English

Dual Theory of MHD Turbulence

Fluid Dynamics 2025-05-15 v3 Exactly Solvable and Integrable Systems

Abstract

We present an exact analytic solution for decaying incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. Our solution reveals a dual formulation in terms of two interacting Euler ensembles--one for hydrodynamic and another for magnetic circulation. This replaces empirical scaling laws with an infinite set of power terms with calculable decay exponents, some of which appear as complex-conjugate pairs related to the Riemann zeta function. A key result of our analysis is the explicit dependence of the solution on the Prandtl number (Pr=ν/η\mathrm{Pr} = \nu/\eta), leading to a phase transition at Pr=1\mathrm{Pr} = 1. In the Pr<1\mathrm{Pr}<1 regime, turbulence is dominated by hydrodynamic fluctuations, while for Pr>1\mathrm{Pr}>1, two distinct solutions emerge: a metastable one in which magnetic fluctuations grow with Pr\mathrm{Pr} and a stable one where they remain balanced with hydrodynamic fluctuations. We compare our theoretical predictions with recent direct numerical simulations (DNS) and discuss their implications for astrophysical plasmas, fusion devices, and laboratory MHD experiments. Our results provide a rigorous mathematical framework for understanding MHD turbulence and its dependence on fundamental parameters, offering a new perspective on turbulence in highly conducting fluids.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.12682,
  title  = {Dual Theory of MHD Turbulence},
  author = {Alexander Migdal},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.12682},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

15 pages, 5 figures. Added the section with the general mMHD loop equation, including initial data for momentum loops. This initial data is related to the Wilson loop in QED in three dimensions