http://arxiv.org/abs/2202.13020
Energy equipartition is a powerful theoretical tool for understanding astrophysical plasmas. It is invoked, for example, to measure magnetic fields in the interstellar medium (ISM), as evidence for small-scale turbulent dynamo action, and, in general, to estimate the energy budget of star-forming molecular clouds. In this study we motivate and explore the role of the volume-averaged root-mean-squared (rms) magnetic coupling term between the turbulent, $\delta\mathbf{B}$ and large-scale, $\mathbf{B}0$ fields, $\left< (\delta\mathbf{B}\cdot\mathbf{B}_0)^{2} \right>^{1/2}{\mathcal{V}}$. By considering the second moments of the energy balance equations we show that the rms coupling term is in energy equipartition with the volume-averaged turbulent kinetic energy for turbulence with a sub-Alfv\’enic large-scale field. Under the assumption of exact energy equipartition between these terms, we derive relations for the magnetic and coupling term fluctuations, which provide excellent, parameter-free agreement with time-averaged data from 280 numerical simulations of compressible MHD turbulence. Furthermore, we explore the relation between the turbulent, mean-field and total Alfv\’en Mach numbers, and demonstrate that sub-Alfv\’enic turbulence can only be developed through a strong, large-scale magnetic field, which supports an extremely super-Alfv\’enic turbulent magnetic field. This means that the magnetic field fluctuations are significantly subdominant to the velocity fluctuations in the sub-Alfv\’enic large-scale field regime. Throughout our study, we broadly discuss the implications for observations of magnetic fields and understanding the dynamics in the magnetised ISM.
J. Beattie, M. Krumholz, R. Skalidis, et. al.
Tue, 1 Mar 22
64/80
Comments: Submitted to MNRAS. 19 pages. 15 figures