Charged particle diffusion in isotropic random magnetic fields

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Subedi, Prachanda, Sonsrettee, Wirin, Blasi, Pasquale, Ruffolo, David, Matthaeus, William, Montgomery, David, Chuychai, Piyanate, Dmitruk, Pablo, Wan, Minping, Tulasi Nandan Parashar, Chhiber, Rohit
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 14.02.2017
• Subjects: Charged particles; Computer simulation; Diffusion coefficient; Larmor radius; Magnetic fields; Particle diffusion; Particle energy; Physics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Physics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics; Physics - Space Physics; Turbulence
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1612.09507

The investigation of the diffusive transport of charged particles in a turbulent magnetic field remains a subject of considerable interest. Research has most frequently concentrated on determining the diffusion coefficient in the presence of a mean magnetic field. Here we consider diffusion of charged particles in fully three-dimensional isotropic turbulent magnetic fields with no mean field, which may be pertinent to many astrophysical situations. We identify different ranges of particle energy depending upon the ratio of the Larmor radius of the charged particle to the characteristic outer length scale of the turbulence. Two different theoretical models are proposed to calculate the diffusion coefficient, each applicable to a distinct range of particle energies. The theoretical results are compared with those from computer simulations, showing good agreement.