Generation of non-Gaussian statistics and coherent structures in ideal magnetohydrodynamics

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Publisher link

Rights

This article has been published in the journal: Physics of Plasmas. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.

Abstract

Spectral method simulations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics are used to investigate production of coherent small scale structures, a feature of fluid models that is usually associated with inertial range signatures of nonuniform dissipation, and the associated emergence of non-Gaussian statistics. The near-identical growth of non-Gaussianity in ideal and nonideal cases suggests that generation of coherent structures and breaking of self-similarity are essentially ideal processes. This has important implications for understanding the origin of intermittency in turbulence.

Citation

Wan, M., Oughton, S., Servidio, S. & Matthaeus, W.H. (2009). Generation of non-Gaussian statistics and coherent structures in ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Physics of Plasmas, 16, 080703

Series name

Date

Publisher

American Institute of Physics

Degree

Type of thesis

Supervisor