Magnetohydrodynamic Case Research Articles

TURBULENT LINEWIDTHS IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: PREDICTIONS FROM NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

Sub-mm observations of protoplanetary disks now approach the acuity needed to measure the turbulent broadening of molecular lines. These measurements constrain disk angular momentum transport, and furnish evidence of the turbulent environment within which planetesimal formation takes place. We use local magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) to predict the distribution of turbulent velocities in low mass protoplanetary disks, as a function of radius and height above the mid-plane. We model both ideal MHD disks, and disks in which Ohmic dissipation results in a dead zone of suppressed turbulence near the mid-plane. Under ideal conditions, the disk mid-plane is characterized by a velocity distribution that peaks near v \simeq 0.1cs (where cs is the local sound speed), while supersonic velocities are reached at z > 3H (where H is the pressure scale height). Residual velocities of v \approx 0.01cs persist near the mid-plane in dead zones, while the surface layers remain active. Anisotropic variation of the linewidth with disk inclination is modest. We compare our MHD results to hydrodynamic simulations in which large-scale forcing is used to initiate similar turbulent velocities. We show that the qualitative trend of increasing v with height, seen in the MHD case, persists for forced turbulence and is likely a generic property of disk turbulence. Percent level determinations of v at different heights within the disk, or spatially resolved observations that probe the inner disk containing the dead zone region, are therefore needed to test whether the MRI is responsible for protoplanetary disk turbulence.

Dynamo in the Intra-Cluster Medium: Simulation of CGL-MHD Turbulent Dynamo

AbstractThe standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) description of the plasma in the hot, magnetized gas of the intra-cluster (ICM) medium is not adequate because it is weakly collisional. In such collisionless magnetized gas, the microscopic velocity distribution of the particles is not isotropic, giving rise to kinetic effects on the dynamical scales. These kinetic effects could be important in understanding the turbulence as well as the amplification and maintenance of the magnetic fields in the ICM. It is possible to formulate fluid models for collisonless or weakly collisional gas by introducing modifications in the MHD equations. These models are often referred as kinetic MHD (KMHD). Using a KMHD model based on the CGL-closure, which allows the adiabatic evolution of the two components of the pressure tensor (the parallel and perpendicular components with respect to the local magnetic field), we performed 3D numerical simulations of forced turbulence in order to study the amplification of an initially weak seed magnetic field. We found that the growth rate of the magnetic energy is comparable to that of the ordinary MHD turbulent dynamo, but the magnetic energy saturates in a level smaller than that of the MHD case. We also found that a necessary condition for the dynamo to operate is to impose constraints on the anisotropy of the pressure.

Marginal turbulent magnetohydrodynamic flow in a square duct

Direct numerical simulations using a high-order finite-difference method were performed of the turbulent flow in a straight square duct in a transverse magnetic field. Without magnetic field the turbulence can be maintained for values of the bulk Reynolds number above approximately Re=1077 [M. Uhlmann et al., “Marginally turbulent flow in a square duct,” J. Fluid Mech. 588, 153 (2007)]. In the magnetohydrodynamic case this minimal value of the bulk Reynolds number increases with the Hartmann number. The flow is laminar at Re=3000 when the Hartmann number is larger than Ha=12.5 and the flow is turbulent for Ha≦12.0. The secondary mean flow structure at Re=3000 consists of eight vortices located mainly at the Hartmann walls.

Regular shock refraction in planar ideal MHD

We study the classical problem of planar shock refraction at an oblique density discontinuity, separating two gases at rest, in planar ideal (magneto)hydrodynamics. In the hydrodynamical case, 3 signals arise and the interface becomes Richtmyer-Meshkov unstable due to vorticity deposition on the shocked contact. In the magnetohydrodynamical case, on the other hand, when the normal component of the magnetic field does not vanish, 5 signals will arise. The interface then typically remains stable, since the Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions in ideal MHD do not allow for vorticity deposition on a contact discontinuity.We present an exact Riemann solver based solution strategy to describe the initial self similar refraction phase. Using grid-adaptive MHD simulations, we show that after reflection from the top wall, the interface remains stable.

Alfvén simple waves

AbstractMulti-dimensional Alfvén simple waves in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are investigated using Boillat's formalism. For simple wave solutions, all physical variables (the gas density, pressure, fluid velocity, entropy, and magnetic field induction in the MHD case) depend on a single phase function ϕ, which is a function of the space and time variables. The simple wave ansatz requires that the wave normal and the normal speed of the wave front depend only on the phase function ϕ. This leads to an implicit equation for the phase function and a generalization of the concept of a plane wave. We obtain examples of Alfvén simple waves, based on the right eigenvector solutions for the Alfvén mode. The Alfvén mode solutions have six integrals, namely that the entropy, density, magnetic pressure, and the group velocity (the sum of the Alfvén and fluid velocity) are constant throughout the wave. The eigenequations require that the rate of change of the magnetic induction B with ϕ throughout the wave is perpendicular to both the wave normal n and B. Methods to construct simple wave solutions based on specifying either a solution ansatz for n(ϕ) or B(ϕ) are developed.

Magnetic fields in the early Universe

AbstractWe give a pedagogical introduction to two aspects of magnetic fields in the early Universe. We first focus on how to formulate electrodynamics in curved space time, defining appropriate magnetic and electric fields and writing Maxwell equations in terms of these fields. We then specialize to the case of magnetohydrodynamics in the expanding Universe. We emphasize the usefulness of tetrads in this context. We then review the generation of magnetic fields during the inflationary era, deriving in detail the predicted magnetic and electric spectra for some models. We discuss potential problems arising from back reaction effects and from the large variation of the coupling constants required for such field generation (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

MHD flow past a circular cylinder using the immersed boundary method

The immersed boundary method (IB hereafter) is an efficient numerical methodology for treating purely hydrodynamic flows in geometrically complicated flow-domains. Recently Grigoriadis et als. [1] proposed an extension of the IB method that accounts for electromagnetic effects near non-conducting boundaries in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. The proposed extension (hereafter called MIB method) integrates naturally within the original IB concept and is suitable for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of liquid metal flows. It is based on the proper definition of an externally applied current density field in order to satisfy the Maxwell equations in the presence of arbitrarily-shaped, non-conducting immersed boundaries. The efficiency of the proposed method is achieved by fast direct solutions of the two poisson equations for the hydrodynamic pressure and the electrostatic potential. The purpose of the present study is to establish the performance of the new MIB method in challenging configurations for which sufficient details are available in the literature. For this purpose, we have considered the classical MHD problem of a conducting fluid that is exposed to an external magnetic field while flowing across a circular cylinder with electrically insulated boundaries. Two- and three-dimensional, steady and unsteady, flow regimes were examined for Reynolds numbers Re d ranging up to 200 based on the cylinder’s diameter. The intensity of the external magnetic field, as characterized by the magnetic interaction parameter N, varied from N = 0 for the purely hydrodynamic cases up to N = 5 for the MHD cases. For each simulation, a sufficiently fine Cartesian computational mesh was selected to ensure adequate resolution of the thin boundary layers developing due to the magnetic field, the so called Hartmann and sidewall layers. Results for a wide range of flow and magnetic field strength parameters show that the MIB method is capable of accurately reproducing integral parameters, such as the lift and drag coefficients, as well as the geometrical details of the recirculation zones. The results of the present study suggest that the proposed MIB methodology provides a powerful numerical tool for accurate MHD simulations, and that it can extend the applicability of existing Cartesian flow solvers as well as the range of computable MHD flows. Moreover, the new MIB method has been used to carrry out a series of accurate simulations allowing the determination of asymptotic laws for the lift and drag coefficients and the extent of the recirculation length as a function of the amplitude of the magnetic field. These results are reported herein.

Validation of large eddy simulation method for study of flatness and skewness of decaying compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

In the present work we study potential applicability of large eddy simulation (LES) method for prediction of flatness and skewness of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The knowledge of these quantities characterizes non-Gaussian properties of turbulence and can be used for verification of hypothesis on Gaussianity for the turbulent flow under consideration. Prediction accuracy of these quantities by means of LES method directly determines efficiency of reconstruction of probability density function (PDF) that depends on used subgrid-scale (SGS) parameterizations. Applicability of LES approach for studying of PDF properties of turbulent compressible magnetic fluid flow is investigated and potential feasibilities of five SGS parameterizations by means of comparison with direct numerical simulation results are explored. The skewness and the flatness of the velocity and the magnetic field components under various hydrodynamic Reynolds numbers, sonic Mach numbers, and magnetic Reynolds numbers are studied. It is shown that various SGS closures demonstrate the best results depending on change of similarity numbers of turbulent MHD flow. The case without any subgrid modeling yields sufficiently good results as well. This indicates that the energy pile-up at the small scales that is characteristic for the model without any subgrid closure, does not significantly influence on determination of PDF. It is shown that, among the subgrid models, the best results for studying of the flatness and the skewness of velocity and magnetic field components are demonstrated by the Smagorinsky model for MHD turbulence and the model based on cross-helicity for MHD case. It is visible from the numerical results that the influence of a choice subgrid parametrization for the flatness and the skewness of velocity is more essential than for the same characteristics of magnetic field.

Sub‐Alfvénic Nonideal MHD Turbulence Simulations with Ambipolar Diffusion. I. Turbulence Statistics

Most numerical investigations on the role of magnetic fields in turbulent molecular clouds (MCs) are based on ideal magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD). However, MCs are weakly ionized, so that the time scale required for the magnetic field to diffuse through the neutral component of the plasma by ambipolar diffusion (AD) can be comparable to the dynamical time scale. We have performed a series of 256^3 and 512^3 simulations on supersonic but sub-Alfvenic turbulent systems with AD using the Heavy-Ion Approximation developed in Li, McKee, & Klein (2006). Our calculations are based on the assumption that the number of ions is conserved, but we show that these results approximately apply to the case of time-dependent ionization in molecular clouds as well. Convergence studies allow us to determine the optimal value of the ionization mass fraction when using the heavy-ion approximation for low Mach number, sub-Alfvenic turbulent systems. We find that ambipolar diffusion steepens the velocity and magnetic power spectra compared to the ideal MHD case. Changes in the density PDF, total magnetic energy, and ionization fraction are determined as a function of the AD Reynolds number. The power spectra for the neutral gas properties of a strongly magnetized medium with a low AD Reynolds number are similar to those for a weakly magnetized medium; in particular, the power spectrum of the neutral velocity is close to that for Burgers turbulence.

Lagrangian statistics of Navier–Stokes and MHD turbulence

AbstractWe report on a comparison of high-resolution numerical simulations of Lagrangian particles advected by incompressible turbulent hydro- and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. Numerical simulations were performed with up to 10243 collocation points and 10 million particles in the Navier–Stokes case and 5123 collocation points and 1 million particles in the MHD case. In the hydrodynamics case our findings compare with recent experiments from Mordant et al. (2004 New J. Phys.6, 116) and Xu et al. (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett.96, 024503). They differ from the simulations of Biferale et al. (2004 Phys. Rev. Lett.93, 064502) due to differences of the ranges chosen for evaluating the structure functions. In Navier–Stokes turbulence intermittency is stronger than predicted by the multifractal approach of Biferale et al. (2004 Phys. Rev. Lett.93, 064502) whereas in MHD turbulence the predictions from the multifractal approach are more intermittent than observed in our simulations. In addition, our simulations reveal that Lagrangian Navier–Stokes turbulence is more intermittent than MHD turbulence, whereas the situation is reversed in the Eulerian case. Those findings can not consistently be described by the multifractal modeling. The crucial point is that the geometry of the dissipative structures have different implications for Lagrangian and Eulerian intermittency. Application of the multifractal approach for the modeling of the acceleration probability density functions works well for the Navier–Stokes case but in the MHD case just the tails are well described.

Analytical theory of tachocline transport at mid latitudes

AbstractWe provide a theory of magnetic diffusion, momentum transport, and mixing in the solar tachocline by considering magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence on a β plane subject to a large scale shear (provided by the latitudinal differential rotation). In the strong magnetic field regime, we find that the turbulent viscosity and diffusivity are reduced by magnetic fields only, similarly to the two‐dimensional MHD case (without Rossby waves). In the weak magnetic field regime, we find a crossover scale (LR) from a Alfvén dominated regime (on small scales) to a Rossby dominated regime (on large scales). For parameter values typical of the tachocline, LR is larger than the solar radius so that Rossby waves are unlikely to play an important role in the transport of magnetic field and angular momentum. This is mainly due to the enhancement of magnetic back‐reaction by shearing which efficiently generates small scales, thus strong currents. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Statistics of passive tracers in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is studied from the Lagrangian viewpoint by following fluid particle tracers in high resolution direct numerical simulations. Results regarding turbulent diffusion and dispersion as well as Lagrangian structure functions are presented. Whereas turbulent single-particle diffusion exhibits essentially the same behavior in Navier-Stokes and MHD turbulence, two-particle relative dispersion in the MHD case differs significantly from the Navier-Stokes behavior. This observation is linked to the local anisotropy of MHD turbulence which is clearly reflected by quantities measured in a Lagrangian frame of reference. In the MHD case the Lagrangian structure functions display a lower level of intermittency as compared to the Navier-Stokes case contrasting Eulerian results. This is not only true for short time increments [H. Homann, R. Grauer, A. Busse, and W.-C. Müller, J. Plasma Phys. 73, 821 (2007)] but also holds for increments up to the order of the integral time scale. The apparent discrepancy can be explained by the difference in the characteristic shapes of fluid particle trajectories in the vicinity of most singular dissipative structures.

Bifurcations and dynamo action in a Taylor–Green flow

We report successive bifurcations in direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of a Taylor–Green flow, in both a hydro- and a magneto-hydrodynamic case. Hydrodynamic bifurcations occur in between different metastable states with different dynamo action, and are triggered by the numerical noise. The various states encountered range from stationary to chaotic or turbulent through possible oscillatory states. The corresponding sequence of bifurcations is reminiscent of the sequence obtained in the von Karman (VK) flow, at aspect ratio Γ=2 (Nore et al 2003 J. Fluid Mech. 477 51). We then use kinematic simulations to compute the dynamo thresholds of the different metastable states. A more detailed study of the turbulent state reveals the existence of two windows of dynamo action. Stochastic numerical simulations are then used to mimic the influence of turbulence on the dynamo threshold of the turbulent state. We show that the dynamo threshold is increased (respectively decreased) by the presence of large scale (resp. small scale) turbulent velocity fluctuations. Finally, DNSs of the magneto-hydrodynamic equations are used to explore the linear and nonlinear stage of the dynamo instability. In the linear stage, we show that the magnetic field favours the bifurcation from the basic state directly towards the turbulent or chaotic stable state. The magnetic field can also temporarily stabilize a metastable state, resulting in cycles of dynamo action, with different Lyapunov exponents. The critical magnetic Reynolds number for dynamo action is found to increase strongly with the Reynolds number. Finally, we provide a preliminary study of the saturation regime above the dynamo threshold. At large magnetic Prandtl number, we have observed two main types of saturations, in agreement with an analytical prediction of Leprovost and Dubrulle (2005 Eur. Phys. J. B 44 395): (i) intermittent dynamo, with vanishing most probable value of the magnetic energy; (ii) dynamo with non vanishing mean value of the magnetic energy. We describe a sequence of bifurcation of the dynamo at low Reynolds number and at increasing magnetic Prandtl number, where the dynamo switches from stationary mode to chaotic modes in a complex manner, involving intermittency in a way reminiscent to what is observed in dynamical systems with low number of degrees of freedom.

Energy transfer in Hall-MHD turbulence: cascades, backscatter, and dynamo action

AbstractScale interactions in Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHDs) are studied using both the mean field theory derivation of transport coefficients, and direct numerical simulations in three space dimensions. In the magnetically dominated regime, the eddy resistivity is found to be negative definite, leading to large-scale instabilities. A direct cascade of the total energy is observed, although as the amplitude of the Hall effect is increased, backscatter of magnetic energy to large scales is found, a feature not present in MHD flows. The coupling between the magnetic and velocity fields is different than in the MHD case, and backscatter of energy from small-scale magnetic fields to large-scale flows is also observed. For the magnetic helicity, a strong quenching of its transfer is found. We also discuss non-helical magnetically forced Hall-MHD simulations where growth of a large-scale magnetic field is observed.

Development of large eddy simulation for modeling of decaying compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

The large eddy simulation technique is developed for the study of decaying compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. In the present paper the obtained results of numerical computations for large eddy simulation are compared with the results of direct numerical simulation of three-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence under various similarity parameters, namely, magnetic Reynolds numbers, hydrodynamic Reynolds numbers, and Mach numbers. The comparison of five subgrid-scale closures of large eddy simulation for the magnetohydrodynamic case is made. The comparison between large eddy simulation and direct numerical simulation is carried out regarding the time evolution of kinetic and magnetic energy, cross helicity, subgrid-scale and molecular dissipations for kinetic and magnetic energy, turbulent intensities and quantities that describe anisotropy of flow, that is, skewness and kurtosis of velocity and magnetic field. It is shown that some subgrid-scale models proposed in the paper provide sufficient dissipation of kinetic and magnetic energy, reduce computational efforts and produce adequate results of magnetohydrodynamic turbulent modeling for various values of similarity parameters of flows.

Effect of Rossby and Alfven Waves on the Dynamics of the Tachocline

To understand magnetic diffusion, momentum transport, and mixing in the interior of the sun, we consider an idealized model of the tachocline, namely magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) turbulence on a $\beta$ plane subject to a large scale shear (provided by the latitudinal differential rotation). This model enables us to self-consistently derive the influence of shear, Rossby and Alfv\'{e}n waves on the transport properties of turbulence. In the strong magnetic field regime, we find that the turbulent viscosity and diffusivity are reduced by magnetic fields only, similarly to the two-dimensional MHD case (without Rossby waves). In the weak magnetic field regime, we find a crossover scale ($L\_R$) from a Alfv\'{e}n dominated regime (on small scales) to a Rossby dominated regime (on large scales). For parameter values typical of the tachocline, $L\_R$ is larger that the solar radius so that Rossby waves are unlikely to play an important role in the transport of magnetic field and angular momentum. This is mainly due to the enhancement of magnetic back-reaction by shearing which efficiently generates small scales, thus strong currents.

Numerical analysis on the contribution of the singular perturbation by the Hall term to the spectrum of MHD turbulence using a shell model

We have developed a new shell model for the Hall magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) system to investigate the spectral properties of the plasma turbulence. Through the numerical simulation of the shell model, in the Hall MHD case. we find that the energy spectral index of the flow field indicates -5/3 in the whole inertial range, while the energy spectral index of the magnetic field indicates -5 3 (-7/3) in the large- (small-)scale region of the inertial range. The simulation of the conventional MHD case was also carried out. and we find that the energy spectral index of both tlie flow and magnetic fields indicate -5/3.

MHD simulations of radiative jets from young stellar objects

We study the Hα emission from jets using two-dimensional axisymmetrical simulations. We compare the emission obtained from hydrodynamic (HD) simulations with that obtained from magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations. The magnetic field is supposed to be present in the jet only, and with a toroidal configuration. The simulations have time-dependent ejection velocities and different intensities for the initial magnetic field. The results show an increase in the Hα emission along the jet for the magnetized cases with respect to the HD case. The increase in the emission is due to a better collimation of the jet in the MHD case, and to a small increase in the shock velocity. These results could have important implications for the interpretation of the observations of jets from young stellar objects.

MHD stationary symmetric flows with Hall effect

Stationary magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows with a symmetry are analyzed for very-low-density plasmas in strong magnetic fields, in the infinite conductivity limit. In this particular case the simplified form of Ohm's law usually employed in the ideal MHD case is no longer valid, because Hall's and electron pressure terms in the generalized Ohm's law must be retained. Thus we include them in our equations. The assumption of symmetry makes possible the definition of an ignorable coordinate and of current functions for the divergence free magnitudes. In the case without Hall's effect and electron pressure terms in Ohm's law, there is only one independent current function; in the present case, instead, two Stokes functions are independent. We choose the current function of the magnetic induction field and that of the plasma flux, $\psi$ and $\chi$ , to be independent. Then we can express the other Stokes functions of our problem as functions of $\psi$ and $\chi$ . We assume helical symmetry, as it is the most general form of spatial symmetry and impose incompressibility, that is ${\bf v\cdot\nabla\rho =}\,0$ . We obtain a system of two differential equations for $\psi$ and $\chi$ , and solve them for the particular case of constant density. Then we calculate the limit of our solution for Hall's effect that tends to zero, in order to make a comparison with the results obtained for the case without Hall's effect. Finally, we find the necessary conditions to obtain confined plasma columns embedded in a force-free plasma or in a vacuum.

Filamentation of Alfvén waves associated with transverse perturbation for compressible magnetohydrodynamics

This paper presents an investigation of the filamentation process of a uniform plane Alfven wave for a compressible magnetohydrodynamics case, when a transverse perturbation (perturbation having non-uniform intensity distribution in a plane perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation) is present on it. The physical mechanism of the filament formation is discussed in detail with the applications to the Solar wind turbulence and the coronal heating. The dependence of the critical field of the perturbation, its critical transverse size and the formation of filaments, on the plasma , main Alfven field and other parameters has been studied in detail.