The inertial range spectrum of ideal (collisionless/dissipationless) MHD turbulence is analyzed in view of the transition from the large-scale Iroshnikov-Kraichnan-like (IK) to the meso-scale Kolmogorov (K) range under the assumption that the ultimate dissipation which terminates the Kolmogorov range is provided by collisionless reconnection in thin turbulence-generated current sheets. Kolmogorov's dissipation scale is identified with the electron inertial scale, as suggested by collisionless particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection. Transition between the IK- and K-ranges occurs at the ion inertial length allowing determination of the IK-coefficient. With the electron inertial scale the K-dissipation scale, stationarity of the spectrum implies a relation between the energy injection and dissipation rates. Application to solar wind is critically discussed.
CITATION STYLE
Treumann, R. A., Baumjohann, W., & Narita, Y. (2015). Ideal MHD turbulence: The inertial range spectrum with collisionless dissipation. Frontiers in Physics, 3(APR). https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2015.00022
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.