Electromotive force and large-scale magnetic dynamo in a turbulent flow with a mean shear

An effect of sheared large-scale motions on a mean electromotive force in a nonrotating turbulent flow of a conducting fluid is studied. It is demonstrated that in a homogeneous divergence-free turbulent flow the alpha effect does not exist, however a mean magnetic field can be generated even in a n...

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Veröffentlicht in:Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics, 2003-09, Vol.68 (3 Pt 2), p.036301-036301, Article 036301
Hauptverfasser: Rogachevskii, Igor, Kleeorin, Nathan
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:An effect of sheared large-scale motions on a mean electromotive force in a nonrotating turbulent flow of a conducting fluid is studied. It is demonstrated that in a homogeneous divergence-free turbulent flow the alpha effect does not exist, however a mean magnetic field can be generated even in a nonrotating turbulence with an imposed mean velocity shear due to a "shear-current" effect. A mean velocity shear results in an anisotropy of turbulent magnetic diffusion. A contribution to the electromotive force related to the symmetric parts of the gradient tensor of the mean magnetic field (the kappa effect) is found in nonrotating turbulent flows with a mean shear. The kappa effect and turbulent magnetic diffusion reduce the growth rate of the mean magnetic field. It is shown that a mean magnetic field can be generated when the exponent of the energy spectrum of the background turbulence (without the mean velocity shear) is less than 2. The shear-current effect was studied using two different methods: the tau approximation (the Orszag third-order closure procedure) and the stochastic calculus (the path integral representation of the solution of the induction equation, Feynman-Kac formula, and Cameron-Martin-Girsanov theorem). Astrophysical applications of the obtained results are discussed.
ISSN:1539-3755
1063-651X
1095-3787
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevE.68.036301