@article{Gingell:2017:10.1017/S0022377817000058,
author = {Gingell, IL and Sorriso-Valvo, L and Burgess, D and de, Vita G and Matteini, L},
doi = {10.1017/S0022377817000058},
journal = {Journal of Plasma Physics},
title = {Three dimensional simulations of sheared current sheets: transition to turbulence?},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022377817000058},
volume = {83},
year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - Systems of multiple current sheets arise in various situations in natural plasmas, such asat the heliospheric current sheet in the solar wind and in the outer heliosphere in theheliosheath. Previous three-dimensional simulations have shown that such systems candevelop turbulent-like fluctuations resulting from forward and inverse cascade in wavevector space. We present a study of the transition to turbulenceof such multiple currentsheet systems, including the effects of adding a magnetic guide field and velocity shearsacross the current sheets. Three-dimensional hybrid simulationsare performed of systemswith eight narrow current sheets in a triply-periodic geometry. We carry out a numberof different analyses of the evolution of the fluctuations as the initially highly orderedstate relaxes to one which resembles turbulence. Despite the evidence of forward andinverse cascade in the fluctuation power spectra, we find that none of the simulated caseshave evidence of intermittency after the initial period of fast reconnection associatedwith the ion tearing instability at the current sheets. Cancellation analysis confirms thatthe simulations have not evolved to a state which can be identified as fully developedturbulence. The addition of velocity shears across the current sheets slows the evolutionin the properties of the fluctuations, but by the end of the simulation they are broadlysimilar. However, if the simulation is constrained to be two-dimensional, differences arefound, indicating that fully three-dimensional simulations are important when studyingthe evolution of an ordered equilibrium towards a turbulent-like state.
AU  - Gingell,IL
AU  - Sorriso-Valvo,L
AU  - Burgess,D
AU  - de,Vita G
AU  - Matteini,L
DO  - 10.1017/S0022377817000058
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 1469-7807
TI  - Three dimensional simulations of sheared current sheets: transition to turbulence?
T2  - Journal of Plasma Physics
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022377817000058
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/43918
VL  - 83
ER  - 

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