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On the accuracy of simulations of turbulence
Abstract
The widely recognized issue of adequate spatial resolution in numerical simulations of turbulence is studied in the context of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics. The familiar criterion that the dissipation scale should be resolved enables accurate computation of the spectrum, but fails for precise determination of higher-order statistical quantities. Examination of two straightforward diagnostics, the maximum of the kurtosis and the scale-dependent kurtosis, enables the development of simple tests for assessing adequacy of spatial resolution. The efficacy of the tests is confirmed by examining a sample problem, the distribution of magnetic reconnection rates in turbulence. Oversampling the Kolmogorov dissipation scale by a factor of 3 allows accurate computation of the kurtosis, the scale-dependent kurtosis, and the reconnection rates. These tests may provide useful guidance for resolution requirements in many plasma computations involving turbulence and reconnection.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Wan, M., Oughton, S. & Matthaeus, W.H. (2010). On the accuracy of simulations of turbulence. Physics of Plasmas, 17(8), 082308.
Date
2010
Publisher
American Institute of Physics
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
Copyright (2010) 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.