Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics (Jul 2007)

Three-dimensional simulations of turbulent spectra in the local interstellar medium

  • D. Shaikh,
  • G. P. Zank

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 4
pp. 351 – 359

Abstract

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Three-dimensional time dependent numerical simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic fluids describing super-Alfvénic, supersonic and strongly magnetized space and laboratory plasmas show a nonlinear relaxation towards a state of near incompressibility. The latter is characterized essentially by a subsonic turbulent Mach number. This transition is mediated dynamically by disparate spectral energy dissipation rates in compressible magnetosonic and shear Alfvénic modes. Nonlinear cascades lead to super-Alfvénic turbulent motions decaying to a sub-Alfvénic regime that couples weakly with (magneto)acoustic cascades. Consequently, the supersonic plasma motion is transformed into highly subsonic motion and density fluctuations experience a passive convection. This model provides a self-consistent explaination of the ubiquitous nature of incompressible magnetoplasma fluctuations in the solar wind and the interstellar medium.