White, T. G., Oliver, M. T., Mabey, P. et al. (28 more authors) (2019) Supersonic plasma turbulence in the laboratory. Nature Communications. 1758. ISSN 2041-1723
Abstract
The properties of supersonic, compressible plasma turbulence determine the behavior of many terrestrial and astrophysical systems. In the interstellar medium and molecular clouds, compressible turbulence plays a vital role in star formation and the evolution of our galaxy. Observations of the density and velocity power spectra in the Orion B and Perseus molecular clouds show large deviations from those predicted for incompressible turbulence. Hydrodynamic simulations attribute this to the high Mach number in the interstellar medium (ISM), although the exact details of this dependence are not well understood. Here we investigate experimentally the statistical behavior of boundary-free supersonic turbulence created by the collision of two laser-driven high-velocity turbulent plasma jets. The Mach number dependence of the slopes of the density and velocity power spectra agree with astrophysical observations, and supports the notion that the turbulence transitions from being Kolmogorov-like at low Mach number to being more Burgers-like at higher Mach numbers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2019 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Electronic Engineering (York) The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > History (York) The University of York > York Institute for Materials Research |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2019 09:20 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2025 17:39 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09498-y |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41467-019-09498-y |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:145456 |