Model of the field line random walk evolution and approach to asymptotic diffusion in magnetic turbulence

Abstract

The turbulent random walk of magnetic field lines plays an important role in the transport of plasmas and energetic particles in a wide variety of astrophysical situations, but most theoretical work has concentrated on determination of the asymptotic field line diffusion coefficient. Here we consider the evolution with distance of the field line random walk using a general ordinary differential equation (ODE), which for most cases of interest in astrophysics describes a transition from free streaming to asymptotic diffusion. By challenging theories of asymptotic diffusion to also describe the evolution, one gains insight on how accurately they describe the random walk process. Previous theoretical work has effectively involved closure of the ODE, often by assuming Corrsin's hypothesis and a Gaussian displacement distribution. Approaches that use quasilinear theory and prescribe the mean squared displacement 〈Δx2〉 according to free streaming (random ballistic decorrelation, RBD) or asymptotic diffusion (diffusive decorrelation, DD) can match computer simulation results, but only over specific parameter ranges, with no obvious "marker" of the range of validity. Here we make use of a unified description in which the ODE determines 〈Δx2〉 self-consistently, providing a natural transition between the assumptions of RBD and DD. We find that the minimum kurtosis of the displacement distribution provides a good indicator of whether the self-consistent ODE is applicable, i.e., inaccuracy of the self-consistent ODE is associated with non-Gaussian displacement distributions. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.