Title: Energy dynamics and current sheet structure in fluid and kinetic simulations of decaying magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Abstract

We performed simulations of decaying magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence with a fluid and a kinetic code. The initial condition is an ensemble of long-wavelength, counter-propagating, shear-Alfvén waves, which interact and rapidly generate strong MHD turbulence. The total energy is conserved and the rate of turbulent energy decay is very similar in both codes, although the fluid code has numerical dissipation, whereas the kinetic code has kinetic dissipation. The inertial range power spectrum index is similar in both the codes. The fluid code shows a perpendicular wavenumber spectral slope of k-1.3⊥k⊥-1.3. The kinetic code shows a spectral slope of k-1.5⊥k⊥-1.5 for smaller simulation domain, and k-1.3⊥k⊥-1.3 for larger domain. We then estimate that collisionless damping mechanisms in the kinetic code can account for the dissipation of the observed nonlinear energy cascade. Current sheets are geometrically characterized. Their lengths and widths are in good agreement between the two codes. The length scales linearly with the driving scale of the turbulence. In the fluid code, their thickness is determined by the grid resolution as there is no explicit diffusivity. In the kinetic code, their thickness is very close to the skin-depth, irrespective of the grid resolution. Finally, this work shows that kinetic codes canmore » reproduce the MHD inertial range dynamics at large scales, while at the same time capturing important kinetic physics at small scales.« less

Authors:

Makwana, K. D.  ^[1];

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Zhdankin, V. ^[2]; Li, H. ^[3]; Daughton, W. ^[3]; Cattaneo, F. ^[1]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
2. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Publication Date:

Fri Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Research Org.:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

OSTI Identifier:

1291217

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1228297

Report Number(s):

LA-UR-15-22879
Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X; PHPAEN

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC52-06NA25396

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Physics of Plasmas

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 22; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X

Publisher:

American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Astronomy and Astrophysics