Turbulence generation during the head-on collision of Alfvénic wave packets

Phys Rev E. 2017 Aug;96(2-1):023201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.023201. Epub 2017 Aug 7.

Abstract

The description of the Moffatt and Parker problem recently revisited by O. Pezzi et al. [Astrophys. J. 834, 166 (2017)1538-435710.3847/1538-4357/834/2/166] is here extended by analyzing the features of the turbulence produced by the interaction of two colliding Alfvénic wave packets in a kinetic plasma. Although the approach based on the presence of linear modes features is still helpful in characterizing some low-energy fluctuations, other signatures, which go beyond the pure linear modes analysis, are recovered, such as the significant weakening of clear dispersion relations and the production of zero frequency fluctuations.