Lagrangian frequency spectrum as a diagnostic for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence dynamics

Abstract

For the phenomenological description of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence competing models exist, e.g., Boldyrev Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 115002 (2006) and Gogoberidze Phys. Plasmas 14 022304 (2007), which predict the same Eulerian inertial-range scaling of the turbulent energy spectrum although they employ fundamentally different basic interaction mechanisms. A relation is found that links the Lagrangian frequency spectrum with the autocorrelation time scale of the turbulent fluctuations ?ac and the associated cascade time scale ?cas. Thus, the Lagrangian energy spectrum can serve to identify weak (?ac??cas) and strong (?ac??cas) interaction mechanisms providing insight into the turbulent energy cascade. The new approach is illustrated by results from direct numerical simulations of two- and three-dimensional incompressible MHD turbulence

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