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P. Dmitruk

Publications and source records attributed to P. Dmitruk.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

On the emergence of very long time fluctuations and 1/f noise in ideal flows

This study shows the connection between three previously observed but seemingly unrelated phenomena in hydrodynamic (HD) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent flows, involving the emergence of fluctuations occurring on very long time scales: the low-frequency 1/f noise in the power frequency spectrum, the delayed ergodicity of complex valued amplitude fluctuations in wavenumber space, and the spontaneous flippings or reversals of large scale fields. Direct numerical simulations of ideal MHD and HD are employed in three space dimensions, at low resolution, for long periods of time, and with high accuracy to study several cases: Different geometries, presence of rotation and/or a uniform magnetic field, and different values of the associated conserved global quantities. It is conjectured that the origin of all these long-time phenomena is rooted in the interaction of the longest wavelength fluctuations available to the system with fluctuations at much smaller scales. The strength of this non-local interaction is controlled either by the existence of conserved global quantities with a back-transfer in Fourier space, or by the presence of a slow manifold in the dynamics.

physics.flu-dyn↗

Large scale behavior and statistical equilibria in rotating flows

We examine long-time properties of the ideal dynamics of three--dimensional flows, in the presence or not of an imposed solid-body rotation and with or without helicity (velocity-vorticity correlation). In all cases the results agree with the isotropic predictions stemming from statistical mechanics. No accumulation of excitation occurs in the large scales, even though in the dissipative rotating case anisotropy and accumulation, in the form of an inverse cascade of energy, are known to occur. We attribute this latter discrepancy to the linearity of the term responsible for the emergence of inertial waves. At intermediate times, inertial energy spectra emerge that differ somewhat from classical wave-turbulence expectations, and with a trace of large-scale excitation that goes away for long times. These results are discussed in the context of partial two-dimensionalization of the flow undergoing strong rotation as advocated by several authors.

physics.flu-dyn↗

Hall effect in a strong magnetic field: Direct comparisons of compressible magnetohydrodynamics and the reduced Hall magnetohydrodynamic equations

In this work we numerically test a model of Hall magnetohydrodynamics in the presence of a strong mean magnetic field, the reduced Hall MHD model (RHMHD) derived by Gomez et al., with the addition of weak compressible effects. The main advantage of this model lies in the reduction of computational cost. Nevertheless, up until now the degree of agreement with the original Hall MHD system and the range of validity in a regime of turbulence was not established. In this work direct numerical simulations of three-dimensional Hall MHD turbulence in the presence of a strong mean magnetic field are compared with simulations of the weak compressible RHMHD model. The results show that the degree of agreement is very high (when the different assumptions of RHMHD, like spectral anisotropy, are satisfied). Nevertheless, when the initial conditions are isotropic but the mean magnetic field is maintained strong, the results differ at the beginning but asymptotically reach a good agreement at relatively short times. We also found evidence that the compressibility still plays a role in the dynamics of these systems, and the weak compressible RHMHD model is able to capture these effects. In conclusion the weak compressible RHMHD model is a valid approximation of the Hall MHD turbulence in the relevant physical context.

physics.plasm-ph↗

A turbulence-driven model for heating and acceleration of the fast wind in coronal holes

A model is presented for generation of fast solar wind in coronal holes, relying on heating that is dominated by turbulent dissipation of MHD fluctuations transported upwards in the solar atmosphere. Scale-separated transport equations include large-scale fields, transverse Alfvenic fluctuations, and a small compressive dissipation due to parallel shears near the transition region. The model accounts for proton temperature, density, wind speed, and fluctuation amplitude as observed in remote sensing and in situ satellite data.

astro-ph.SR↗

Rapid directional alignment of velocity and magnetic field in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

We show that local directional alignment of the velocity and magnetic field fluctuations occurs rapidly in magnetohydrodynamics for a variety of parameters. This is observed both in direct numerical simulations and in solar wind data. The phenomenon is due to an alignment between the magnetic field and either pressure gradients or shear-associated kinetic energy gradients. A similar alignment, of velocity and vorticity, occurs in the Navier Stokes fluid case. This may be the most rapid and robust relaxation process in turbulent flows, and leads to a local weakening of the nonlinear terms in the small scale vorticity and current structures where alignment takes place.

astro-ph↗

Coronal heating distribution due to low-frequency wave-driven turbulence

The heating of the lower solar corona is examined using numerical simulations and theoretical models of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in open magnetic regions. A turbulent energy cascade to small length scales perpendicular to the mean magnetic field can be sustained by driving with low-frequency Alfven waves reflected from mean density and magnetic field gradients. This mechanism deposits energy efficiently in the lower corona, and we show that the spatial distribution of the heating is determined by the mean density through the Alfven speed profile. This provides a robust heating mechanism that can explain observed high coronal temperatures and accounts for the significant heating (per unit volume) distribution below two solar radius needed in models of the origin of the solar wind. The obtained heating per unit mass on the other hand is much more extended indicating that the heating on a per particle basis persists throughout all the lower coronal region considered here.

astro-ph↗

Apparent suppression of turbulent magnetic dynamo action by a dc magnetic field

Numerical studies of the effect of a dc magnetic field on dynamo action (development of magnetic fields with large spatial scales), due to helically-driven magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, are reported. The apparent effect of the dc magnetic field is to suppress the dynamo action, above a relatively low threshold. However, the possibility that the suppression results from an improper combination of rectangular triply spatially-periodic boundary conditions and a uniform dc magnetic field is addressed: heretofore a common and convenient computational convention in turbulence investigations. Physical reasons for the observed suppression are suggested. Other geometries and boundary conditions are offered for which the dynamo action is expected not to be suppressed by the presence of a dc magnetic field component.

physics.plasm-ph↗