2009/10/15 by Dastgeer Shaikh, G. P. Zank · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.space-ph #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15881.x
Paper is to appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal
arxiv created 2009/10/15 · arxiv updated 2015/05/14
The density fluctuation spectrum in the solar wind reveals a Kolmogorov-like scaling with a spectral slope of -5/3 in wavenumber space. The energy transfer process in the magnetized solar wind, characterized typically by MHD turbulence, over extended length-scales remains an unresolved paradox of modern turbulence theories, raising the question of how a compressible magnetofluid exhibits a turbulent spectrum that is characteristic of an incompressible hydrodynamic fluid. To address these questions, we have undertaken three-dimensional time dependent numerical simulations of a compressible magnetohydrodynamic fluid describing super-Alfvénic, supersonic and strongly magnetized plasma fluid. It is shown that a Kolmogorov-like density spectrum can develop by plasma motions that are dominated by Alfvénic cascades whereas compressive modes are dissipated.