Kinetic Simulations of Magnetized Turbulence in Astrophysical Plasmas
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
- Department of Physics, CSCAMM, and IREAP, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-3511 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547 (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)
- Plasma Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-3511 (United States)
This Letter presents the first ab initio, fully electromagnetic, kinetic simulations of magnetized turbulence in a homogeneous, weakly collisional plasma at the scale of the ion Larmor radius (ion gyroscale). Magnetic- and electric-field energy spectra show a break at the ion gyroscale; the spectral slopes are consistent with scaling predictions for critically balanced turbulence of Alfven waves above the ion gyroscale (spectral index -5/3) and of kinetic Alfven waves below the ion gyroscale (spectral indices of -7/3 for magnetic and -1/3 for electric fluctuations). This behavior is also qualitatively consistent with in situ measurements of turbulence in the solar wind. Our findings support the hypothesis that the frequencies of turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind remain well below the ion cyclotron frequency both above and below the ion gyroscale.
- OSTI ID:
- 21024767
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 100, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.065004; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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