ASTROPHYSICAL GYROKINETICS: KINETIC AND FLUID TURBULENT CASCADES IN MAGNETIZED WEAKLY COLLISIONAL PLASMAS

We present a theoretical framework for plasma turbulence in astrophysical plasmas (solar wind, interstellar medium, galaxy clusters, accretion disks). The key assumptions are that the turbulence is anisotropic with respect to the mean magnetic field and frequencies are low compared to the ion cyclotron frequency. The energy injected at the outer scale scale has to be converted into heat, which ultimately cannot be done without collisions. A KINETIC CASCADE develops that brings the energy to collisional scales both in space and velocity. Its nature depends on the physics of plasma fluctuations. In each of the physically distinct scale ranges, the kinetic problem is systematically reduced to a more tractable set…

• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Award: EP/G003955/1
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Award: ST/F002505/2