English

Small-scale dynamo with nonzero correlation time

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2024-05-01 v2 Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Plasma Physics

Abstract

The small-scale dynamo is typically studied by assuming that the correlation time of the velocity field is zero. Some authors have used a smooth renovating flow model to study how the properties of the dynamo are affected by the correlation time being nonzero. Here, we assume the velocity is an incompressible Gaussian random field (which need not be smooth), and derive the lowest-order corrections to the evolution equation for the two-point correlation of the magnetic field in Fourier space. Using this, we obtain the evolution equation for the longitudinal correlation function of the magnetic field (MLM_L) in nonhelical turbulence, valid for arbitrary Prandtl number. The non-resistive terms of this equation do not contain spatial derivatives of MLM_L of order greater than two. We further simplify this equation in the limit of high Prandtl number, and find that the growth rate of the magnetic energy is much smaller than previously reported. Nevertheless, the magnetic power spectrum still retains the Kazantsev form at high Prandtl number.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2402.08366,
  title  = {Small-scale dynamo with nonzero correlation time},
  author = {Kishore Gopalakrishnan and Nishant K Singh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.08366},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Version incorporating referees' comments. Major changes: in section 3.3, pointed out an oversight in a previous work that explains some qualitative differences in the final evolution equation; discussed the validity of WKB; fixed a mistake in section 4.2.5 (that does not affect the final results); clarified the use of equation 13 based on a comment received

R2 v1 2026-06-28T14:47:12.133Z