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Two-dimensional partially ionized magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2020

Santiago J. Benavides Open the ORCID record for Santiago J. Benavides [Opens in a new window]  and
Glenn R. Flierl
Santiago J. Benavides*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139, USA
Glenn R. Flierl
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: santib@mit.edu
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Abstract

Ionization occurs in the upper atmospheres of hot Jupiters and in the interiors of gas giant planets, leading to magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects that couple the momentum and the magnetic field, thereby significantly altering the dynamics. In regions of moderate temperatures, the gas is only partially ionized, which also leads to interactions with neutral molecules. To explore the turbulent dynamics of these regions, we utilize partially ionized magnetohydrodynamics (PIMHD), a two-fluid model – one neutral and one ionized – coupled by a collision term proportional to the difference in velocities. Motivated by planetary settings where rotation constrains the large-scale motions to be mostly two-dimensional, we perform a suite of simulations to examine the parameter space of two-dimensional PIMHD turbulence and pay particular attention to collisions and their role in the dynamics, dissipation and energy exchange between the two species. We arrive at, and numerically confirm, an expression for the energy loss due to collisions in both the weakly and strongly collisional limits, and show that, in the latter limit, the neutral fluid couples to the ions and behaves as an MHD fluid. Finally, we discuss some implications of our findings to current understanding of gas giant planet atmospheres.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Atmospheric flows MHD and Electrohydrodynamics: MHD turbulence
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 900 , 10 October 2020 , A28
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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