Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Howes, G G
• TenBarge, J M
• Dorland, W
• Quataert, E
• Schekochihin, A A
• Numata, R
• Tatsuno, T

Titel

Gyrokinetic simulations of solar wind turbulence from ion to electron scales

Ist Teil von

• Physical review letters, 2011-07, Vol.107 (3), p.035004-035004, Article 035004

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Physical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Quelle

American Physical Society

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A three-dimensional, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of plasma turbulence resolving scales from the ion to electron gyroradius with a realistic mass ratio is presented, where all damping is provided by resolved physical mechanisms. The resulting energy spectra are quantitatively consistent with a magnetic power spectrum scaling of k(-2.8) as observed in in situ spacecraft measurements of the "dissipation range" of solar wind turbulence. Despite the strongly nonlinear nature of the turbulence, the linear kinetic Alfvén wave mode quantitatively describes the polarization of the turbulent fluctuations. The collisional ion heating is measured at subion-Larmor radius scales, which provides evidence of the ion entropy cascade in an electromagnetic turbulence simulation.