Local and global properties of energy transfer in models of plasma turbulence

Abstract

The nature of the turbulent energy transfer rate is studied using direct numerical simulations of weakly collisional space plasmas. This is done comparing results obtained from hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell simulations of collisionless plasmas, Hall magnetohydrodynamics and Landau fluid models reproducing low-frequency kinetic effects, such as the Landau damping. In this turbulent scenario, estimates of the local and global scaling properties of different energy channels are obtained using a proxy of the local energy transfer. This approach provides information on the structure of energy fluxes, under the assumption that the turbulent cascade transfers most of the energy that is then dissipated at small scales by various kinetic processes in these kinds of plasmas.