2007/09/30 by A. A. Schekochihin, S. C. Cowley, R. M. Kulsrud +5 · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #astro-ph #physics.plasm-ph #physics.space-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.081301
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 081301 (2008) · revtex, 4 pages, 1 figure; replaced to match published version
arxiv created 2008/02/29 · openalex publication_date 2008/02/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
In turbulent high-beta astrophysical plasmas (exemplified by the galaxy cluster plasmas), pressure-anisotropy-driven firehose and mirror fluctuations grow nonlinearly to large amplitudes, deltaB/B approximately 1, on a time scale comparable to the turnover time of the turbulent motions. The principle of their nonlinear evolution is to generate secularly growing small-scale magnetic fluctuations that on average cancel the temporal change in the large-scale magnetic field responsible for the pressure anisotropies. The presence of small-scale magnetic fluctuations may dramatically affect the transport properties and, thereby, the large-scale dynamics of the high-beta astrophysical plasmas.