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Magnetic reconnection, topological change in magnetic fields, is a fundamental process in magnetized plasmas. It is associated with energy release in regions of magnetic field annihilation, but this is only one facet of this process.…
Magnetic reconnection requires, at least locally, a non-ideal plasma response. In collisionless space and astrophysical plasmas, turbulence could permit this instead of the too rare binary collisions. We investigated the influence of…
The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding…
Magnetic field embedded in a perfectly conducting fluid preserves its topology for all time. Although ionized astrophysical objects, like stars and galactic disks, are almost perfectly conducting, they show indications of changes in…
We investigate hydromagnetic turbulence of primordial magnetic fields using magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in an expanding universe. We present the basic, covariant MHD equations, find solutions for MHD waves in the early universe, and…
Solar flares can release coronal magnetic energy explosively and may impact the safety of near-earth space environments. Their structures and properties on macroscale have been interpreted successfully by the generally-accepted…
Magnetic field fluctuations in MHD turbulence can be viewed as current sheets that are progressively more anisotropic at smaller scales. As suggested by Loureiro & Boldyrev (2017) and Mallet et al (2017), below a certain critical thickness…
Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence affects both terrestrial and astrophysical plasmas. The properties of magnetized turbulence must be better understood to more accurately characterize these systems. This work presents ideal MHD simulations of…
We analyze a suite of global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) accretion disk simulations in order to determine whether scaling laws for turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability, discovered via local shearing box studies, are globally…
Dynamical studies of MHD turbulence on the one hand, and arguments based upon magnetic helicity on the other, have yielded seemingly contradictory estimates for the $\alpha$ parameter in turbulent dynamo theory. Here we show, with direct…
Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and magnetic reconnection are ubiquitous in astrophysical environments. In most situations, these processes do not occur in isolation, but interact with each other. This renders a comprehensive theory of these…
It has been recently shown numerically that there exists an inverse transfer of magnetic energy in decaying, nonhelical, magnetically dominated, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in 3-dimensions (3D). We suggest that magnetic reconnection is…
Reconnection is the process by which magnetic fields in a conducting fluid change their topology. This process is essential for understanding a wide variety of astrophysical processes, including stellar and galactic dynamos and…
The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology or reconnect in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding fast…
We present a detailed analysis of a 3D MHD simulation of a subset of the magnetic flux in an active region. The simulation models the generation of nanoflares and response of the plasma to imposed photospheric motions. Our study focuses on…
Magnetic helicity plays a tremendously important role when it is different from zero on average. Most notably, it leads to the phenomenon of an inverse cascade. Here, we consider decaying magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence as well as some…
The free decay of non-helical relativistic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is studied numerically, and found to exhibit cascading of magnetic energy toward large scales. Evolution of the magnetic energy spectrum $P_M(k,t)$ is self-similar in…
We report simulation results for turbulent magnetic reconnection obtained using a newly developed Reynolds-averaged magnetohydrodynamics model. We find that the initial Harris current sheet develops in three ways, depending on the strength…
We present a new model of magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence, applicable when the magnetic helicity is non-zero. The new model differs from the Lazarian-Vishniac turbulent reconnection theory by emphasizing the role of…
The inverse transfer of magnetic helicity is investigated through direct numerical simulations of large-scale-mechanically-driven turbulent flows in the isothermal ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) framework. The mechanical forcing is either…