Dissipation in Magnetized Plasma Turbulence: From Fluid to Kinetic Scales

Kiritkumar Makwana, University of Chicago

Usage Details

Magnetized plasmas are ubiquitous in space, astrophysical and laboratory environments. Energy is injected in them at large scales, transferred to smaller scales by nonlinear interactions, and there it is dissipated into heat. Since collisions are very weak in such plasmas, it is believed that heating should involve kinetic processes. In this project we plan to develop a broad understanding of this dissipation process. To approach from the larger scales, we will perform fluid simulations of magnetized plasma turbulence using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) codes. To investigate smaller scales, we will use the kinetic code VPIC. A combination of these codes will enable us to investigate the physical dissipation mechanism in MHD turbulence.