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Related papers: MHD Turbulence Revisited

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Recent numerical and observational studies revealed that spectra of magnetic and velocity fluctuations in MHD turbulence have different scaling indexes. This intriguing feature has been recently explained in the case of weak MHD turbulence,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2012-02-17 Stanislav Boldyrev , Jean Carlos Perez , Yuxuan Wang

Recent advances in understanding of the basic properties of compressible Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence call for revisions of some of the generally accepted concepts. First, MHD turbulence is not so messy as it is usually believed. In…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 A. Lazarian , J. Cho

In space and astrophysical plasmas, violent events or instabilities inject energy into turbulent motions at large scales. Nonlinear interactions among the turbulent fluctuations drive a cascade of energy to small perpendicular scales at…

Space Physics · Physics 2018-03-14 J. L. Verniero , G. G. Howes

Plasma turbulence is a ubiquitous dynamical process that transfers energy across many spatial and temporal scales in astrophysical and space plasma systems. Although the theory of anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence has…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-08-15 Siqi Zhao , Huirong Yan , Terry Z. Liu , Ka Ho Yuen , Huizi Wang

The interaction of two colliding Alfv\'en wave packets is here described by means of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and hybrid kinetic numerical simulations. The MHD evolution revisits the theoretical insights described by Moffatt, Parker,…

We develop a phenomenological model of strong imbalanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence that accounts for intermittency and the reflection of Alfven waves by spatial variations in the Alfven speed. Our model predicts the slopes of the…

Plasma Physics · Physics 2025-02-10 B. D. G. Chandran , N. Sioulas , S. Bale , T. Bowen , V. David , R. Meyrand , E. Yerger

Turbulence is the most common state of astrophysical flows. In typical astrophysical fluids, turbulence is accompanied by strong magnetic fields, which has a large impact on the dynamics of the turbulent cascade. Recently, there has been a…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 A. Lazarian , Jungyeon Cho , Huirong Yan

A weak wave turbulence theory is developed for two-dimensional (2D) magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). We derive and analyze the kinetic equation describing the three-wave interactions of pseudo-Alfv\'en waves. Our analysis is greatly helped by…

Plasma Physics · Physics 2015-06-12 Natalia Tronko , Sergey V. Nazarenko , Sebastien Galtier

Radio-wave scintillation observations reveal a nearly Kolmogorov spectrum of density fluctuations in the ionized interstellar medium. Although this density spectrum is suggestive of turbulence, no theory relevant to its interpretation…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-06 Yoram Lithwick , Peter Goldreich

Turbulence in astrophysical and space plasmas is dominated by the nonlinear interaction of counterpropagating Alfven waves. Most Alfven wave turbulence theories have been based on ideal plasma models, such as incompressible MHD, for Alfven…

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is invoked to address turbulent fluctuations in a variety of astrophysical systems. MHD turbulence in nature is often anisotropic and imbalanced, in that Alfvenic fluctuations moving in opposite directions along…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2010-02-18 Jean C Perez , Stanislav Boldyrev

Theoretical approaches to low-frequency magnetized turbulence in collisionless and weakly collisional astrophysical plasmas are reviewed. The proper starting point for an analytical description of these plasmas is kinetic theory, not fluid…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-11 A. A. Schekochihin , S. C. Cowley , W. Dorland

When magnetic energy density is much larger than that of matter, as in pulsar/black hole magnetospheres, the medium becomes force-free and we need relativity to describe it. As in non-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), Alfv\'enic MHD…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2015-06-18 Jungyeon Cho , A. Lazarian

Previous studies have established that a weak-to-strong transition occurs in Alfvenic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence as energy cascades from large to small scales. However, the spatiotemporal (frequency-wavenumber) properties of…

Plasma Physics · Physics 2026-03-10 Siqi Zhao , Huirong Yan , Terry Z. Liu , Chuanpeng Hou , Ka Ho Yuen

Intermittency is an essential property of astrophysical fluids, which demonstrate an extended inertial range. As intermittency violates self-similarity of motions, it gets impossible to naively extrapolate the properties of fluid obtained…

Astrophysics · Physics 2011-05-10 A. Lazarian

The evolution of Alfven turbulence due to three-wave interactions is discussed using kinetic theory for a collisionless, thermal plasma. There are three low-frequency modes, analogous to the three modes of compressible MHD. When only Alfven…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-11 Q. Luo , D. B. Melrose

We consider the generation of gravitational waves by primordial helical inverse cascade magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence produced by bubble collisions at the electroweak phase transition. We extend the previous study \cite{kgr08} by…

This paper investigates the nature of the MHD turbulence excited by the streaming of accelerated cosmic rays in a shock wave precursor. The two recognised regimes (non-resonant and resonant) of the streaming instability are taken into…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-11 Guy Pelletier , Martin Lemoine , Alexandre Marcowith

We study the properties of sub-Alfvenic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, i.e., turbulence with Alfven Mach number $M_A=V_L/V_A<1$, where $V_L$ is the velocity at the injection scale and $V_A$ is the Alfven velocity. We demonstrate that…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-10-28 Alex Lazarian , Ka Wai HO , Ka Ho Yuen , Ethan Vishniac

The nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfven waves is the physical mechanism underlying the cascade of energy to small scales in astrophysical plasma turbulence. Beginning with the equations for incompressible MHD, an…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-16 Gregory G. Howes , Kevin D. Nielson