Structure of homogeneous nonhelical magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Abstract

Results are presented for three‐dimensional direct numerical simulations of nonhelical magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)turbulence for both stationary isotropic and homogeneous shear flow configurations with zero mean induction and unity magnetic Prandtl number. Small scale dynamo action is observed in both flows, and stationary values for the ratio of magnetic to kinetic energy are shown to scale nearly linearly with the Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers above a critical value of Reλ≊30. The presence of the magnetic field has the effect of decreasing the kinetic energy of the flow, while simultaneously increasing the Taylor microscale Reynolds number due to enlargement of the hydrodynamic length scales. For shear flows, both the velocity and the magnetic fields become increasingly anisotropic with increasing initial magnetic field strength. The kinetic energy spectra show a relative increase in high wave‐number energy in the presence of a magnetic field. The magnetic field is found to portray an intermittent behavior, with peak values of the flatness near the critical Reynolds number. The magnetic field of both flows is organized in the form of ‘‘flux tubes’’ and magnetic ‘‘sheets.’’ These regions of large magnetic field strength show a small correlation with moderate vorticity regions, while the electric current structures are correlated with large amplitude strain regions of the turbulence. Some of the characteristics of small scale MHDturbulence are explained via the ‘‘structural’’ description of turbulence.