Turbulent nonlinear dynamics of magnetic flux ropes in reduced magnetohydrodynamics

Magnetic flux ropes are integral to the dynamics of many plasma physics phenomena, including coronal heating, astrophysical jets, and 3D magnetic reconnection. While interactions between multiple flux ropes play an important role in some of these systems, the evolution of a single flux rope under its own dynamics is also relevant. We present results from numerical simulations of magnetic flux ropes in reduced magnetohydrodynamics, in which resistive instabilities of the flux rope result in a turbulent nonlinear state where the intense current sheets associated with unstable modes produce a magnetic energy spectrum E_M ~ k_⊥^-2. We show that the number of linearly unstable rational surfaces is an important parameter for determining the fraction of magnetic energy available to the turbulence and discuss the mechanisms by which the system can be maintained in a quasi-steady nonlinear state accompanied by dissipation of a large fraction of the initial magnetic energy. This work may have implications for the study of particle acceleration in astrophysical systems, as well as plasmoids in 3D magnetic reconnection.