A solvable model of Vlasov-kinetic plasma turbulence in Fourier–Hermite phase space

Abstract

A class of simple kinetic systems is considered, described by the one-dimensional Vlasov–Landau equation with Poisson or Boltzmann electrostatic response and an energy source. Assuming a stochastic electric field, a solvable model is constructed for the phase-space turbulence of the particle distribution. The model is a kinetic analogue of the Kraichnan–Batchelor model of chaotic advection. The solution of the model is found in Fourier–Hermite space and shows that the free-energy flux from low to high Hermite moments is suppressed, with phase mixing cancelled on average by anti-phase-mixing (stochastic plasma echo). This implies that Landau damping is an ineffective route to dissipation (i.e. to thermalisation of electric energy via velocity space). The full Fourier–Hermite spectrum is derived. Its asymptotics are $m^{-3/2}$ at low wavenumbers and high Hermite moments ($m$) and $m^{-1/2}k^{-2}$ at low Hermite moments and high wavenumbers ($k$). These conclusions hold at wavenumbers below a certain cutoff (analogue of Kolmogorov scale), which increases with the amplitude of the stochastic electric field and scales as inverse square of the collision rate. The energy distribution and flows in phase space are a simple and, therefore, useful example of competition between phase mixing and nonlinear dynamics in kinetic turbulence, reminiscent of more realistic but more complicated multi-dimensional systems that have not so far been amenable to complete analytical solution.