Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

Describing the temporal properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a fundamental problem that has important implications for particle acceleration and transport in astrophysical plasmas. Here, by carefully analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of compressible MHD turb...

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Main Authors: Ka Ho Yuen, Hui Li, Huirong Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3ee
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author Ka Ho Yuen
Hui Li
Huirong Yan
author_facet Ka Ho Yuen
Hui Li
Huirong Yan
author_sort Ka Ho Yuen
collection DOAJ
description Describing the temporal properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a fundamental problem that has important implications for particle acceleration and transport in astrophysical plasmas. Here, by carefully analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of compressible MHD turbulence, we derive a new spectral power density function that is supported by simulations. This new function reveals that the low-frequency fluctuations are dominated by modes with small parallel wavenumbers with respect to the mean background magnetic field. Furthermore, for fluctuations with dynamically significant parallel wavenumbers, broadening around their eigenfrequencies is described by this function, which is in close agreement with simulations. We use this formalism to present the scaling properties of individual MHD modes. Such broadening is a direct consequence of nonlinear processes and is different for the three fundamental MHD modes. Our results provide a new window to investigate the temporal properties of turbulence and will enable further studies on the interaction between compressible MHD turbulence and energetic plasmas.
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spelling doaj-art-a38246ef60054d4a8bd8fc766a5068452025-08-20T02:37:10ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01986222110.3847/1538-4357/add3eeTemporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic TurbulenceKa Ho Yuen0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1683-9153Hui Li1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3556-6568Huirong Yan2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2560-8066Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA ; kyuen@lanl.gov, kyuen2.astro@gmail.comTheoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA ; kyuen@lanl.gov, kyuen2.astro@gmail.comDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY , Zeuthen, Germany; Institut für Physik & Astronomie, Universität Potsdam , Potsdam, GermanyDescribing the temporal properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a fundamental problem that has important implications for particle acceleration and transport in astrophysical plasmas. Here, by carefully analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of compressible MHD turbulence, we derive a new spectral power density function that is supported by simulations. This new function reveals that the low-frequency fluctuations are dominated by modes with small parallel wavenumbers with respect to the mean background magnetic field. Furthermore, for fluctuations with dynamically significant parallel wavenumbers, broadening around their eigenfrequencies is described by this function, which is in close agreement with simulations. We use this formalism to present the scaling properties of individual MHD modes. Such broadening is a direct consequence of nonlinear processes and is different for the three fundamental MHD modes. Our results provide a new window to investigate the temporal properties of turbulence and will enable further studies on the interaction between compressible MHD turbulence and energetic plasmas.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3eeAstrophysical fluid dynamicsPlasma astrophysicsMagnetohydrodynamical simulations
spellingShingle Ka Ho Yuen
Hui Li
Huirong Yan
Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
The Astrophysical Journal
Astrophysical fluid dynamics
Plasma astrophysics
Magnetohydrodynamical simulations
title Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
title_full Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
title_fullStr Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
title_full_unstemmed Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
title_short Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence
title_sort temporal properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
topic Astrophysical fluid dynamics
Plasma astrophysics
Magnetohydrodynamical simulations
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add3ee
work_keys_str_mv AT kahoyuen temporalpropertiesofcompressiblemagnetohydrodynamicturbulence
AT huili temporalpropertiesofcompressiblemagnetohydrodynamicturbulence
AT huirongyan temporalpropertiesofcompressiblemagnetohydrodynamicturbulence