Alfven wave collisions, the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence. III. Theory for experimental design

G. G. Howes; K. D. Nielson; D. J. Drake; J. W. R. Schroeder; F. Skiff; C. A. Kletzing; T. A. Carter

doi:10.1063/1.4812808

Back

Alfven wave collisions, the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence. III. Theory for experimental design

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Alfven wave collisions, the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence. III. Theory for experimental design

G. G. Howes, K. D. Nielson, D. J. Drake, J. W. R. Schroeder, F. Skiff, C. A. Kletzing and T. A. Carter

Physics of plasmas, Vol.20(7), 072304

07/01/2013

DOI: 10.1063/1.4812808

Files and links (1)

url

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.1460View

Open Access

Abstract

Turbulence in space and astrophysical plasmas is governed by the nonlinear interactions between counterpropagating Alfven waves. Here, we present the theoretical considerations behind the design of the first laboratory measurement of an Alfven wave collision, the fundamental interaction underlying Alfvenic turbulence. By interacting a relatively large-amplitude, low-frequency Alfven wave with a counterpropagating, smaller-amplitude, higher-frequency Alfven wave, the experiment accomplishes the secular nonlinear transfer of energy to a propagating daughter Alfven wave. The predicted properties of the nonlinearly generated daughter Alfven wave are outlined, providing a suite of tests that can be used to confirm the successful measurement of the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfven waves in the laboratory. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Physical Sciences

Physics

Physics, Fluids & Plasmas

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Alfven wave collisions, the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence. III. Theory for experimental design
Creators: G. G. Howes - University of Iowa
K. D. Nielson - University of Iowa
D. J. Drake - Valdosta State University
J. W. R. Schroeder - University of Iowa
F. Skiff - University of Iowa
C. A. Kletzing - University of Iowa
T. A. Carter - Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Physics of plasmas, Vol.20(7), 072304
DOI: 10.1063/1.4812808
ISSN: 1070-664X
eISSN: 1089-7674
Publisher: AIP Publishing
Number of pages: 12
Grant note: NNX10AC91G / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) AGS-1054061; PHY-0547572 / NSF CAREER; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Office of the Director (OD) PHY-10033446 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) U.S. Department of Energy; United States Department of Energy (DOE) 1036140 / Division Of Physics; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS)
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2013
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984442209102771

Metrics

18 Record Views

24 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details