Anisotropic scaling of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

We present a quantitative estimate of the anisotropic power and scaling of magnetic field fluctuations in inertial range magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, using a novel wavelet technique applied to spacecraft measurements in the solar wind. We show for the first time that, when the local magnetic field direction is parallel to the flow, the spacecraft-frame spectrum has a spectral index near 2. This can be interpreted as the signature of a population of fluctuations in field-parallel wave numbers with a k(-2)_(||) spectrum but is also consistent with the presence of a "critical balance" style turbulent cascade. We also find, in common with previous studies, that most of the power is contained in wave vectors at large angles to the local magnetic field and that this component of the turbulence has a spectral index of 5/3.     

Orthogonal interaction of bernstein mode with ion-acoustic wave through plasma maser effect

Interaction of Bernstein mode wave with ion-acoustic turbulence is treated as the plasma maser effect. Ion-acoustic turbulence is considered as resonant mode, propagating orthogonal to the test Bernstein mode. The external magnetic field, in the direction of ion-acoustic turbulence, is playing key role in transferring energy in upconversion process from resonant low frequency wave to the high frequency wave through modulated electric field. It is shown that the direct coupling term and the associated reverse absorbtion effect do not contribute individually to the growth or damping to the Bernstein mode. Only the polarization coupling term is found to be effective in the energy upconversion process as the external magnetic field is providing momentum in the direction of propagation of Bernstein mode. The polarization coupling term is identified to be the dominant upconversion factor in the plasma maser effect.     

Different regimes for water wave turbulence

We present an experimental study on gravity capillary wave turbulence in water. By using space-time resolved Fourier transform profilometry, the behavior of the wave energy density |η(k,ω)|(2) in the 3D (k,ω) space is inspected for various forcing frequency bandwidths and forcing amplitudes. Depending on the bandwidth, the gravity spectral slope is found to be either forcing dependent, as classically observed in laboratory experiments, or forcing independent. In the latter case, the wave spectrum is consistent with the Zakharov-Filonenko cascade predicted within wave turbulence theory.     

Modification of the Turbulence in the Plasma Boundary of the Wendelstein 7-AS Stellarator Using Electric Probes

The fluctuations in the edge plasmas of magnetic fusion experiments are thought to play an important role in terms of anomalous energy and particle transport. Experiments on Wendelstein 7-AS were conducted with the primary goal to investigate the performance of influencing and modifying the turbulence in the plasma boundary using electrical probes. Two movable poloidal probe arrays were used for the experiments, one located on the inboard side of the vessel and the other on the outboard side. A subset of probe tips was used for actively driving the plasma by different control signals, the remaining probes collected fluctuation data in the plasma boundary. Poloidally, we find a significant cross-correlation between active and passive probes. From analysis of the coherency and phases of the passive probe tips, it can clearly be seen that the background E×B-rotation of the plasma plays a crucial role for the applied signals. In the case of externally driven waves by several phase-locked active probes, the direction of the wave propagation with respect to the plasma rotation (co- or counter-rotating) is essential for a proper coupling to the turbulence. In toroidal direction we find that the propagation of the signals along the magnetic field lines depends on co- or counter-rotation with respect to the background plasma rotation.     

Weak magnetohydrodynamic turbulence of a magnetized plasma

A weak turbulence of the magnetohydrodynamic waves in a strongly magnetized plasma was studied in the case when the plasma pressure is small as compared to the magnetic field pressure. In this case, the principal nonlinear mechanism is the resonance scattering of fast magnetoacoustic and Alfvén waves on slow magnetoacoustic waves. Since the former waves are high-frequency (HF) with respect to the latter, the total number of HF waves in the system is conserved (adiabatic invariant). In the weak turbulence regime, this integral of motion generates a Kolmogorov spectrum with a constant flux of the number of HF waves toward the longwave region. The shortwave region features a Kolmogorov spectrum with a constant energy flux. An exact angular dependence of the turbulence spectra is determined for the wave propagation angles close to the average magnetic field direction.     

Three dimensional anisotropic κ spectra of turbulence at subproton scales in the solar wind

We show the first three dimensional (3D) dispersion relations and k spectra of magnetic turbulence in the solar wind at subproton scales. We used the Cluster data with short separations and applied the k-filtering technique to the frequency range where the transition to subproton scales occurs. We show that the cascade is carried by highly oblique kinetic Alfvén waves with ω(plas) ≤ 0.1ω(ci) down to k(⊥) ρ(i)～2. Each k spectrum in the direction perpendicular to B0 shows two scaling ranges separated by a breakpoint (in the interval [0.4,1]k(⊥)ρ(i): a Kolmogorov scaling k(⊥)?1?? followed by a steeper scaling ～k(⊥)????. We conjecture that the turbulence undergoes a transition range, where part of the energy is dissipated into proton heating via Landau damping and the remaining energy cascades down to electron scales where electron Landau damping may predominate.     

A three-dimensional refractive index model for simulation of optical wave propagation in atmospheric turbulence

Numerical modeling of optical wave propagation in atmospheric turbulence is traditionally performed with using the so-called “split”-operator method, when the influence of the propagation medium’s refractive index inhomogeneities is accounted for only within a system of infinitely narrow layers (phase screens) where phase is distorted. Commonly, under certain assumptions, such phase screens are considered as mutually statistically uncorrelated. However, in several important applications including laser target tracking, remote sensing, and atmospheric imaging, accurate optical field propagation modeling assumes upper limitations on interscreen spacing. The latter situation can be observed, for instance, in the presence of large-scale turbulent inhomogeneities or in deep turbulence conditions, where interscreen distances become comparable with turbulence outer scale and, hence, corresponding phase screens cannot be statistically uncorrelated. In this paper, we discuss correlated phase screens. The statistical characteristics of screens are calculated based on a representation of turbulent fluctuations of three-dimensional (3D) refractive index random field as a set of sequentially correlated 3D layers displaced in the wave propagation direction. The statistical characteristics of refractive index fluctuations are described in terms of the von Karman power spectrum density. In the representation of these 3D layers by corresponding phase screens, the geometrical optics approximation is used.     

Formation of zones of an inverse energy cascade in an axisymmetric jet

The results of investigation into the mechanism of formation of an inverse turbulence energy cascade in an axially symmetric submerged jet based on numerical modeling by the large eddy simulation. The flow structure is calculated using two models of subgrid turbulence in a broad range of Reynolds numbers with the imposed external harmonic low-amplitude perturbation and swirling. Calculations showed that upon imposing swirling, the effect of formation of the inverse cascade is suppressed, while upon imposing the external low-amplitude harmonic perturbations corresponding to the frequency of highest perceptivity, it is enhanced. We can assume that the regions with the inverse turbulence energy flow are formed there where the dynamics of large quasi-2D structures is determined by the mechanisms of combining eddies and involvement processes, while the tension mechanism of vortex tubes is suppressed. It is shown that the balance of these mechanisms can be controlled by means of imposition of low-amplitude harmonic perturbations.     

An unstaggered constrained transport method for the 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations

Numerical methods for solving the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations in more than one space dimension must either confront the challenge of controlling errors in the discrete divergence of the magnetic field, or else be faced with nonlinear numerical instabilities. One approach for controlling the discrete divergence is through a so-called constrained transport method, which is based on first predicting a magnetic field through a standard finite volume solver, and then correcting this field through the appropriate use of a magnetic vector potential. In this work we develop a constrained transport method for the 3D ideal MHD equations that is based on a high-resolution wave propagation scheme. Our proposed scheme is the 3D extension of the 2D scheme developed by Rossmanith [J.A. Rossmanith, An unstaggered, high-resolution constrained transport method for magnetohydrodynamic flows, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 28 (2006) 1766], and is based on the high-resolution wave propagation method of Langseth and LeVeque [J.O. Langseth, R.J. LeVeque, A wave propagation method for threedimensional hyperbolic conservation laws, J. Comput. Phys. 165 (2000) 126]. In particular, in our extension we take great care to maintain the three most important properties of the 2D scheme: (1) all quantities, including all components of the magnetic field and magnetic potential, are treated as cell-centered; (2) we develop a high-resolution wave propagation scheme for evolving the magnetic potential; and (3) we develop a wave limiting approach that is applied during the vector potential evolution, which controls unphysical oscillations in the magnetic field. One of the key numerical difficulties that is novel to 3D is that the transport equation that must be solved for the magnetic vector potential is only weakly hyperbolic. In presenting our numerical algorithm we describe how to numerically handle this problem of weak hyperbolicity, as well as how to choose an appropriate gauge condition. The resulting scheme is applied to several numerical test cases.     

Bloch oscillation of Weyl metal along synthetic dimensions

Synthetic dimensions in time(Sambe space)can be utilized in a periodic time-dependent system.By subjecting the system into a time-periodic potential and measuring the physical quantities at distinct time in one period,one is able to simulate the models in higher dimension.To verify this approach,we show that the Bloch oscillation of wave packets along the magnetic field in a three-dimensional(3D)Weyl metal can be simulated on a two-dimensional(2D)insulator.Different from the chiral anomaly,this Bloch oscillation is anisotropic when the initial wave packet is not on the 0-th Landau level.     

Dynamics of energy condensation in two-dimensional turbulence

We report a numerical study, supplemented by phenomenological explanations, of "energy condensation" in forced 2D turbulence in a biperiodic box. Condensation is a finite size effect which occurs after the standard inverse cascade reaches the size of the system. It leads to the emergence of a coherent vortex dipole. We show that the time growth of the dipole is self-similar, and it contains most of the injected energy, thus resulting in an energy spectrum which is markedly steeper than the standard k{-5/3} one. Once the coherent component is subtracted, however, the remaining fluctuations have a spectrum close to k{-1}. The fluctuations decay slowly as the coherent part grows.     

Wave-number spectra and intermittency in the terrestrial foreshock region

Wave-number spectra of magnetic field fluctuations are directly determined in the terrestrial foreshock region (upstream of a quasiparallel collisionless shock wave) using four-point Cluster spacecraft measurements. The spectral curve is characterized by three ranges reminiscent of turbulence: energy injection, inertial, and dissipation range. The spectral index for the inertial range spectrum is close to Kolmogorov's slope, -5/3. On the other hand, the fluctuations are highly anisotropic and intermittent perpendicular to the mean magnetic field direction. These results suggest that the foreshock is in a weakly turbulent and intermittent state in which parallel propagating Alfvén waves interact with one another, resulting in the phase coherence or the intermittency.     

Linear gravitational waves and electrodynamic formalism in cosmology

The propagation of linear gravitational waves is studied in open and multiply connected Robertson-Walker cosmologies. In order for the group velocity of the gravitational wave packets to coincide with the speed of light, the linear wave equation must be conformally coupled. This opens the possibility of using the electromagnetic formalism. The gravitational analogue to the electromagnetic field tensor is introduced, and a tensorial counterpart to Maxwell's equations on the spacelike 3-slices is derived. The energy-momentum tensor for linear gravitational waves is constructed without averaging procedures, a strictly positive energy density is obtained, and it is shown that the overall energy of a gravitational pulse scales with the inverse of the expansion factor.     

Inverse energy cascade in three-dimensional isotropic turbulence

We study the statistical properties of homogeneous and isotropic three-dimensional (3D) turbulent flows. By introducing a novel way to make numerical investigations of Navier-Stokes equations, we show that all 3D flows in nature possess a subset of nonlinear evolution leading to a reverse energy transfer: from small to large scales. Up to now, such an inverse cascade was only observed in flows under strong rotation and in quasi-two-dimensional geometries under strong confinement. We show here that energy flux is always reversed when mirror symmetry is broken, leading to a distribution of helicity in the system with a well-defined sign at all wave numbers. Our findings broaden the range of flows where the inverse energy cascade may be detected and rationalize the role played by helicity in the energy transfer process, showing that both 2D and 3D properties naturally coexist in all flows in nature. The unconventional numerical methodology here proposed, based on a Galerkin decimation of helical Fourier modes, paves the road for future studies on the influence of helicity on small-scale intermittency and the nature of the nonlinear interaction in magnetohydrodynamics.     

On two-dimensionalization of three-dimensional turbulence in shell models

Applying a modified version of the Gledzer-Ohkitani-Yamada (GOY) shell model, the signatures of so-called two-dimensionalization effect of three-dimensional incompressible, homogeneous, isotropic fully developed unforced turbulence have been studied and reproduced. Within the framework of shell models we have obtained the following results: (i) progressive steepening of the energy spectrum with increased strength of the rotation, and, (ii) depletion in the energy flux of the forward forward cascade, sometimes leading to an inverse cascade. The presence of extended self-similarity and self-similar PDFs for longitudinal velocity differences are also presented for the rotating 3D turbulence case.     

Solitary waves in a nonlinear oppositely directed coupler

The propagation of pulses in the system of two tunnel-coupled optical waveguides from optically nonlinear materials one of which has a negative refractive index, while the other one, positive, is investigated theoretically. The propagation of nonlinear waves in this structure is studied based on the model of coupled modes. For linear waves, this pair of coupled waveguides behaves as a mirror resulting in the change of direction of the energy flow upon penetration of radiation from one waveguide to the other. The solutions to the system of nonlinear equations describing the stationary propagation of the solitary wave, the gap soliton, in a particular direction are found. This soliton is formed by the coupled pair of wave packets each localized in the corresponding waveguide.     

Sustained turbulence in the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii model

We study the three-dimensional forced-dissipated Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We force at relatively low wave numbers, expecting to observe a direct energy cascade and a consequent power-law spectrum of the form k^−α. Our numerical results show that the exponent α strongly depends on how the inverse particle cascade is attenuated at ks lower than the forcing wave-number. If the inverse cascade is arrested by a friction at low ks, we observe an exponent which is in good agreement with the weak wave turbulence prediction k⁻¹. For a hypo-viscosity, a k⁻² spectrum is observed which we explain using a critical balance argument. In simulations without any low k dissipation, a condensate at k=0 is growing and the system goes through a strongly turbulent transition from a 4-wave to a 3-wave weak turbulence acoustic regime with evidence of k^−3/2 Zakharov-Sagdeev spectrum. In this regime, we also observe a spectrum for the incompressible kinetic energy which formally resembles the Kolmogorov k^−5/3, but whose correct explanation should be in terms of the Kelvin wave turbulence. The probability density functions for the velocities and the densities are also discussed.     

Nonaxisymmetric anisotropy of solar wind turbulence as a direct test for models of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Single point spacecraft observations of the turbulent solar wind flow exhibit a characteristic nonaxisymmetric anisotropy that depends sensitively on the perpendicular power spectral exponent. We use this nonaxisymmetric anisotropy as a function of wave vector direction to test models of MHD turbulence. Using Ulysses magnetic field observations in the fast, quiet polar solar wind we find that the Goldreich-Sridhar model of MHD turbulence is not consistent with the observed anisotropy, whereas the observations are well reproduced by the "slab+2D" model. The Goldreich-Sridhar model alone cannot account for the observations unless an additional component is also present.     

Density fluctuation spectrum in whistler turbulence

We develop a nonlinear two-dimensional fluid model of whistler turbulence that includes effect of electron fluid density perturbations. The latter is coupled nonlinearly with wave magnetic field. This coupling leads essentially to finite compressibility effects in whistler turbulence model. We find from our simulations that despite strong compressibility effects, the density fluctuations follow the evolution of the wave magnetic field fluctuations. In a characteristic regime where large scale whistlers are predominant, the coupled density fluctuations are found to follow a Kolmogorov-like phenomenology in the inertial range turbulence. Consequently, the turbulent energy is dominated by the large scale (compared to electron inertial length) eddies and it follows a Kolmogorov-like k−7/3 spectrum, where k is a characteristic wavenumber.     

Fluctuations of spherical waves in a turbulent atmosphere: effect of the axisymmetric approximation in computational methods

The validity of the axisymmetric parabolic-equation (PE) method for line-of-sight sound propagation in a turbulent atmosphere is investigated. The axisymmetric PE method is a finite-difference method for solving a 2D parabolic wave equation, which follows from the 3D wave equation by the assumption of axial symmetry around the vertical axis through the source. It is found that this axisymmetric approximation has a considerable spurious effect on the fluctuations of the sound field. This is concluded from analytical expressions for the log-amplitude and phase variances, derived both for isotropic turbulence and for axisymmetric turbulence. The expressions for axisymmetric turbulence are compared with the results of numerical computations with the PE method.