As a Matter of Force—Systematic Biases in Idealized Turbulence Simulations

Grete, Philipp; O’Shea, Brian W.; Beckwith, Kris

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aac0f5

As a Matter of Force—Systematic Biases in Idealized Turbulence Simulations

Journal Article · Thu May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aac0f5· OSTI ID:1472269

^[1]; ^[2]; Beckwith, Kris ^[3]

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. Dept. of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering. National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Many astrophysical systems encompass very large dynamical ranges in space and time, which are not accessible by direct numerical simulations. Thus, idealized subvolumes are often used to study small-scale effects including the dynamics of turbulence. These turbulent boxes require an artificial driving in order to mimic energy injection from large-scale processes. In this paper, we show and quantify how the autocorrelation time of the driving and its normalization systematically change the properties of an isothermal compressible magnetohydrodynamic flow in the sub- and supersonic regime and affect astrophysical observations such as Faraday rotation. For example, we find that δ-in-time forcing with a constant energy injection leads to a steeper slope in kinetic energy spectrum and less-efficient small-scale dynamo action. In general, we show that shorter autocorrelation times require more power in the acceleration field, which results in more power in compressive modes that weaken the anticorrelation between density and magnetic field strength. Thus, derived observables, such as the line-of-sight (LOS) magnetic field from rotation measures, are systematically biased by the driving mechanism. Finally, we argue that δ-in-time forcing is unrealistic and numerically unresolved, and conclude that special care needs to be taken in interpreting observational results based on the use of idealized simulations.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (United States); National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 1472269

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1496999
OSTI ID: 1497000

Report Number(s):: SAND2018--4724J; 667358

Journal Information:: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 858; ISSN 2041-8213

Publisher:: Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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