Random walk of magnetic field lines in dynamical turbulence: A field line tracing method. II. Two-dimensional turbulence

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 032902 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Guest ◽  
A. Shalchi
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ruffolo ◽  
Rohit Chhiber ◽  
William H. Matthaeus ◽  
Arcadi V. Usmanov ◽  
Paisan Tooprakai ◽  
...  

<p>The random walk of magnetic field lines is an important ingredient in understanding how the connectivity of the magnetic field affects the spatial transport and diffusion of charged particles. As solar energetic particles (SEPs) propagate away from near-solar sources, they interact with the fluctuating magnetic field, which modifies their distributions. We develop a formalism in which the differential equation describing the field line random walk contains both effects due to localized magnetic displacements and a non-stochastic contribution from the large-scale expansion. We use this formalism together with a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the inner-heliospheric solar wind, which includes a turbulence transport model, to estimate the diffusive spreading of magnetic field lines that originate in different regions of the solar atmosphere. We first use this model to quantify field line spreading at 1 au, starting from a localized solar source region, and find rms angular spreads of about 20 – 60 degrees. In the second instance, we use the model to estimate the size of the source regions from which field lines observed at 1 au may have originated, thus quantifying the uncertainty in calculations of magnetic connectivity; the angular uncertainty is estimated to be about 20 degrees. Finally, we estimate the filamentation distance, i.e., the heliocentric distance up to which field lines originating in magnetic islands can remain strongly trapped in filamentary structures. We emphasize the key role of slab-like fluctuations in the transition from filamentary to more diffusive transport at greater heliocentric distances. This research has been supported in part by grant RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation and the Parker Solar Probe mission under the ISOIS project (contract NNN06AA01C) and a subcontract to University of Delaware from Princeton University (SUB0000165).  MLG acknowledges support from the Parker Solar Probe FIELDS MAG team.  Additional support is acknowledged from the  NASA LWS program  (NNX17AB79G) and the HSR program (80NSSC18K1210 & 80NSSC18K1648).</p>


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. KOURAKIS ◽  
R. C. TAUTZ ◽  
A. SHALCHI

AbstractThe random walk of magnetic field lines in the presence of magnetic turbulence in plasmas is investigated from first principles. An isotropic model is employed for the magnetic turbulence spectrum. An analytical investigation of the asymptotic behavior of the field-line mean-square displacement 〈(Δx)2〉 is carried out, in terms of the position variable z. It is shown that 〈(Δx)2〉 varies as ~z ln z for large distance z. This result corresponds to a superdiffusive behavior of field line wandering. This investigation complements previous work, which relied on a two-component model for the turbulence spectrum. Contrary to that model, quasilinear theory appears to provide an adequate description of the field-line random walk for isotropic turbulence.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 657-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. KOURAKIS ◽  
A. SHALCHI

AbstractThe random displacement of magnetic field lines in the presence of magnetic turbulence in plasmas is investigated from first principles. A two-component (slab/two-dimensional composite) model for the turbulence spectrum is employed. An analytical investigation of the asymptotic behavior of the field-line mean square displacement (FL-MSD) is carried out. It is shown that the magnetic field lines behave superdiffusively for very large values of the position variable z, since the FL-MSD σ varies as σ ~ z4/3. An intermediate diffusive regime may also possibly exist for finite values of z under conditions which are explicitly determined in terms of the intrinsic turbulent plasma parameters. The superdiffusive asymptotic result is confirmed numerically via an iterative algorithm. The relevance to previous results is discussed.


1984 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaetano Zimbardo ◽  
Pierluigi Veltri ◽  
Francesco Malara

A diffusion equation for magnetic field lines of force in a turbulent magnetic field, which describes both the random walk of a single field line and how two nearby lines separate from each other, has been obtained using standard statistical techniques. Starting from such an equation, a closed set of equations for the moments may be obtained, in general, with suitable assumptions. From such a set of equations the Kolmogorov entropy may be explicitly calculated. The results have been applied to the most interesting examples of magnetic field geometries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 082901 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Wang ◽  
G. Qin ◽  
Q. M. Ma ◽  
T. Song ◽  
S. B. Yuan

2012 ◽  
Vol 08 ◽  
pp. 364-367
Author(s):  
YOSUKE MIZUNO ◽  
MARTIN POHL ◽  
JACEK NIEMIEC ◽  
BING ZHANG ◽  
KEN-ICHI NISHIKAWA ◽  
...  

We perform two-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a mildly relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. We show that the postshock region becomes turbulent owing to preshock density inhomogeneity, and the magnetic field is strongly amplified due to the stretching and folding of field lines in the turbulent velocity field. The amplified magnetic field evolves into a filamentary structure in two-dimensional simulations. The magnetic energy spectrum is flatter than the Kolmogorov spectrum and indicates that the so-called small-scale dynamo is occurring in the postshock region. We also find that the amplitude of magnetic-field amplification depends on the direction of the mean preshock magnetic field.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Howes ◽  
Sofiane Bourouaine

Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to plasma heat. But plasma turbulence also generically leads to a tangling of the magnetic field that threads through the plasma. The resulting wander of the magnetic field lines may significantly impact a number of important physical processes, including the propagation of cosmic rays and energetic particles, confinement in magnetic fusion devices and the fundamental processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. The various potential impacts of magnetic field line wander are reviewed in detail, and a number of important theoretical considerations are identified that may influence the development and saturation of magnetic field line wander in astrophysical plasma turbulence. The results of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence of sub-ion length scales are evaluated to understand the development and saturation of the turbulent magnetic energy spectrum and of the magnetic field line wander. It is found that turbulent space and astrophysical plasmas are generally expected to contain a stochastic magnetic field due to the tangling of the field by strong plasma turbulence. Future work will explore how the saturated magnetic field line wander varies as a function of the amplitude of the plasma turbulence and the ratio of the thermal to magnetic pressure, known as the plasma beta.


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