Evolution of the magnetorotational instability on initially tangled magnetic fields
Abstract
The initial magnetic field of previous magnetorotational instability (MRI) simulations has always included a significant system-scale component, even if stochastic. However, it is of conceptual and practical interest to assess whether the MRI can grow when the initial field is turbulent. The ubiquitous presence of turbulent or random flows in astrophysical plasmas generically leads to a small-scale dynamo (SSD), which would provide initial seed turbulent velocity and magnetic fields in the plasma that becomes an accretion disc. Can the MRI grow from these more realistic initial conditions? To address this, we supply a standard shearing box with isotropically forced SSD generated magnetic and velocity fields as initial conditions and remove the forcing. We find that if the initially supplied fields are too weak or too incoherent, they decay from the initial turbulent cascade faster than they can grow via the MRI. When the initially supplied fields are sufficient to allow MRI growth and sustenance, the saturated stresses, large-scale fields and power spectra match those of the standard zero net flux MRI simulation with an initial large-scale vertical field.
- Authors:
-
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
- Pune Univ. Campus, Ganeshkhind (India). Inter Univ. Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1540613
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012467
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 472; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0035-8711
- Publisher:
- Royal Astronomical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Astronomy & Astrophysics
Citation Formats
Bhat, Pallavi, Ebrahimi, Fatima, Blackman, Eric G., and Subramanian, Kandaswamy. Evolution of the magnetorotational instability on initially tangled magnetic fields. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx1989.
Bhat, Pallavi, Ebrahimi, Fatima, Blackman, Eric G., & Subramanian, Kandaswamy. Evolution of the magnetorotational instability on initially tangled magnetic fields. United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1989
Bhat, Pallavi, Ebrahimi, Fatima, Blackman, Eric G., and Subramanian, Kandaswamy. Thu .
"Evolution of the magnetorotational instability on initially tangled magnetic fields". United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1989. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1540613.
@article{osti_1540613,
title = {Evolution of the magnetorotational instability on initially tangled magnetic fields},
author = {Bhat, Pallavi and Ebrahimi, Fatima and Blackman, Eric G. and Subramanian, Kandaswamy},
abstractNote = {The initial magnetic field of previous magnetorotational instability (MRI) simulations has always included a significant system-scale component, even if stochastic. However, it is of conceptual and practical interest to assess whether the MRI can grow when the initial field is turbulent. The ubiquitous presence of turbulent or random flows in astrophysical plasmas generically leads to a small-scale dynamo (SSD), which would provide initial seed turbulent velocity and magnetic fields in the plasma that becomes an accretion disc. Can the MRI grow from these more realistic initial conditions? To address this, we supply a standard shearing box with isotropically forced SSD generated magnetic and velocity fields as initial conditions and remove the forcing. We find that if the initially supplied fields are too weak or too incoherent, they decay from the initial turbulent cascade faster than they can grow via the MRI. When the initially supplied fields are sufficient to allow MRI growth and sustenance, the saturated stresses, large-scale fields and power spectra match those of the standard zero net flux MRI simulation with an initial large-scale vertical field.},
doi = {10.1093/mnras/stx1989},
journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
number = 3,
volume = 472,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Thu Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
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