Non-Linear Damping of Surface Alfvén Waves Due to Uniturbulence

Abstract

This investigation is concerned with uniturbulence associated with surface Alfvén waves that exist in a Cartesian equilibrium model with a constant magnetic field and a piece-wise constant density. The surface where the equilibrium density changes in a discontinuous manner are the source of surface Alfvén waves. These surface Alfvén waves create uniturbulence because of the variation of the density across the background magnetic field. The damping of the surface Alfvén waves due to uniturbulence is determined using the Elsässer formulation. Analytical expressions for the wave energy density, the energy cascade, and the damping time are derived. The study of uniturbulence due to surface Alfvén waves is inspired by the observation that (the fundamental radial mode of) kink waves behave similarly to surface Alfvén waves. The results for this relatively simple case of surface Alfvén waves can help us understand the more complicated case of kink waves in cylinders. We perform a series of 3D ideal MHD simulations for a numerical demonstration of the non-linearly self-cascading model of unidirectional surface Alfvén waves using the code MPI-AMRVAC. We show that surface Alfvén waves damping time in the numerical simulations follows well our analytical prediction for that quantity. Analytical theory and the simulations show that the damping time is inversely proportional to the amplitude of the surface Alfvén waves and the density contrast. This unidirectional cascade may play a role in heating the coronal plasma.