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Pressure anisotropy can strongly influence the dynamics of weakly collisional, high-beta plasmas, but its effects are missed by standard magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Small changes to the magnetic-field strength generate large pressure-anisotropy forces, heating the plasma, driving instabilities and rearranging flows, even on scales far above the particles’ gyroscales where kinetic effects are traditionally considered most important. Here, we study the influence of pressure anisotropy on turbulent plasmas threaded by a mean magnetic field (Alfvénic turbulence). Extending previous results that were concerned with Braginskii MHD, we consider a wide range of regimes and parameters using a simplified fluid model based on drift kinetics with heat fluxes calculated using a Landau-fluid closure. We show that viscous (pressure-anisotropy) heating dissipates between a quarter (in collisionless regimes) and half (in collisional regimes) of the turbulent-cascade power injected at large scales; this does not depend strongly on either plasma beta or the ion-to-electron temperature ratio. This will in turn influence the plasma's thermodynamics by regulating energy partition between different dissipation channels (e.g. electron and ion heat). Due to the pressure anisotropy's rapid dynamic feedback onto the flows that create it – an effect we term ‘magneto-immutability’ – the viscous heating is confined to a narrow range of scales near the forcing scale, supporting a nearly conservative, MHD-like inertial-range cascade, via which the rest of the energy is transferred to small scales. Despite the simplified model, our results – including the viscous heating rate, distributions and turbulent spectra – compare favourably with recent hybrid-kinetic simulations. This is promising for the more general use of extended-fluid (or even MHD) approaches to model weakly collisional plasmas such as the intracluster medium, hot accretion flows and the solar wind.
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Phase transitions in anisotropic turbulence
Turbulence is a widely observed state of fluid flows, characterized by complex, nonlinear interactions between motions across a broad spectrum of length and time scales. While turbulence is ubiquitous, from teacups to planetary atmospheres, oceans, and stars, its manifestations can vary considerably between different physical systems. For instance, three-dimensional turbulent flows display a forward energy cascade from large to small scales, while in two-dimensional turbulence, energy cascades from small to large scales. In a given physical system, a transition between such disparate regimes of turbulence can occur when a control parameter reaches a critical value. The behavior of flows close to such transition points, which separate qualitatively distinct phases of turbulence, has been found to be unexpectedly rich. Here, we survey recent findings on such transitions in highly anisotropic turbulent fluid flows, including turbulence in thin layers and under the influence of rapid rotation. We also review recent work on transitions induced by turbulent fluctuations, such as random reversals and transitions between large-scale vortices and jets, among others. The relevance of these results and their ramifications for future investigations are discussed.
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- PAR ID:
- 10598448
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 1054-1500
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0232179
