Turbulent magnetohydrodynamic density fluctuations
- 1 April 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Plasma Physics
- Vol. 39 (2), 339-367
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022377800013076
Abstract
A spectral-method numerical code is used to compute mass-density fluctuation spectra in turbulent magnetofluids. The computations are used to test and extend a recent analytical theory of density variations in slightly compressible magnetofluids given by Montgomery, Brown and Matthaeus, and used by them to infer inertial-range density-fluctuation spectra for the nearby interstellar medium and solar wind. A local equation of state is assumed, relating density to pressure. Constant, scalar resistivities and viscosities are used. In the limit of low Mach numbers and high mechanical-to-magnetic pressure ratios, the fit of the computations to the analytical theory is seen to be close.Keywords
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