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Spectral analysis of turbulent effects on resistivity and the tearing instability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

D. Deeds  and
G. van Hoven
D. Deeds
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of California, Irvine, U.S.A.
G. van Hoven
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of California, Irvine, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Biskamp and Welter (1983) have defined an anomalous resistivity due to shortwavelength turbulence. They reported that this resistivity can be of either sign, and that negative anomalous resistivity in particular can affect the growth of the tearing instability. We use a spectral numerical-simulation code and ancillary diagnostics to analyse the behaviour of resistive magnetic tearing in the presence of turbulence of the sort postulated by Biskamp and Welter. We find that, in general, the ‘anomalous resistivity’ tends to return quickly towards zero even when artificially supported away from zero, and that its effect on tearing-mode behaviour is not consistent with its interpretation as a resistivity. We investigate analytically the behaviour reported by Biskamp and Welter, and the behaviour we observe. We also argue that, while not meaningful as a true resistivity, the ‘anomalous-resistivity’ parameter is a useful diagnostic showing the energy balance of the System – a property we refer to as Alfvénicity – illustrating, for example, the onset of nonlinearity in the tearing process.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , December 1988 , pp. 517 - 533
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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References

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