• Mahendra K Verma

Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics

• Field theoretic calculation of energy cascade rates in non-helical magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Energy cascade rates and Kolmogorov’s constant for non-helical steady magnetohydrodynamic turbulence have been calculated by solving the flux equations to the first order in perturbation. For zero cross helicity and space dimensiond = 3, magnetic energy cascades from large length-scales to small length-scales (forward cascade). In addition, there are energy fluxes from large-scale magnetic field to small-scale velocity field, large-scale velocity field to small-scale magnetic field, and large-scale velocity field to large-scale magnetic field. Kolmogorov’s constant for magnetohydrodynamics is approximately equal to that for fluid turbulence (≈ 1.6) for Alfvén ratio 05 ≤rA ≤ ∞. For higher space-dimensions, the energy fluxes are qualitatively similar, and Kolmogorov’s constant varies asd1/3. For the normalized cross helicity σc →1, the cascade rates are proportional to (1 − σc)/(1 + σc , and the Kolmogorov’s constants vary significantly with σcc.

• Energy fluxes in helical magnetohydrodynamics and dynamo action

Renormalized viscosity, renormalized resistivity, and various energy fluxes are calculated for helical magnetohydrodynamics using perturbative field theory. The calculation is of firstorder in perturbation. Kinetic and magnetic helicities do not affect the renormalized parameters, but they induce an inverse cascade of magnetic energy. The sources for the large-scale magnetic field have been shown to be (1) energy flux from large-scale velocity field to large-scale magnetic field arising due to non-helical interactions and (2) inverse energy flux of magnetic energy caused by helical interactions. Based on our flux results, a primitive model for galactic dynamo has been constructed. Our calculations yield dynamo time-scale for a typical galaxy to be of the order of 108 years. Our field-theoretic calculations also reveal that the flux of magnetic helicity is backward, consistent with the earlier observations based on absolute equilibrium theory.

• Field theoretic calculation of energy cascade rates in non-helical magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Energy cascade rates and Kolmogorov’s constant for non-helical steady magnetohydrodynamic turbulence have been calculated by solving the ﬂux equations to the ﬁrst order in perturbation. For zero cross helicity and space dimension $d = 3$, magnetic energy cascades from large length-scales to small length-scales (forward cascade). In addition, there are energy ﬂuxes from large-scale magnetic ﬁeld to small-scale velocity ﬁeld, large-scale velocity ﬁeld to small-scale magnetic ﬁeld, and large-scale velocity ﬁeld to large-scale magnetic ﬁeld. Kolmogorov’s constant for magnetohydrodynamics is approximately equal to that for ﬂuid turbulence $(\approx 1.6)$ for Alfvén ratio $0.5\leq r_{A}\leq \infty$. For higher space-dimensions, the energy ﬂuxes are qualitatively similar, and Kolmogorov’s constant varies as $d^{1/3}$. For the normalized cross helicity $\sigma_{c}\to 1$, the cascade rates are proportional to $(1-\sigma_{c})/(1+\sigma_{c})$, and the Kolmogorov’s constants vary signiﬁcantly with $\sigma_{c}$.

• Large-eddy simulations of fluid and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence using renormalized parameters

In this paper a procedure for large-eddy simulation (LES) has been devised for fluid and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in Fourier space using the renormalized parameters. The parameters calculated using field theory have been taken from recent papers by Verma [1,2]. We have carried out LES on 643 grid. These results match quite well with direct numerical simulations of 1283. We show that proper choice of parameter is necessary in LES.

• Incompressible turbulence as non-local field theory

It is well-known that incompressible turbulence is non-local in real space because sound speed is infinite in incompressible fluids. The equation in Fourier space indicates that it is non-local in Fourier space as well. However, the shell-to-shell energy transfer is local. Contrast this with Burgers equation which is local in real space. Note that the sound speed in Burgers equation is zero. In our presentation we will contrast these two equations using non-local field theory. Energy spectrum and renormalized parameters will be discussed.

• Local shell-to-shell energy transfer via nonlocal interactions in fluid turbulence

In this paper we analytically compute the strength of nonlinear interactions in a triad, and the energy exchanges between wave-number shells in incompressible fluid turbulence. The computation has been done using first-order perturbative field theory. In three dimensions, magnitude of triad interactions is large for nonlocal triads, and small for local triads. However, the shell-to-shell energy transfer rate is found to be local and forward. This result is due to the fact that the nonlocal triads occupy much less Fourier space volume than the local ones. The analytical results on three-dimensional shell-to-shell energy transfer match with their numerical counterparts. In two-dimensional turbulence, the energy transfer rates to the nearby shells are forward, but to the distant shells are backward; the cumulative effect is an inverse cascade of energy.

• Field-theoretic calculation of kinetic helicity flux

In this paper we apply perturbative field-theoretic technique to helical turbulence. In the inertial range the kinetic helicity flux is found to be constant and forward. The universal constantKH appearing in the spectrum of kinetic helicity was found to be 2.47.

• Chaotic travelling rolls in Rayleigh–Bénard convection

In this paper we investigate two-dimensional (2D) Rayleigh–B ́enard convection using direct numerical simulation in Boussinesq fluids with Prandtl number $P = 6.8$ confined between thermally conducting plates. We show through the simulation that in a small range of reduced Rayleigh number $r (770 &lt; r &lt; 890)$ the 2D rolls move chaotically in a direction normal to the roll axis. The lateral shift of the rolls may lead to a global flow reversal of the convective motion. The chaotic travelling rolls are observed in simulations with free-slip as well as no-slip boundary conditions on the velocity field. We show that the travelling rolls and the flow reversal are due to an interplay between the real and imaginary parts of the critical modes.

• Benchmarking and scaling studies of pseudospectral code Tarang for turbulence simulations

Tarang is a general-purpose pseudospectral parallel code for simulating flows involving fluids, magnetohydrodynamics, and Rayleigh–Bénard convection in turbulence and instability regimes. In this paper we present code validation and benchmarking results of Tarang. We performed our simulations on $1024^{3}$, $2048^{3}$, and $4096^{3}$ grids using the HPC system of IIT Kanpur and Shaheen of KAUST. We observe good weak' and strong' scaling for Tarang on these systems.

• Dynamo in protostars

In this paper, we estimate the magnetic Reynolds number of a typical protostar before and after deuterium burning, and claim for the existence of dynamo process in both the phases, because the magnetic Reynolds number of the protostar far exceeds the critical magnetic Reynolds number for dynamo action. Using the equipartition of kinetic and magnetic energies, we estimate the steady-state magnetic field of the protostar to be of the order of kilogauss, which is in good agreement with observations.

• # Pramana – Journal of Physics

Current Issue
Volume 93 | Issue 6
December 2019

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019