Toward Astrophysical Turbulence in the Laboratory
Abstract
Turbulence is a ubiquitous phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas, driving a cascade of energy from large to small scales and strongly influencing the plasma heating resulting from the dissipation of the turbulence. Modern theories of plasma turbulence are based on the fundamental concept that the turbulent cascade of energy is caused by the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, yet this interaction has never been observationally or experimentally verified. We present here the first experimental measurement in a laboratory plasma of the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence. This measurement establishes a firm basis for the application of theoretical ideas developed in idealized models to turbulence in realistic space and astrophysical plasma systems.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.255001
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1210.4568
- Bibcode:
- 2012PhRvL.109y5001H
- Keywords:
-
- 52.72.+v;
- 52.35.Bj;
- 52.35.Mw;
- 52.35.Ra;
- Laboratory studies of space- and astrophysical-plasma processes;
- Magnetohydrodynamic waves;
- Nonlinear phenomena: waves wave propagation and other interactions;
- Plasma turbulence;
- Physics - Plasma Physics;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters