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Effect of Anisotropic Resistivity on Fluctuation Dynamos in Driven Turbulence Simulations

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic‑field evolution in turbulent plasmas underpins phenomena from astrophysical plasmas to laboratory experiments. Fluctuation dynamos exponentially amplify magnetic energy in resistive MHD when the magnetic Reynolds number is high, balancing inductive growth against dissipation. If electrons gyrate many times between collisions, resistive transport becomes anisotropic. Here we extend the fluctuation‑dynamo framework to magnetized turbulence with a full Braginskii resistivity tensor: parallel (η), perpendicular (η​), and cross-field (η​), implemented in 3‑D driven‑turbulence simulations using FLASH. Their impact on magnetic energy amplification, saturation, spectral distribution, and current sheet structures is investigated. We vary each component at a fixed energy‑injection rate, both with and without the Hall term, to isolate how directional resistive pathways interact with Hall‑induced nonlinearities. We track magnetic‑energy growth, saturation, spectra, and current‑sheet morphology, linking microphysical transport anisotropies to macroscopic dynamics in sufficiently collisionless turbulent plasmas.

Presenters

  • Ananya Mohapatra

    University of Rochester

Authors

  • Ananya Mohapatra

    University of Rochester

  • Eddie C Hansen

    Univeristy of Rochester, University of Rochester

  • Archie F.A. Bott

    University of Oxford

  • Eric G Blackman

    University of Rochester

  • Petros Tzeferacos

    University of Rochester