Alfven Wave Collisions, The Fundamental Building Block of Plasma Turbulence II: Numerical Solution

Kevin Nielson; Gregory Howes; William Dorland

doi:10.1063/1.4812807

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Alfven Wave Collisions, The Fundamental Building Block of Plasma Turbulence II: Numerical Solution

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Alfven Wave Collisions, The Fundamental Building Block of Plasma Turbulence II: Numerical Solution

Kevin Nielson, Gregory Howes and William Dorland

Physics of Plasmas, Vol.20(7), 72303

07/01/2013

DOI: 10.1063/1.4812807

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https://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.1456View

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Abstract

This paper presents the numerical verification of an asymptotic analytical solution for the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfven waves, the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence. The analytical solution, derived in the weak turbulence limit using the equations of incompressible MHD, is compared to a nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of an Alfven wave collision. The agreement between these methods signifies that the incompressible solution satisfactorily describes the essential dynamics of the nonlinear energy transfer, even under the weakly collisional plasma conditions relevant to many astrophysical environments.

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Energy Transfer

Nonlinear Dynamics

Collisional plasmas

Computer simulation

Exact solutions

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Plasma turbulence

Details

Title: Subtitle: Alfven Wave Collisions, The Fundamental Building Block of Plasma Turbulence II: Numerical Solution
Creators: Kevin Nielson
Gregory Howes - University of Iowa
William Dorland
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Physics of Plasmas, Vol.20(7), 72303
DOI: 10.1063/1.4812807
ISSN: 1070-664X
eISSN: 1089-7674
Publisher: AIP Publishing; Ithaca
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2013
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984428817702771

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