Fundamental Aspects of Plasma Turbulence with Applications to Large-Eddy Simulations and Solar Wind Modeling

研究人员将开发一种使用光谱传递函数的方法，以实现对磁流体动力学（MHD）湍流及其应用的突破性理解。传递函数测量非线性耦合的强度、波数局部性和各向异性。以前这种形式主义已被应用到流体动力学湍流，但迄今尚未被应用到磁流体动力学湍流。主要的努力是使用高分辨率的数值模拟来构建传递函数表达式，直接测量本地和非本地波耦合的强度和各向异性。结果将与航天器观测结果进行比较，以澄清有关太阳风湍流的几个突出问题。

The investigators will develop a methodology using spectral transfer functions in order to achieve a breakthrough understanding of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and its applications. Transfer functions measure the strength, wave-number locality, and anisotropy of nonlinear couplings. Previously this formalism has been applied to hydrodynamic turbulence, but to date has not been applied to magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. The main effort is to use high-resolution numerical simulations to construct transfer function expressions that directly measure the strength and anisotropy of local and non-local wave couplings. Results will be compared with spacecraft observations to clarify several outstanding questions about solar wind turbulence.