic pressure, known as the plasma beta.

scholarly journals Energy release and conversion by reconnection in the magnetotail

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 3365-3373 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Birn ◽  
M. Hesse
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Energy Release ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Ohmic Dissipation ◽  
Particle Simulations ◽  
Minor Part ◽  
Reconnection Site ◽  
A Minor

Abstract. Magnetic reconnection is the crucial process in the release of magnetic energy previously stored in the magnetotail in association with substorms. However, energy transfer and dissipation in the vicinity of the reconnection site is only a minor part of the energy conversion. We discuss the energy release, transport, and conversion based on large-scale resistive MHD simulations of magnetotail dynamics and more localized full particle simulations of reconnection. We address in particular, where the energy is released, how it propagates and where and how it is converted from one form into another. We find that Joule (or ohmic) dissipation plays only a minor role in the overall energy transfer. Bulk kinetic energy, although locally significant in the outflow from the reconnection site, plays a more important role as mediator or catalyst in the transfer between magnetic and thermal energy. Generator regions with potential auroral consequences are located primarily off the equatorial plane in the boundary regions of the plasma sheet.

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